Bentley's first EV costs £173k and plays you strings

Bentley has revealed the Torcal, its first fully electric car. The SUV was unveiled in London on 23 September, is designed and built in Crewe, and starts at £173,300. It's the most powerful Bentley ever made, and it arrives just as several of its luxury rivals are quietly backing away from electric cars.

It's surprising to us how positive the feedback is.
— Frank-Steffen Walliser, chairman and CEO, Bentley

Crewe's most powerful car is a battery car

There are two versions. The standard Torcal has 821PS and does 0 to 60mph in 3.3 seconds. The Torcal S, at £199,300, has 888PS and does it in 2.8 seconds. Both use a 113kWh battery on an 800-volt system, with a claimed range of up to 375 miles on the official WLTP test.

Charging peaks at 400kW. Bentley says that's enough to add 100 miles in about seven minutes, or go from 10% to 80% in around 20 minutes on a fast enough charger. The battery comes with a 10-year or 100,000-mile warranty. Underneath is the Volkswagen Group's PPE electric platform, which it shares with the new electric Porsche Cayenne.

Top Gear reports that first deliveries are due in summer 2027.

A lot of technology, some of it quite odd

This is a tech-heavy car even by luxury standards. Here's some of what Bentley says is on board:

• 25 radars, sensors and cameras for driver assistance
• curved OLED screens and an augmented reality head-up display, which overlays information on the view of the road ahead
• facial recognition to load the driver's settings, and a phone that works as the key
• fully active suspension and rear-wheel steering, giving an 11.1-metre turning circle
• four radar-controlled powered doors that close automatically

Then there's the sound. Instead of a fake engine noise, the "Bentley Dynamic Symphony" is built from live recordings of real instruments, including drums, viola and bass guitar, and responds to how hard you accelerate. Top Gear adds that the voice assistant announces itself with the sound of someone blowing across a crystal glass. There's also a "Detox" button to shrink the centre screen, which may be the most useful feature of all.

Late, and against the grain

The Torcal was originally meant to arrive in 2025. According to reporting carried by Yahoo Finance, Bentley pushed it back as demand for luxury EVs softened, and Walliser has moved the company's target for going fully electric from 2030 to 2035. Its other three model lines will keep hybrid engines.

The same report notes that Lamborghini, Bentley's sister brand, says customer demand for EVs is close to zero and it will focus on hybrids. Ferrari has pressed ahead with its Luce EV, at more than $640,000 in the US.

Here's Ada's take. The engineering sounds impressive, but a 375-mile range from a 113kWh battery is solid rather than spectacular. The real test is whether people who buy Bentleys for the smooth power of a big engine will accept the quiet version, with a string section piped in to make up for it. Walliser told Quartz the Torcal "sits also from the price band at the entry level for Bentley", which suggests the company hopes it will also bring in new buyers.

What it means for the UK

This is a British-built EV at a time when UK car manufacturing needs good news. Quartz reports that Bentley has invested £350 million in its Crewe site, where the Torcal was designed and is built. If it sells, it helps secure skilled jobs in Cheshire and the UK suppliers behind them. If it flops, it becomes an expensive argument for the hybrid-forever camp.

To be fair to Bentley

Bentley hasn't bet the company on this. It has delayed rather than rushed, kept hybrids in the range, and given itself until 2035. The battery warranty is generous, and Top Gear reports Bentley claims the battery keeps 90% of its capacity after 100,000 miles. For a brand whose older cars often become pricey used buys, that could matter a lot to second owners.

Mind the hype. The first electric Bentley still needs a string section to feel like a Bentley.

Sources: Bentley, PistonHeads, Top Gear, electrive, Electrek, Yahoo Finance, Quartz