{"id":2029116,"date":"2026-07-06T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-05T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2029116"},"modified":"2026-07-06T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-05T21:00:00","slug":"this-is-bentleys-first-electric-car-and-its-called-the-torcal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2029116","title":{"rendered":"This is Bentley\u2019s first electric car\u2026 and it\u2019s called the Torcal"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Bentley is almost ready to launch its first electric car, and probably quite worried about how the world will react after the bin fire that was the Ferrari Luce\u2019s<\/a> debut. Before the grand unveiling (scheduled for 23 September) we have a moody teaser pic and a name. Torcal.<\/p>\n

Not a reference to the pursuit of looking at fish through a pair of leaky goggles, it instead continues Bentley\u2019s recent tradition of naming cars after \u2018extraordinary landscapes\u2019. Streatham High Road was already taken, so it went with Torcal instead \u2013 taking its name from El Torcal de Antequera in Andalusia, Spain. A \u201cdramatic limestone landscape of stacked rock formations, cliffs and labyrinths\u201d, says Bentley.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Torcal is also derived from the Latin word \u2018torquere\u2019, meaning to twist. Which is fitting seeing as this car will have a colossal amount of it. No official word on power outputs, charging speeds and torque figures, only gentle hints that it\u2019ll be five metres long and have a range of over 300-miles. So far, so sensible, given it\u2019s an SUV-shape, smaller than the Bentayga<\/a> and has been designed for everyday useability.<\/p>\n

Will the design be as divisive as the Luce? Well\u2026 no. Because I\u2019ve been to see it and bizarrely I\u2019m allowed to tell you what it looks like, without showing you what it looks like until September. The overall shape is what you\u2019d expect \u2013 a bluff front end, quite a low-slung SUV silhouette that\u2019s noticeably more petite than the Bentayga, but actually with more leg and luggage room inside \u2013 because electric.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The front end is dominated by a huge grille that illuminates via a series of 3D diamonds. It\u2019s\u2026 eye-catching, but can also be switched off if being spotted from space isn\u2019t your thing. The rear haunches are nicely muscled and as you can see in the teaser image, the rear lights are fairly conventional horizontal strips. The interior is magnificently appointed, of course, with a central display that curves at the bottom before meeting a row of physical switches (hooray!).<\/p>\n

Bentley boss Dr Frank-Steffen Walliser said: \u201cFor 107 years Bentleys have been the most incredibly complete cars – effortless performance, outstanding comfort, exquisite British handcraftsmanship using the best natural materials and a soundtrack with soul. Our new Torcal sets extraordinary benchmarks in every area that matters, and may just be the most considered car in our history.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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First impressions? He might be right on that last bit, because in a market that\u2019s turned against high-end EVs, Bentley has read the room and de-risked by building a right-sized, unpolarising-looking SUV that should move the conversation away from the fact that its electric, because it\u2019s a good Bentley full stop.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bentley is almost ready to launch its first electric car, and probably quite worried about how the world will react after the bin fire that was the Ferrari Luce\u2019s debut. Before the grand unveiling (scheduled for 23 September) we have a moody teaser pic and a name. Torcal. Not a reference to the pursuit of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,237],"class_list":["post-2029116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-topgear-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2029116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2029116"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2029116\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2029116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2029116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2029116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}