Bentley has taken perhaps its biggest step into the electric era with the all-new Torcal, a five-metre luxury SUV that becomes the marque’s fourth model line and its first fully electric production car. Designed, engineered and built in Crewe, the Torcal launches in two forms, with up to 888 PS, 1,350 Nm and a claimed WLTP range of 600 kilometres.
Underneath, however, the Torcal is not starting from a blank sheet. It is based on the Volkswagen Group’s Premium Platform Electric architecture and shares significant technology with the Porsche Cayenne Electric, including its 800-volt electrical architecture and 113 kWh battery containing 192 pouch cells. The Cayenne Electric itself uses an evolved version of PPE.
The task for Bentley has therefore been one of ‘Bentleyfication’. The Torcal uses technology related to Porsche’s Active Ride chassis, but with brand-specific tuning. Fully active suspension appears on a Bentley for the first time, using independently controlled dampers to manage ride and roll without conventional anti-roll bars. Rear-wheel steering is standard, with up to five degrees of movement reducing the turning circle to 11.1 metres. Early driving reports indicate that Bentley has even altered the hydraulic characteristics of the dampers to create a broader distinction between driving modes than in the related Porsche.
The headline performance comes from the Torcal S. Its two permanent-magnet synchronous motors produce 888 PS and 1,350 Nm with Launch Control, delivering 0-100 km/h in 2.9 seconds and a 260 km/h top speed. The standard Torcal produces 821 PS and 1,194 Nm, reaches 100 km/h in 3.4 seconds and tops out at 250 km/h.
Despite weighing around 2.7 tonnes according to the prototype report, range is quoted at up to 600 km. DC charging peaks at a substantial 400 kW, with Bentley claiming 10-80 per cent in as little as 16 minutes and around 161 kilometres of additional range in seven minutes.
The Porsche relationship even has an echo inside. The Cayenne Electric introduced Porsche’s curved OLED ‘Flow Display’, which sweeps down into the centre console, while the Torcal also employs curved OLED technology. The two are not presented as identical systems, and Bentley describes its screens as unique to the brand, but the family resemblance in the underlying digital philosophy is difficult to miss. Crucially, Bentley has resisted making the cabin entirely touchscreen-led, retaining knurled physical controls for functions occupants naturally want to operate by touch. Bentley has also made a point of not integrating a passenger screen as this is not consistent with the Bentley passenger experience.
There are more traditional Bentley touches too. New materials include the automotive industry’s first certified 100 per cent Merino wool fabric, while Mulliner offers Ombré Walnut made using sustainably sourced walnut offcuts and recycled craft paper. The standard seats have 16-way adjustment, heating, ventilation and massage, while the rear bench gains power folding for the first time in a Bentley.
Even the absence of a combustion engine has received unusual attention. Rather than simply synthesising a V8 soundtrack, Bentley worked with musicians using drums, viola and bass guitar to create its ‘Dynamic Symphony’, taking inspiration from the rhythm of the marque’s 6¾-litre V8. The sound responds to speed and torque demand, becomes louder in Sport mode and can be switched off completely.
The Torcal is therefore far more significant than merely being Bentley’s first EV. Much of the advanced electrical and chassis hardware has family connections to the Cayenne Electric, but Bentley’s job has been to make the result feel unmistakably like something from Crewe. With 888 PS, 600 km of range and perhaps the most sophisticated chassis technology the marque has yet deployed, we will soon discover how successful that ‘Bentleyfication’ has been.
