Bentley Torcal: the name of Bentley's first EV is out, full reveal set for September 23

Bentley has taken its first official step toward expanding its model range — and it is a bigger move than a routine announcement. According to the brand's press release, the new line is called Torcal, and it will make its world premiere in London on September 23, 2026. This is not a special edition or another Bentayga body style but the brand's fourth standalone line, alongside the Continental GT, Flying Spur and Bentayga — and, crucially, the first series-production electric car in Bentley's history. For a marque cautiously reinventing itself ahead of the electric era, that matters more than a name.

The Torcal name follows the same logic as Bentayga, Bacalar and Batur: Bentley is once again drawing on natural landscapes. El Torcal de Antequera in Andalusia is a well-known Spanish site of limestone rocks, labyrinths and massive stone formations shaped over millions of years. Bentley clearly wants to tie the model not to a trendy tech acronym but to an image of strength, time and natural architecture.

There is a technical subtext, too. Torcal traces back to the Latin torquere — “to twist” — the root of the modern word torque. For Bentley it is a neat play on meaning: for decades the brand built its cars' character around effortless performance — pull without strain, smooth acceleration and a sense of endless reserves underfoot. And an electric motor has torque in abundance, so the name hints not only at the landscape but at the character of the drive.

Bentley chairman and CEO Frank-Steffen Walliser described the newcomer cautiously but with a high bar: “For 107 years Bentley cars have been incredibly complete — effortless performance, outstanding comfort, exquisite British craftsmanship using the finest natural materials, and a sound with soul. Our new Torcal sets extraordinary benchmarks in every area that matters, and may just be the most considered car in our history.”

But the newcomer can no longer be called a total mystery. Bentley has released a first teaser — a shot of the rear — and promises to drip-feed details right up to the premiere. What is known: the Torcal is a large electric crossover around 5 metres long with a range of more than 480 km (over 300 miles), built on the Volkswagen Group's PPE electric platform — the same one underpinning the new electric Porsche Cayenne. Bentley positions it as a “luxury urban SUV” and a distinct new segment. Exact figures for power, battery and price are still under wraps, saved for September.

The Torcal will almost certainly be a low-volume, image or collector purchase rather than a mass-market alternative — aimed at buyers already looking at Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Maybach, Aston Martin DBX and Range Rover SV, and now the electric Rolls-Royce Spectre.

Strategically, the Torcal fits the Beyond100+ plan under which Bentley is to go fully electric by 2035 — a deadline originally set for 2030 but pushed back amid demand for hybrids. The current range still keeps its opulent combustion engines and plug-in hybrids, so the Torcal is not an abstract promise but the brand's first concrete step into the electric era. The real question, then, is not just how it looks but whether Bentley can carry its signature character — comfort, quiet and a sense of solidity — into a car with no internal-combustion engine.

For now Bentley has revealed only the name and a glimpse of what is coming, but both the name and the first hints are chosen to set an expectation: the Torcal should be not the loudest but the most considered car the marque has made — and the first to lead Bentley into an electric future.