Bentley has a The name of its first electric car: Torcal. The British marque confirmed this today, alongside a teaser photo of the rear EV, promising a full reveal on 23 September 2026. More important than the name, however, is the fact that this is Bentley’s first fully electric car. Details are thin on the ground until an official reveal, however Bentley is determined to let the 5-foot long SUV have a range of more than 300 miles.
The name Torcal was already on the radar of Bentley watchers. Earlier this year, a trademark filing showed that Bentley registered both “Torcal” and “Barnato” in Europe and the UK, filing a lawsuit against vehicles including electric cars, charging cables, and charging stations. Barnato, a nod to 1920s Bentley racing driver Woolf Barnato, was considered a front-runner. Bentley went the other way.
Like the Bentayga and other Bentleys before it, the Torcal name comes from a historic site, El Torcal de Antequera in Andalusia, Spain, a limestone quarry. Simply put, Torcal also has automatic meanings, as it is derived from the Latin language torquemeaning to twist, which is where the word torque, which describes rotational force, comes from.
First Look
WIRED was invited to a private unveiling of Torcal, near Bentley’s UK headquarters. Although most of the information that was given that day can’t be shared yet, I can say that this new electric SUV is similar to the Bentayga, in that the lineage between the two is obvious. The Torcal is slightly smaller, has the signature long hood and stands out in the front. Bentley’s typical haunches behind the wheel arches are included, of course, but perhaps not as well resolved as on the Bentayga.
Still, it’s an attractive, powerful and purposeful SUV, with an adjustable glass sunroof and new light clusters. You can see how the rear lights differ from the Bentayga in the funny photo – from the usual oval shape to a clean line. However, unlike the Bentayga, the rear line drops to the ground, which has become commonplace in electric vehicle design as it means less drag and increased width.
At the front, perhaps the most striking visual element of the Torcal is the new grille: the radiator air intake is replaced by a solid wall of illuminated crystals with a design clearly influenced by the face of the Continental T. It is a bold touch that is deliberately ambiguous, far from the movement towards quiet elegance.
Once inside, thanks to the all-round power doors, it’s nice to see that Bentley’s designers got the message about the switchgear right. Buttons for important functions are mixed with OLED screens. The central display curves pleasingly downwards in the same manner as that of the new Cayenne. It’s interesting that Bentley hasn’t followed other high-end manufacturers in offering a separate screen for the passengers, and I’m sure there won’t be an option for this.
Graveyard Spirit Drives In
Bentley chairman and CEO Frank-Steffen Walliser calls the Torcal “the most thought-out car” in Bentley’s history, and it should be. Whatever the final details of the EV, it comes at what may be the worst time yet to sell a premium electric car.
Lamborghini discontinued its electric Lanzador GT this year after concluding, according to CEO Stephan Winkelmann, that demand among its buyers was “almost zero, if not zero.” Ferrari’s first EV, the Luce, wiped billions off the company’s market value within hours of its unveiling in Rome, and Ferrari has now brought back its second electric model for 2028.
