Bentley’s first fully electric car now has a name. It is called the Torcal, with the full reveal set for Sept 23 in London.
The Torcal becomes Bentley’s fourth model line, joining the Continental GT, Flying Spur and Bentayga.
Bentley has not released the final technical details yet, but this is no low-slung grand tourer. The company had previously described its first battery-electric model as a “Luxury Urban SUV”, and the Torcal is expected to sit below the Bentayga in size.
The name follows Bentley’s habit of borrowing from dramatic natural places. Torcal refers to El Torcal de Antequera in Andalusia, Spain, a limestone landscape known for its outcrops, cliff faces and maze-like rock formations.
There is a motoring link too. Torcal traces back to the Latin “torquere”, meaning to twist, the same root behind the word torque.
Bentley chairman and CEO Dr Frank-Steffen Walliser said the Torcal would carry the brand’s mix of performance, comfort and British craftsmanship into its electric era.
For now, Bentley is keeping the powertrain under wraps. That has not stopped reports from linking the Torcal to Volkswagen Group’s Premium Platform Electric hardware and the upcoming Porsche Cayenne Electric.
If that link is accurate, it would point to dual-motor all-wheel drive, an 800-volt electrical system and very fast DC charging.
Porsche’s own Cayenne Electric supports up to 390kW charging, and up to 400kW under specific conditions, but Bentley has not confirmed whether the Torcal will match those figures.
The Torcal is also expected to be smaller than the Bentayga. Earlier Bentley guidance placed its first EV at under five metres long, while third-party reports point to more than 300 miles of range, or more than 483km.
That would put the Torcal in the luxury electric SUV space, but not quite in the same mould as the Bentayga.
