There’s theatre from standstill.
The Bentley Torcal’s passenger door automatically opens, then once I’m settled into the luxurious leather chair, it gently closes at the tap of a button.
Such extravagance is expected. Bentley needs to make a deep impression with its debut electric car, and that requires elegance, luxury, innovation, big numbers and, clearly, a healthy dose of soul.
That last part’s an issue. A mighty one.
Bentley buyers are used to the senses-tingling delights of a sonorous V8 or W12, and that just ain’t happening in an electric car.
Or is it?
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A few weeks ahead of the Torcal’s reveal, Bentley gave me a teasing sample of its new five-seat SUV. Just a passenger ride in a heavily camouflaged version around the expensive streets of Monterey in California; but ample to experience the ride quality and, imperatively, the sound.
That includes harnessing the sound of a real Bentley V8, a drummer, and a unique orchestral soundtrack creating a “handcrafted soundscape” that builds with throttle squeeze, and intensifies through different drive modes.
Before digging deeper into that, this week Bentley’s finally shown the new Torcal sans camouflage, and shared details of its specifications and luxury.
First, the price. In the UK it starts from £173,330, or $326,500 in our money. If Bentley can bring it here for close to that, it’ll be the cheapest way into the brand: the combustion Bentayga SUV can’t be had for under $400,000.
The styling’s attracted polarising opinions, and it’s absolutely an imposing big thing. Lower slung (for an SUV), long-of-bonnet and slightly shorter than the giant Bentayga (but still long at just on five-metres), the face is dominated by 76 individual crystals (which light up, naturally) in a whopping front grille, bookended by vertical lines in the headlight clusters.
There are huge 22-inch wheels, while inside is sumptuous leather, wood veneers and 100 per cent Merino wool fabric trim, plus a curved infotainment screen.
A brace of electric motors offer 604kW and 1194Nm, with 100km/h up in only 3.4 seconds. But that’s the base Torcal.
An ‘S’ grade has 653kW and 1350Nm, giving a sub-3 second 0-100km/h sprint, despite a kerb weight of 2795kg. That’s Porsche 911 Turbo S quick, and makes this Bentley’s most powerful ever model.
Speaking of Porsche, the Torcal shares its EV platform and 113kWh battery with the just-launched Cayenne Electric. That means range up to 600km and mighty 400kW DC charge speed. We’re promised it’ll add 400km driving range in 15 minutes, with the right ultra-rapid charger.
Bentley’s done its own work on the two-valve damper active suspension system. It’s Bentley’s first ever fully active suspension, and promises a different chassis tune for each drive mode, including the expected ‘magic carpet’ ride befitting the badge.
Like the Cayenne, independent control for each damper negates the need for anti-roll bars, using the reactive dampers “to provide infinitely adjustable anti-roll torque.” They’ve bunged on all-wheel-steering as standard too.
It sounds a lot of hyperbole, but from my passenger seat, the result felt impressive indeed. Although I’ll caveat that with it being under Bentley-controlled conditions.
From my backside, the Torcal felt sumptuously wafty with sublime control over road hits, and in Comfort mode when there was not a peep of false sound, it was limo-like in its cosseting, smoothness and silence.
Speed comes incredibly easily, and on the few corners we sampled, the body control was exceptional. It’s a blissful way to travel.
But you can add more immersion and emotion, thanks to what Bentley’s done to the soundtrack. “Fake” engine sounds are controversial indeed, but increasingly, it’s obvious much of the market (and car journalists) feel it’s absolutely required. And please, don’t make it tacky.
“We went through what are the key pillars of Bentley DNA, and we see emotion being a really important part of the overall proposition,” Torcal product line boss Martin Page told me.
“We talked about how you create emotion in an EV, and we concluded the sound profile that was most clearly Bentley was that of a heritage V8.” For Torcal, the inspiration for the propulsion sound was the long-serving V8 in the Continental Turbo R.
On start up, I feel a little joyous buzz as there’s a subtle thrum coming from speakers, cleverly from behind as if from a proper exhaust pipe. It’s pretty authentic-sounding to my ears.
This is the Torcal’s “sonic identity” to “echo the character and presence of Bentley’s iconic V8”. In its studio sound tests, the audiophiles showed rhythm rather than pure mechanical tone was key to emotional appeal.
Bentley recorded and analysed a real V8 in a studio, then used parabolic speakers playing the bent-eight on one side while a live drummer performed on the other.
Interestingly, a key characteristic of both a V8 and a human drummer is subtle variations and tiny imperfections.
So these very human acoustic patterns of “not quite perfect” have been left in for the Torcal’s notes, because our ears like it.
It’s projected through the car’s surround sound speakers, and pleasingly builds as we speed up. It’s altogether convincing, but even in its sportiest mode, I’d like it to be even louder.
Much like the Hyundai Ioniq 5N, I know it’s a “false” sound, but I much prefer it to silence, zooming or an over-electronic whoosh. There’s simply more soul and engagement, and I soon forget its fakery.
Mine was a very brief experience, but importantly, I was left wanting more. The Torcal is not a boring car: there’s more emotional involvement than in the vast bulk of EVs.
Bentley knows how important it is to get this car right, and its efforts to prove electric cars can still have soul are commendable.
Whether brand loyalists will pick one over its combustion offerings will be intriguing to see; but no doubt some Bentley V8 customers will choose the Torcal to have alongside a Flying B petrol guzzler.
The Brit brand is a latecomer to the EV party, but you’d think an electrified, massive and luxo Bentley’s an easier sell than a Porsche, Aston Martin, Lamborghini or Ferrari EV.
Torcal production will start in the UK from early 2027. Australian delivery times, specifications and prices will hopefully soon be known.
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