Brace yourself. We're nowhere near peak SUV. 

Just as Land Rover and Mercedes-Benz unveiled their own new sports utility vehicles at the New York Auto Show last week, Rolls-Royce is testing drivetrains for its so-called “Project Cullinan,” a prototype all-wheel-drive suspension model that will be sold by 2018. Experts say it could cost as much as $400,000.

The Rolls fits right in with the $200,000 Land Rover Range Rover SV Autobiography. That’s the one with a 550-hp supercharged V8 engine that can hit 60mph in just over 5 seconds. It's the one that sets a high bar for the crossover its sister brand Jaguar says it’ll introduce by 2017. 

And it fits in with the $218,000 Mercedes-Benz G65 AMG, which has a hand-built V12 engine that pulls in a whopping 621 horsepower. The G65 AMG is the fourth AMG model to cross the $200,000 threshold.

These days, super-expensive SUVs—all of which cost more than a Ferrari—are far from a passing fad.

“There is plenty of space to play in, here, and plenty of money,” Kelley Blue Book analyst Akshay Anand said. “Traditionally ultra premium buyers have been relegated to sports cars or sedans. But when there is so much wealth floating around, it was only a matter of time when truly major SUVs would come in to satisfy those needs.”Join the Club

In fact Rolls’ SUV is late to the game when you consider that Bentley started touting plans for a $200K-plus rig as far back as 2012. The Bentley Bentayga will finally see showrooms in 2016. 

Similarly priced offerings like the Lamborghini Urus, Aston Martin DBX, and Maserati Levante are slated for production in 2017, 2018, and beyond.

And considering the ravenous appetite American, Asian, and Middle Eastern buyers have had in the past decade for large vehicles in general, it was only a matter of time before the SUV market would push past the $200K ceiling. Once ultra high net worth individuals identify a car they want, there’s not much distinction between whether they pay $200,000, $300,000 or $400,000 for it. Bloomberg defines ultra high net-worth (UHNW) individuals as those who possess net assets of at least $30 million; there are more than 211,000 of them globally today.

“They say I want what I want, and I am going to spend what I want for something unique,” Kelly Blue Book's Anand said.

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