Bentley reveals Torcal electric SUV

BENTLEY has unveiled the Torcal, its first fully electric model and the fourth model line in the brand’s history, revealed globally in London and marking what the company describes as a template for future Bentleys regardless of powertrain.

Designed, engineered and built at Crewe using a network of UK suppliers, the Torcal is a five-metre SUV built on shared underpinnings with the Porsche Cayenne Electric, though Bentley stresses every system – brake, accelerator, and steering feel included, has been independently calibrated to suit the brand’s own ethos of “accessible performance without absurdity”.

Bentley Chairman and CEO Dr Frank-Steffen Walliser called it one of the best Bentleys the company has produced.

“The Torcal is a Bentley first and foremost, created by hand by people who care, using the best available materials and technology to blend heritage with cutting-edge innovation,” he said.

The Torcal launches in two forms – a core model producing 604kW and 1194Nm, capable of 0-100km/h in 3.4 seconds and a 250km/h top speed, and the more potent Torcal S First Edition, which lifts outputs to 653kW and 1350Nm with Launch Control engaged – the highest torque figure of any Bentley ever built.

The S cuts the 0-100km/h sprint to 2.9 seconds and reaches 260km/h, making it the fastest-accelerating production Bentley in the company’s history.

Both use a pair of permanent magnet synchronous motors, dry-sump and oil-filled for life, with an open front differential and a locking rear differential using a multi-plate clutch on each output shaft.

Power comes from a 113kWh (net) battery built from 192 lithium-ion pouch cells running at 800V nominal, covered by a 10-year/100,000-mile warranty.

Bentley quotes up to 600km of WLTP range, with a 10-80 per cent charge taking around 16 minutes at 400kW, enough to add roughly 160km of range in seven minutes.

Despite the numbers, Bentley says outright acceleration wasn’t the primary goal, with engineers deliberately avoiding even quicker acceleration in the belief that most customers find more extreme acceleration uncomfortable rather than enjoyable.

Led by design director Robin Page, the Torcal introduces a new design language while retaining Bentley’s core identity, described internally through four “reads” – proportion, graphics, surface language, and detail.

A long wheelbase, short overhangs and an “endless bonnet” establish presence, while an illuminated diamond-pattern grille and reworked lighting nod to past models including the Continental T.

At the rear, clean, uncluttered graphics create what Bentley calls a “prestigious shield,” a theme first explored on the EXP 15 concept.

Measuring 4983mm long, 2016mm wide and 1674mm tall, the Torcal is 161mm shorter than the Bentayga, with a lower, more streamlined stance. It’s also the first production Bentley to wear the brand’s redesigned, more rounded emblem

Underneath, the Torcal debuts fully active suspension for the first time on a Bentley, paired with adaptive two-valve dampers capable of raising or lowering independently at each corner in real time, a system Bentley says removes the need for anti-roll bars entirely, using the dampers to generate infinitely variable anti-roll torque instead.

Standard electronic all-wheel steering, with up to five degrees of rear-axle angle, trims the turning circle to a claimed 11.1 metres.

Braking uses 420mm front and 370mm rear iron discs as standard, with an optional carbon-silicon-carbide ceramic setup stepping up to 440mm fronts – tied for the largest disc size in the world, and 410mm rears.

Bentley claims the Torcal spans as comfortable as a Flying Spur and as dynamic as a Continental GT Speed, accessed via four selectable “Experience Modes” – Bentley, Comfort, Sport, and Refresh, that adjust lighting, climate, airflow, sound, and digital information to suit different moods.

Rather than simply synthesising or amplifying an engine note, Bentley’s UX team worked with real musicians using drums, viola, and bass guitar to build what it calls the Bentley Dynamic Symphony, designed around the rhythm of the brand’s V8 rather than attempting a literal recreation of it.

The sound responds dynamically to torque demand and speed, gets more prominent in Sport mode, and can be switched off entirely.

“The other sounds out there, they didn’t quite suit our brand and what people know and love about our cars,” said Bentley UX specialist Ian Briggs.

“So we took inspiration from our V8… we wanted to have a lot of bass tones. We also looked at the rhythm – with the V8 you have a very particular rhythm as the cylinders fire.”

Other cabin sounds carry similar attention to detail. The indicator click is sampled from a hammer striking leather in Bentley’s own trim shop, while the touchscreen and digital assistant tones are based on the sound of a crystal glass.

The Torcal introduces several industry-first trims. Developed with Somerset weaver Fox Brothers, its interior offers the world’s first 100 per cent Merino wool automotive fabric, and the first wool of its kind certified under the Responsible Wool Standard.

A new Ombré Walnut veneer from Mulliner is built from up to 1000 layers of sustainably sourced walnut off-cuts and recycled paper pressed together and sliced to under a millimetre thick, while a Sunburst Aluminium finish reinterprets the engine-turned aluminium dashboards of earlier Bentleys.

Buyers get access to 15 shades of olive tan leather (including new Teal, Terra, and Glaze hues), 15 matching Dinamica options, merino wool in five colours, six wood veneers, and six piano finishes.

Standard seats offer 16-way adjustment, heating, ventilation, adjustable bolsters and massage, with Bentley’s Postural Adjust and Smart Seat Climate systems available as options, and a dedicated Wellness Seat specification extending massage into the seat cushion.

The three-seat rear bench gets power-fold functionality for the first time in a Bentley.

Around 25 radars, sensors and cameras support an advanced driver-assist suite, including a system that can automatically reverse the car along a previously mapped path if an obstacle blocks a narrow road, plus towing, garage and parallel-parking assistance, and remote parking via app.

Four radar-controlled doors open and close automatically, with closing triggered by fastening a seatbelt, a touchscreen prompt, or the driver simply pressing the brake pedal.

Curved OLED displays, facial recognition for automatically loading driver preferences, a phone-based digital key, and an augmented-reality head-up display round out the cabin tech.

Audio starts with a 620W, 16-speaker system, with an optional 1780W, 28-speaker Naim setup adding seat shakers, headrest speakers and Dolby Atmos 7.1.

Practicality hasn’t been ignored either exemplified in boot space that totals 460 litres, plus a 90-litre front storage compartment, with towing capacity rated at 2700kg.

Customers can begin specifying a Torcal from 23 September 2026, with production starting in the second quarter of 2027 at a newly restored, multi-billion-pound production facility at Crewe dating back to 1938.

UK pricing starts from around £165,000 for the standard Torcal or roughly $A310,000 at current exchange rates, though industry pricing patterns suggest a locally landed price closer to $370,000 once Australian taxes and margins are applied.

Firm Australian delivery timing hasn’t been locked in, though the first examples are understood to be earmarked for local arrival before the end of 2027.