Rolls-Royce confirms 4WD plans

Super-luxury brand Rolls-Royce is set to join the booming SUV market with a $1 million 4WD – but refuses to call it an SUV.

Rolls-Royce has finally given in to the global boom in SUV sales and will build a 4WD likely to cost in excess of $1 million apiece when it goes on sale in two years.

The proud British brand, owned by German car maker BMW since 2003, made the announcement in a letter to customers, but couldn't bring itself to utter "SUV", the global term given to recreational wagons.

The first 4WD in Rolls-Royce's 111-year history is still being kept under wraps

Instead Rolls-Royce called the new model "a high-bodied car that delivers supreme luxury yet is effortless to drive...and can cross any terrain".

There are no photos of the first 4WD in Rolls-Royce's 111-year history as it is still being kept under wraps.

But the Rolls-Royce of SUVs will join the likes of Bentley and Lamborghini who also plan to introduce super-expensive off-roaders, and have unveiled concept cars in the past two years to signal their intentions and gauge customer interest.

It's unclear just how far off the beaten track the well-heeled are likely to trek in their new Rolls-Royce 4WD – expected to be powered by a whopping 6.8-litre V12 – but the company insists "many of our discerning customers have urged us to develop this car".

The appetite for SUVs is so strong even Mercedes-Benz is going to head upmarket and introduce a mega-dollar Maybach version of its next full-size SUV, the boss of the company Dieter Zetsche told News Corp Australia this week.

Sales of SUVs globally have tripled in the past 10 years; in Australia SUVs are the second biggest automotive category after small cars and represent one in three of all new vehicles sold.

By developing an SUV, Rolls-Royce is supporting jobs and investment in the region

In 2003 Australians bought 150,000 SUVs, last year the figure eclipsed 352,000 sales, a new record and a staggering growth of 134 per cent over a period the total new-car market grew by 20 per cent.

The announcement of a Rolls-Royce SUV was so significant that David Cameron this week became the first British Prime Minister to visit the company's Goodwood factory.

But it seems Prime Minister Cameron didn't get the memo about not calling it an SUV, telling the assembled workers and media: "By developing an SUV, Rolls-Royce is supporting jobs and investment in the region – and we in government will do everything we can to support you".

While the Australian car manufacturing industry will close in 2017 – once Ford, Holden and Toyota shutter their factories – in Britain automotive manufacturers have rebounded due to an increase in exports to Europe.

"What Rolls-Royce is doing here is something our country needs to do more of – manufacturing, designing, investing, era searching and developing, training apprentices, creating an infrastructure," said Prime Minister Cameron.