Rolls-Royce is up to something very interesting. The CarBuzz spies have just snapped the ultra-luxury brand's second SUV out testing in Germany. The new model is an EV that will be an alternative to the upcoming electric Bentley SUV, but it will offer one thing you can't find on any other new vehicle. And it's something we haven't seen in decades. Center-Hinge Means Extra-Fancy CarBuzz/ValnetSit down for a moment, because we're talking about a center-hinged hood. Or maybe in this case, we should be calling it a center-hinged frunk, since this SUV doesn't have an engine. The hinge mechanism is clearly visible in many of the images. To make it even more obvious, the EV drives away with the front hood partially opened. We can see the massive opening on the right side of the vehicle, and how the hood panel is open to the center. We can even see how it is causing problems for the traditional Rolls-Royce hood ornament.CarBuzz first caught wind of a possible center-hinge hood late last year. A patent for the mechanism to make it work was published in Germany, along with patent drawings that showed what appeared to be the hood installed on an SUV.Rolls-Royce EV SUV Spy Photo (16)At the time, Rolls-Royce told CarBuzz that the automaker has been using that design on the rear of ultra-exclusive models like the Boat Tail. It allows fancier, though probably not more practical, access to the trunk. The same is likely here.Rolls-Royce hasn't done that feature on a normal production car's hood since it discontinued the Phantom VI in 1990. Though even that was a highly-limited model with fewer than 400 made in 22 years. The feature was much more common before the 1940s when exceedingly long noses with straight-eight and V16 engines made such designs a necessity. More modern uses of center-hinge hoods are all about showing off... and showing people your car is an expensive one.Of course, the split hood doesn't allow access to the engine in this case. It allows access to the frunk, or whatever Rolls decides to call it, because a "frunk" is decidedly not a name suitable for a Rolls-Royce.Our spies say that this new model is likely to be built using BMW's latest electric architecture. That would be the sixth-generation motor and battery systems that debuted with the Neue Klasse iX3 last year. Design Is Familiar Rolls-Royce CarBuzz/ValnetRolls isn't straying far from the Cullinan SUV or its other models in terms of design. The camouflage is hiding the details, but the high roof, A-pillars, square front, and even the taillights all remind us of the larger gas SUV.This Roller has a strange stance, though. It looks extremely low, almost as though it had a collapsed air suspension. It's something we might expect on a car, but not its latest SUV. The front wheel, especially, completely fills its arch. However, it's not as bad as our wintertime spy shots of the vehicle, where the tire was up in the fender.We still don't have many details about the new model, but we expect the usual Rolls-Royce traits like a soft ride, copious amounts of legroom, and more luxury options than the average car buyer can even dream of. Of course, it will come with a price tag that would buy a nice condo in almost any major city.Expect production to start in early 2027. Since this is still a prototype, there's nothing official regarding range or efficiency. But such things are probably less important when you can afford to have many other vehicles in your garage.Rolls-Royce EV SUV Spy Photo (24)