Bentley Torcal Explained: Specs, Range and Rivals for Bentley's First Electric SUV

The Torcal is Bentley's fourth model line, joining the Continental GT, Flying Spur and Bentayga. Bentley announced the name on 6 July 2026 and showed the finished car in London on 23 September. The name comes from El Torcal de Antequera, a limestone landscape in Andalusia, and Bentley also ties it to the Latin root of the word torque.

It's an SUV, but a smaller one than the Bentayga. At about five metres long it's the shortest four-door car in Bentley's current range. Underneath sits the Volkswagen Group's PPE platform and the same 800-volt architecture used by the electric Porsche Cayenne. Bentley says the car is designed, engineered and built in Crewe, where the company adapted its historic A1 building for electric assembly.

Don't read the Cayenne link as a badge job. Bentley has its own body, interior, software layer and chassis tuning, and it's pitching the Torcal to buyers who want a Bentley first and an EV second.

There are two versions, and both use two permanent magnet synchronous motors, one on each axle, for all-wheel drive. The rear motor gets a limited-slip differential.

The standard Torcal makes 604 kW (821 PS, or 810 hp) and 1,194 Nm. Bentley quotes 0 to 100 km/h in 3.4 seconds and a top speed of 250 km/h (155 mph). The Torcal S raises that to 653 kW (888 PS, or 876 hp) and 1,350 Nm with launch control engaged, which cuts 0 to 100 km/h to 2.9 seconds and lifts top speed to 260 km/h (162 mph).

You'll see 876 hp and 888 PS quoted for the same car. Neither is wrong; one is metric horsepower and the other is the US figure.

The battery is a 113 kWh pack built from 192 lithium-ion pouch cells running at 800 volts. That's the same capacity Porsche uses in the Cayenne Electric. Bentley claims up to 600 km (about 375 miles) on the WLTP cycle, but type-approval data was still pending at the reveal, so treat that as a target. EPA figures for the US haven't been published, and Motor1 reports that Bentley expects more than 300 miles on the US test.

Peak DC charging is 400 kW. Bentley says about 100 miles of range can go back in roughly seven minutes. For a 10 to 80 percent top-up, the headline figure is 16 minutes, though Bentley's own release text says just under 20 minutes, so plan on something in that window on a charger that can actually deliver 400 kW. Few public chargers can, which matters more than the brochure number.

The battery carries a 10-year, 100,000-mile warranty. For a car that will spend most of its life with second and third owners, that's the most important number on the spec sheet.

This is where the Torcal earns its price. It's the first Bentley with fully active suspension, which can raise or lower each corner independently. There are no conventional anti-roll bars; the active system handles body roll instead. Adaptive dual-valve dampers and electronic all-wheel steering are standard, and the steering gives the car an 11.1 m turning circle.

Steel brakes are standard. A carbon-ceramic (CSiC) system is optional, and it's worth weighing that choice carefully. Electric cars do much of their slowing through regeneration, so the friction brakes see less heat but more time sitting idle, and steel discs on a lightly used EV can pick up surface corrosion.

Wheels are 21 inches on the Torcal and 22 inches on the Torcal S, with more 22-inch designs on the options list. There are four drive modes: Bentley, Comfort, Sport and a new Refresh setting. Practicality is reasonable rather than generous, with 460 litres in the boot and a 90-litre front compartment.

This is the comparison most buyers will make, because the two cars share a platform and a battery. Porsche's Cayenne Turbo Electric is far stronger on paper: electrive lists it at 850 kW and 1,500 Nm, with 0 to 100 km/h in 2.5 seconds and 623 km of WLTP range. Motor1 puts its output at 1,139 hp. The Torcal sits above the Cayenne S Electric but below the Turbo.

So the Torcal isn't trying to win a drag race against its sibling. It's selling a different cabin: Merino wool upholstery developed with Fox Brothers, an ombré walnut veneer made from off-cuts and recycled paper, physical controls kept on the console and wheel, four powered doors and an optional 28-speaker, 1,780 W Naim audio system. There's also a synthesized sound, which Bentley calls Dynamic Symphony, built from recorded drums, viola and bass guitar. You can switch it off.

In our view that's the right call. A Bentley buyer has never chosen the car for its lap time, and the Torcal leans into ride quality and materials instead of chasing four-figure horsepower.

Bentley didn't put a price in its reveal material. UK reports put the Torcal at roughly £165,000 to £173,300 and the Torcal S at about £200,000. Motor1 notes that the base car lands near a Bentayga before options. US pricing and the exact on-sale date hadn't been announced at the reveal; reports point to production starting at Crewe and first deliveries during 2027.

The bigger picture is that Bentley has softened its EV plan. It originally aimed for an all-electric range by 2030, then moved that to 2035, and has since dropped a fixed end date for combustion engines. Hybrids will stay in the range. The Torcal is the first step into full electrification, not a sign the V8s are leaving soon.

Servicing an EV like this is about different things than a V8 Bentayga. Expect checks of the high-voltage system, coolant for the battery and motors, brake fluid, cabin filters, tires and the active suspension hardware rather than oil and plugs. Ask any shop whether it has high-voltage training and the diagnostic access to read Bentley and Volkswagen Group software, because much of the car's behavior lives there.

Tires deserve attention. A heavy, powerful electric SUV on 22-inch wheels wears rubber quickly, and the active suspension and rear steer make alignment more sensitive. And if the car will sit for long periods, ask about storage charge levels and how the 12-volt system is maintained, so the battery warranty stays as useful as it looks.