Bentley has revealed its first fully electric car, the Torcal, and there’s an awful lot more to the story – and the future of the Bentley brand – than just replacing a traditional engine with a battery. The new five-seat SUV – pronounced Tor-cal – arrives with up to 876bhp, a maximum claimed range of 375 miles and a driving soundtrack created using drums, a viola and a bass guitar.
Unveiled in London, the Torcal becomes Bentley’s fourth model line, joining its existing petrol and plug-hybrid cars. There’ll be two versions to choose from: the standard Torcal, which will cost from £173,300 and a sportier Torcal S for £200,000. The standard car produces 810bhp and 881lb ft of torque, taking it from 0-62mph in 3.4 seconds and on to a top speed of 155mph.
The S raises those figures to 876bhp and 996lb ft, with the latter the highest torque figure of any Bentley yet. It’ll reach 62mph in 2.9 seconds when launch control is active and has a top speed of 162mph. Bentley says its engineers deliberately settled on this level of acceleration because most customers find anything more extreme uncomfortable!
Both versions use two electric motors, with a 113kWh battery and an 800-volt electrical system. Bentley quotes a 10-80 per cent charge in as little as 16 minutes at 400kW, while adding around 100 miles of range takes seven minutes. The battery comes with a ten-year, 100,000-mile warranty.
At 5,000mm long, the Torcal is Bentley’s shortest four-door model. There’s a 460-litre boot, another 90-litres of storage under the bonnet and space for three people across the rear seat, which folds electrically – a first for the brand.
The shape, developed by a team led by design director Robin Page, introduces a new design direction, with a low roofline, a long bonnet and a cabin that narrows towards the rear, emphasising the bodywork over the back wheels. An illuminated diamond-pattern grille features at the front, while the Torcal is also the first Bentley to wear the company’s redesigned badge.
Underneath, Bentley’s first fully active suspension can raise or lower each corner independently in response to the road and the driver’s inputs. The idea is to improve comfort while keeping the body’s movements in check, without conventional anti-roll bars. Rear-wheel steering is standard, with the back wheels turning by up to five degrees to help manoeuvrability and reduce the turning circle to 11,100mm.
Buyers can choose between conventional brakes and an optional carbon-ceramic system. The latter uses 440mm front discs, which Bentley says are jointly the largest in the world alongside those on its other cars. Black, red and grey brake calipers are offered, with three more colours available through Bentley’s bespoke Mulliner programme.
There’s also help for those moments when a narrow lanes gets narrower still. Using 25 radars, sensors and cameras, the Torcal monitors its surroundings and can automatically reverse to a place it’s already identified to make room for an obstacle to pass. Other systems assist with towing and parking, including remote parking using an app and the ability to learn particular parking manoeuvres.
Even closing the door can be a hands-free job. All four powered doors use radar and can open and close themselves; passengers can trigger closing by putting on their seatbelts, while the driver can do it by pressing the brake pedal. The main touchscreen can also close the doors.
Perhaps one of the most intriguing new features on the new Torcal is the noise it makes. With no engine to provide the usual background music, Bentley has turned to actual musicians. Its Dynamic Symphony soundtrack takes its rhythm from the company’s 6¾-litre V8, using recordings of instruments rather than simply copying an engine noise. Small variations and imperfections in the musician’s performances have been retained.
The sound changes with accelerator demand and speed, giving the driver feedback about what the car’s doing. It gets louder in sport mode, although anyone who’d prefer to enjoy peace and quiet can switch it off completely. Bentley has taken a similar approach to the smaller sounds heard around the cabin, too.
The indicator tick comes from a recording of a hammer striking leather in Bentley’s upholstery workshops. Meanwhile, the sound used by the touchscreen and digital assistant comes from a crystal glass. So even the noise that accompanies a turn has a connection to the people making the car.
If it’s your own music you want to listen to, the standard audio has 16 speakers and 620 watts. The optional Naim system steps up to 28 speakers and 1,780 watts, adding speakers in the front headrests, seat shakers that let occupants literally feel the sound, and Dolby Atmos 7.1.
Inside, physical controls remain on the centre console and steering wheel, alongside curved screens. Facial recognition can identify the driver and bring up their preferred seat, steering wheel and assistance settings, while a compatible phone can serve as the key. A head-up display places navigation directions and driving assistance information in the driver’s line of sight.
The four driving modes do more than alter the way the car responds: they also adjust lighting, sound, temperature, airflow and the information displayed. The choices are Bentley, comfort, sport and refresh, with comfort offering the option of hiding all but essential information for a break from screens. Sport brings a more prominent soundtrack, and refresh increases fresh-air circulation and brightens the lighting.
Standard seats come with 16-way adjustment, heating, ventilation, adjustable side supports and massage. Optional systems subtly change the seat’s shape to redistribute pressure, and adjust heating and ventilation to maintain the occupant’s chosen temperature. The Wellness Seat Specification extends the massage function to the legs as well as the back and shoulders.
A switchable-glass sunroof lets occupants adjust the light entering the cabin, while the material choices include a new wool fabric developed with Somerset weaver Fox Brothers. The challenge was making it durable enough for a car interior. Bentley says the result is the world’s first 100 per cent Merino wool automotive fabric and the first automotive wool fabric certified to the Responsible Wool Standard.
There’s a new use for walnut offcuts, too. Mulliner’s ombré walnut finish combines up to 1,000 layers of wood and recycled paper, pressed together and sliced to less than 1mm thick. Buyers can also choose patterned aluminium, while the wider selection includes 15 leather colours, 15 matching Dinamica shades and five wool colours.
The standard Torcal gets satin silver exterior trim and walnut inside. The S takes a darker route with black trim and mirror caps, dark rear lights and black Bentley badges, plus red brake calipers, a rear diffuser and sportier sills. Inside, there’s piano black trim, dedicated quilting and stitching, sports pedals, illuminated door sill plates and a moving waterfall effect from the mood lighting.
Martin Page, the Torcal’s product line director, said: “The Torcal represents something new, and I think unique. It has been engineered with great care to ensure it remains a Bentley to its core, enhanced rather than dominated by technology – from luxury, to refinement and effortless performance – the Torcal has taken the elements that define a Bentley to extraordinary new levels.”
The Torcal will be built at Bentley’s Crewe home, where it was also designed and engineered, with suppliers across the UK involved in the project. UK prices are expected to start at just over £173,300 for the Torcal and £200,000 for the Torcal S with first deliveries expected in the second quarter of 2027.
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