Bentley's first electric car, the Torcal, will be revealed in the coming weeks as a luxury SUV that majors on "everyday usability". It will also introduce a radical new design language that sets the tone for the Crewe firm's future models.
The new model, which is in the final stages of testing ahead of its unveiling on 23 September in London, will effectively be a production-ready interpretation of the EXP 15 concept that Bentley revealed last year as a showcase of its new-era design language.
Like the Bentayga, Bacalar and Batur, the Torcal is named after a natural landmark, in this case El Torcal de Antequera, a limestone rock landscape in Andalusia, Spain. The moniker is also a nod to the Latin verb 'torquere', which means to twist and is the origin of the word 'torque'.
The 5m-long SUV will sit below the Bentayga in Bentley's line-up. Defining features that were previewed on the earlier show car include a striking illuminated grille panel, new-look vertical LED quad headlights and - as the first official preview image reveals – the so-called "prestigious shield" at the rear, which is modelled on the luggage carriers fitted to vintage Bentley tourers.
While it's similar in silhouette to Bentley's existing SUV and not significantly smaller, the Torcal is wholly distinct in its design. It is not intended as a replacement for the V8-powered Bentayga, which will remain on sale and gain a new combustion-powered generation in 2028, in line with Bentley's strategy of offering a multi-powertrain offering globally.
The Torcal was originally scheduled to make its market debut last year but was pushed back in light of weak demand for electric luxury cars. The other EVs that were due to follow it have been similarly delayed, with Bentley scrapping its earlier plan to go all-electric by 2030.
The firm will now instead launch a new plug-in hybrid or pure-electric model each year until 2035. Rival brands including Aston Martin, Porsche, Lotus and Lamborghini have also slowed their EV transition plans and now Bentley will be first to market with an EV in this price bracket.
The Torcal is expected to go on sale from around £170,000 - roughly halfway between the likes of premium propositions including the BMW iX and Volvo EX90, and full-blown ultra-luxury models like the Rolls-Royce Spectre and Ferrari Luce. Its closest rival will be the new electric Range Rover. Bentley believes now is the right time to launch its first electric car, despite the market uncertainty. It claims the new SUV will be "the right car in the right environment more of the time", touting day-to-day practicality as one of its defining attributes.
