Only a few days remain before Bentley Motors unveils its first-ever production EV, the Torcal midsize luxury SUV. The automaker has confirmed that the all-new 2028 Torcal will be revealed on September 23 at 19:19 local time.
The hour is obviously a nod to 1919, the year Bentley Motors was founded by Walter Owen Bentley, and it was likely chosen to highlight the importance of the Torcal for the company as it embarks on a new chapter.
The all-electric luxury SUV marks Bentley’s debut in the EV arena, so it’s a pretty big deal. While the final specifications and design are still being kept under wraps, the automaker wants you to know the Torcal will be a true Bentley.
A Genuine Bentley That Happens To Be Electric
Designed, engineered, and built by the people behind every modern Bentley, the Torcal will be handcrafted at the company’s headquarters in Crewe, England, in a new, purpose-built facility created within the original factory building from 1938.
The building, which most recently housed Bentley’s R&D workshop, was stripped before being fitted with a precisely level floor, needed for the Autonomous Guided Vehicles (AGVs) to function properly. The AGVs will be used to move in-build Torcal vehicles around the facility.
The new production line is almost ready to start churning out Torcal EVs and has required a significant investment or more than £350 million ($468 million), including for a brand-new paint shop. The Torcal would better deliver, then, especially since the entire sum came from Bentley’s own coffers at a time when parent company Volkswagen Group is in pretty bad shape.
The super luxury car maker says the manufacturing process will blend the traditional with cutting-edge new techniques “to set new standards in quality.” Production will be supported by a network of British suppliers, including Somerset-based Fox Brothers who provide the wool used in the interior of the Torcal.
Part of the Torcal’s special appeal will be the combination of generations of expertise in handcrafting and the advanced technologies the electric SUV will offer.
Porsche Cayenne Electric Underpinnings With Bentley-Specific Tuning
SH Proshots/Autoblog
The Torcal will be Bentley’s fourth model line after the Continental GT, the Flying Spur and the Bentayga, which are all built at Crewe. Based on the Premium Platform Electric (PPE) developed by Porsche and shared with the all-new Cayenne Electric, the Torcal will be Bentley’s most powerful production vehicle it has ever built—and the quickest-accelerating one, too.
The all-electric luxury SUV uses an 800-volt high-voltage system and a dual-motor AWD powertrain expected to deliver more than 838 horsepower and 738 lb-ft of torque, according to MotorTrend, which rode in a pre-production Bentley Torcal prototype last month.
SH Proshots/Autoblog
The battery has a capacity of 113 kWh, which enables a targeted driving range of 373 miles on the European WLTP cycle. Bentley also claims a fast-charging time from 10 to 80 percent state-of-charge in under 20 minutes using a 400-kW DC fast charger; that’s roughly the equivalent of 100 miles of range added in 7 minutes.
The Torcal will also get the Cayenne Electric’s active suspension with Bentley-specific tuning as the company’s goal is to make the electric SUV as comfortable as a Flying Spur and as dynamically capable as a Continental GT. On top of that, the Torcal will also offer “compelling” off-road capability “unexpected of a Bentley.”
It sounds like there’s a lot to look forward to, so stay tuned for the Bentley Torcal’s global debut on September 23 at 7:19 p.m. BST (2:19 p.m. EDT).
SH Proshots/Autoblog
