After 107 years of combustion, Bentley has gone electric. The 2028 Torcal — the brand’s first production EV — arrives as a large, performance-oriented SUV slotting below the Bentayga, wrapping merino wool and hand-finished leather around a Volkswagen Group platform it shares with the Porsche Cayenne Electric. The numbers are spectacular. The tension is real. Whether the cabin justifies the price is the only question that matters.
Bentley Claims 876 Horsepower, a 2.8-Second Sprint, and One Very Familiar Chassis
The performance case is easy to make — the platform question is considerably harder to dismiss.
The standard Torcal produces approximately 810 horsepower and 881 pound-feet of torque via dual-motor all-wheel drive. The Torcal S pushes that to roughly 876 horsepower and 996 pound-feet, with Bentley claiming a 0–60 mph time of 2.8 seconds — though some outlets report 2.9 seconds, and no independent production-car test has confirmed either figure. Both variants ride on an 800-volt architecture with a 113-kWh gross battery pack (approximately 108 kWh usable), a NACS charging port for U.S. buyers, and a claimed 10-to-80-percent charge in roughly 16 minutes on a 400-kW DC fast charger under suitable conditions. Expected U.S. range sits at 300 to 320 miles, pending EPA certification — European WLTP figures of around 375 miles don’t translate directly.
Key specs at a glance:
- Powertrain: Dual-motor AWD; ~810 hp standard / ~876 hp (Torcal S); 0–60 mph in a claimed 2.8 sec (Torcal S)
- Battery/charging: 113-kWh gross pack (~108 kWh usable); 800V system; NACS port; claimed 10–80% in ~16 min at 400 kW
- Expected U.S. range: 300–320 miles (EPA certification pending)
- Pricing: Estimated below $230,000 by some reports, though others place the base closer to $250,000; final U.S. figures are not confirmed
When Your EV Shares Architecture With a Porsche, the Cabin Better Earn Its Keep
Bentley’s answer to the platform question is craft — and one genuinely unusual speaker decision.
At just over 16 feet long and with a roofline two inches lower than the Bentayga, the Torcal reads as broader and more muscular than its sibling. An illuminated diamond-pattern grille, rear haunches inspired by the EXP 15 concept, and a redesigned Bentley emblem — a first for any production model — give it a visual identity that reads as distinctly its own. The Torcal S adds black exterior trim and 22-inch wheels; the standard model runs on 21-inch wheels.
Inside, the wing-shaped dashboard retains physical knobs and buttons alongside a curved OLED touchscreen and diamond-pattern switchgear. A 28-speaker Naim audio system, automotive-grade 100% merino wool, and 16-way power-adjustable front seats with heating, ventilation, and massage functions set the interior’s register. Bentley says it deliberately omitted a passenger-facing screen, arguing that handcrafted materials deliver more value than another display. That reads as either a principled design stance or willful stubbornness, depending on your appetite for luxury-brand philosophy.
Active suspension, rear-axle steering, and optional 17.1-inch carbon-silicon-carbide front brakes round out a chassis that is, by any measure, serious hardware.
Then there is the external sound. A rear-mounted speaker broadcasts a synthetic, drum-based engine note to bystanders — recorded from natural sources, neither a fake V-8 nor a sci-fi warble. It is either inspired or deeply peculiar, and possibly both.
The Volkswagen Group platform underneath brings proven 800-volt charging capability and benchmark dynamics. That is genuinely valuable. But it also means the Torcal’s entire premium rests on what Bentley builds above the floorpan. At an estimated price somewhere north of $200,000, the merino wool, the badge, and the handwork are not decorative. They are the argument.
