For over a century, we've seen different phases of the Bentley story. The first cars in the 1920s were high-performance long-distance cruisers. The Bentley Boys were famous in this time for their racing victories. Bentley also secured multiple victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Then came the shift in the 1930s. Under the acquisition of Rolls-Royce, Bentley became a full-fledged luxury brand that still offered speed along with a comfortable and luxurious cabin.

In the modern era, under the ownership of Volkswagen, Bentley is a high-end luxury performance manufacturer. The W12 would also become one of the defining engines of the modern Bentley era. The Continental GT Coupe, stately Mulsanne, and Bentayga SUV all carry the Bentley ethos perfectly in different packages. But a new era of Bentley is upon us, and it is one that does not have the W12 anymore. So Bentley created a new model to show us what its future may look like.

Bentley Had Spent Years Preparing For Its Biggest Change Yet

Bentley's transition into the electric age was never going to happen overnight. The company gradually started introducing electrification into its lineup with the Bentayga Hybrid in 2018. This allowed Bentley to introduce its customers to electrification without giving up engines. But these hybrids were only paired with V6 and V8 engines; the W12s never received the hybrid treatment.

The fully electric range of these cars was only around 30 miles, which wasn't much but gave customers a glimpse of what a fully electric Bentley would feel like. There would be no soundtrack of a powerful, torquey engine as you accelerate, which means no mechanical connection to Bentley's famous V8 or W12. So Bentley had to look beyond just making more power.

Bentley has been known for its craftsmanship and ultra-luxurious interior, along with the performance of its vehicles. So combining that world-class interior with the instant propulsion of an all-electric powertrain would definitely be a great combination. An electric motor doesn't need to build revs before producing its maximum torque. No interrupting gearshift and no turbocharger is waiting to spool.

We’ve seen Rolls-Royce do this with the Spectre. A new model in their lineup that didn't use the traditional V12 but opted for a full electric powertrain that still felt and looked like a Rolls-Royce. Bentley just did something similar but more radical.

Meet The Bentley Torcal, Bentley's First Fully Electric Car

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Bentley went electric in a big way. The Torcal is Bentley's first fully electric production model and becomes the fourth model line in the company's modern lineup, joining the Continental GT, Flying Spur and Bentayga. More importantly, this is Bentley's first all-new model in a decade. This all-new SUV gives us a glimpse into what a Bentley would look and feel like in the electric era.

The name itself is also quite interesting. Bentley took inspiration from El Torcal de Antequera, a dramatic limestone landscape in Andalusia, Spain, known for its unusual rock formations and towering natural structures. There is also a connection to the word "torque," which still connects to the twisting forces that helped shape the landscape. The name sounds appropriate for Bentley with this level of power and performance.

The Torcal Is Not Just About Being Fast

Every high-end electric car these days are stupidly fast, and this Bentley is no different. There are two variants: The standard Torcal uses two electric motors to produce 809 hp and 852 lb-ft of torque. That is enough to send the SUV from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.3 seconds, or from 0 to 100 with a top speed of 155 mph. Then Bentley went even further.

The Torcal S makes more power at 876 hp and 996 lb-ft of torque when launch control is active. It can reach 60 mph in just 2.8 seconds, with a 162-mph top speed. That makes the Torcal S the fastest and most powerful Bentley ever built. The irony here is that the car meant to usher us into Bentley’s new era also happens to be the most powerful car they’ve made, and it's an SUV. The numbers are great, but that’s not all.

Bentley's idea of performance has always been somewhat different. The previous combustion models have always been powerful and fast, but most of it has always been for effortless movement and not for speed. But the power is always there when you need it. The Torcal follows exactly that philosophy; the electric power is there for smooth and effortless performance. Bentley also made a bold statement with its looks.

The Torcal Looks Like A Bentley From The Future

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The easiest way to make a new luxury car look familiar is to give it the same face as everything that came before it. We saw that with the Bentayga, but the Torcal introduces a new design direction for the company. Its body is cleaner, more minimalist, and more box-like than the current Bentley lineup. Unlike the upright Rolls-Royce Cullinan, the Torcal has a lower, sleeker silhouette. But this is still a big boy.

At 16.4 feet long, 7.2 feet wide including the mirrors, 5.5 feet tall, and a wheelbase of 9.9 feet, the Torcal has a big footprint without the upright proportions of a traditional large luxury SUV. But the most obvious new design element is at the front. Instead of simply recreating Bentley's familiar grille, the Torcal gets what Bentley calls the Floating Diamond Grille.

It contains 76 hand-applied diamonds, which illuminate when the vehicle is unlocked. It is a very elaborate solution to a problem that every electric luxury-car designer eventually encounters: how do you create a distinctive front end when the vehicle no longer needs a conventional grille for engine cooling? Bentley has effectively turned the grille into jewelry, giving the car a presence like no other.

The Torcal's smoother and aerodynamic shape also helps it achieve a claimed drag coefficient of 0.269, allowing Bentley to improve efficiency without making the car look like other conventional EVs. This is important because the Torcal still needs to look like a Bentley while being aerodynamically efficient. The standard Torcal focuses on elegance; the Torcal S adds a little attitude to that.

Bentley gives the S darker details with all the chrome turned to black and a slightly muscular body kit, with the black finishes extending to the Bentley badges. It is a subtle difference, but one that changes the character of the vehicle. The result is one of the biggest changes in Bentley's visual identity in decades.

Bentley Gave The Torcal A Chassis To Match Its Powertrain

The Torcal weighs almost 6,200 lbs, which is a lot of weight in an SUV with 876 hp and almost 1,000 lb-ft of torque. You need a capable chassis, good brakes, and a well-tuned suspension capable of handling everything. The car uses Bentley's Active Ride system, which combines active suspension and roll control. Each wheel gets a two-valve shock absorber connected to its own electrically controlled hydraulic pump, which allows the suspension at each corner to be controlled individually.

Bentley isn't just relying on brute force; it is using technology to make that brute force manageable. The Torcal also features all-wheel steering, and at lower speeds, the rear wheels turn in the opposite direction to the fronts, reducing the turning circle to approximately 11 meters. At higher speeds, the rear wheels can steer in the same direction as the fronts, helping the vehicle feel more stable during lane changes and high-speed driving.

In the city, it can feel like a much smaller vehicle, and on the highway, it can settle into the long-legged, effortless and comfortable character expected of a Bentley. And when the road opens up, the active chassis has the hardware necessary to deal with the performance underneath.

The Battery Is Big, But Bentley Didn't Forget About Charging

The Torcal uses a big 113.2-kWh battery. Bentley quotes up to 373 miles of range, while charging from 10 to 80% at a DC fast charging station takes approximately 16 minutes. At a 350-kW charging station, Bentley says more than 150 miles of range can be added in 10 minutes. Charging is important because owning a luxury EV is not simply about having maximum range.

A range of 373 miles sounds impressive on paper, but what matters to a Bentley customer is how easily the car can fit into everyday life. If a long journey requires long charging stops, some of the effortless character Bentley is trying to preserve disappears, and fast charging helps solve that.

Bentley Had To Make An EV Feel Special From The Driver's Seat

Bentley didn't forget about the interior. This might be the most important part of the entire Torcal project. Bentley can make a powerful EV, but so can dozens of other manufacturers. But a Bentley has to feel expensive.

The cabin combines handcrafted veneers, leather, carbon fiber and Dinamica materials with curved digital displays. The front seats offer 16-way electric adjustment, heating, ventilation and massage, while the rear bench includes powered adjustment and heating for the outer seats, with ventilation available as an option. This is what we’ve come to expect in a traditional Bentley interior. But Bentley is also trying to make technology part of that atmosphere.

One of the most striking examples of this is the Dynamic Waterfall Lighting system, which uses more than 450 LEDs to create an ambient display throughout the cabin. Bentley says the lighting can even react to acceleration. The dashboard also has two screens, first is a clear digital instrument cluster, and then you have the center curved OLED screens. This is a 12.25-inch display, which is a first for Bentley, and it is bright, fast, and very responsive with vivid colors in any light.

This is a very different interpretation of luxury. Older Bentleys impressed you with wood, leather, and an enormous engine. The Torcal still has the wood and leather but also has an interior that can change around you. The car can also be equipped with a 1,780-watt, 28-speaker Naim audio system, including Dolby Atmos 7.1.4 and individually configurable sound zones. Some speakers are even integrated into the driver's headrest. And that brings us to perhaps the strangest challenge Bentley had to solve.

Bentley Didn't Want The Torcal To Be Completely Silent

Getting rid of an engine also gets rid of the sound, so Bentley created what they call Bentley Dynamic Symphony. Rather than simply generating an engine sound or the familiar fake EV whine, Bentley says the system uses sounds created from real musical instruments to carry some of the emotional character associated with its combustion-powered cars into the electric era.

That is an interesting approach because Bentley isn't trying to make an electric motor sound like a W12. It is creating a new sound, and whether enthusiasts will eventually become as emotionally attached to that sound as they were to Bentley's V8 and W12 remains to be seen. But at least Bentley understands that its sound was never merely noise. It was part of the experience.

The Torcal Is A Test Of What Bentley Becomes Next

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Saying the Torcal is Bentley's first electric car is correct, but it doesn't tell the whole story. The Torcal is also Bentley's attempt to redefine its idea of luxury. The company has taken everything that traditionally made its cars desirable—effortless performance, craftsmanship, comfort, technology and presence—and tried to rebuild those qualities around an electric vehicle.

That is why the car's headline numbers are only part of the story. Yes, the Torcal S's 876 hp and 996 lb-ft of torque make it the most powerful production Bentley ever built. And yes, a 0-to-60-mph time of 2.8 seconds for a luxury SUV is remarkable. The difficult part was making that speed feel appropriate inside a Bentley. That is where the Torcal's combination of active suspension, all-wheel steering, carefully controlled power delivery and handcrafted interior becomes important.

Bentley has also put so much emphasis on technology that doesn't necessarily show up on a spec sheet. The Torcal can assist with parking, remember the route into a garage and help with reversing out of difficult situations. Bentley has also incorporated remote functions and connected services designed to make ownership easier rather than simply filling the cabin with more technology. But this all comes at a cost.

Bentleys aren’t cheap, and its first electric vehicle won’t be either. Prices are expected to start around £173,300 in the UK, while U.S. prices are expected to start under $230,000. It has an expensive price tag, but you get everything you expected from a Bentley and more with its latest powertrain. It has everything you expect from a Bentley without a big twin-turbo engine under the hood.