Bentley named its first electric car. It’s the Torcal.
The big reveal lands on 23 September in London. But the name? That’s the story for today. It honors El Torcal de Antequera, a limestone formation in Andalusia, Spain. Bentley likes naming things after landscapes. Remember the Bentayga? The Batur? This fits right in. There is a cheeky layer too. The name echoes the Latin verb torquere. It means “to twist.”
Sound familiar.
The word ‘torque’ comes from there.
This isn’t just a concept anymore. It’s real. The EXP 15 showed the world the design language last year. Now, it is being finished for production. It sits below the Bentayga in size but shares its silhouette. It feels similar yet totally different. The front gets vertical LED quad headlights. A lit-up grille panel stares back at you. At the rear? Look for the “prestigious shield”. It mimics luggage carriers from vintage tourers. Old soul in a new body.
Why rush out an SUV now.
Demand for expensive electric cars dropped last year. Bentley paused. They scrapped the goal of going all-electric by 2040? No. 2030. That date is dead. Now the plan changes. They will launch a PHEV or a pure EV every single year until 2045? Wait. 2035. That’s the new timeline.
The gas-guzzling V8 Bentayga isn’t going away. Not yet. It stays on sale. A new combustion version comes in 2028. Bentley wants choice. Multi-powertrain means exactly what it sounds like. You can buy petrol or you can buy electrons. No judgment from the brand. Just inventory.
Porsche, Aston Martin, Lotus. Lamborghini. They all slowed down. The electric transition got muddy. Bentley waited. Now they are first. First in this specific price bracket, anyway. The Torcal is a luxury SUV focused on “everyday usability”. It’s meant to be driven. Not just looked at in a gallery.
The final testing is wrapping up. Weeks away from the red carpet. The design sets the tone for everything coming out of Crewe next. It’s a pivot point. The question remains whether “usability” can save the EV boom when everyone else is hesitating.
Maybe that hesitation is the point.
