Revolutionizing Luxury: The 2027 Bentley Torcal – A Fusion of British Elegance and Porsche Performance

Bentley has revealed its first electric vehicle (EV), in the form of a brutish SUV that will simultaneously become the historic marque’s most attainable, most powerful and fastest-accelerating production model ever.

The 2027 Bentley Torcal has been revealed in standard and ‘S First Edition’ guises, both drawing upon the underpinnings of the new Porsche Cayenne Electric, though the British brand stresses that “every single system is calibrated uniquely for Bentley” – including brake, accelerator and steering feel – to ensure it’s in line with the company’s ethos of “accessible performance without absurdity”.

Both versions use dual-motor electric powertrains, with the standard Torcal pushing out 603kW of power and 1194Nm of torque, while the more powerful Torcal S First Edition ups that to 653kW and 1350Nm – the latter being the highest output of any Bentley ever.

The standard Torcal dashes from 0-60mph (0-97km/h) in a claimed 3.4 seconds, while the Torcal S is the quickest ever Bentley with a 2.9-second 0-60mph claim. The ‘base’ car quotes a 250km/h top speed, with the S bumping that to 260km/h.

Feeding those motors is a 113kWh battery teamed with an 800V electrical architecture, offering up to 600km of WLTP driving range, which Bentley says equates to around “five hours of travel time”. It can be charged at a rate of up to 400kW using a DC fast-charger, which will see the battery replenish 10 to 80 per cent state of charge in just 16 minutes.

Compared to the Cayenne Electric, the Torcal S betters the standard power output of the Cayenne Turbo Electric (630kW), though the Torcal doesn’t have an overboost function that matches the Turbo’s 850kW/1500Nm maximum outputs. The flagship Cayenne EV quotes a 0-100km/h time of 2.5 seconds, on its way to a top speed of 260km/h. The Cayenne’s 3.5-tonne maximum towing capacity also betters the Bentley’s 2.7-tonne claim.

At 4983mm long, 2016mm wide and 1674mm tall, the Torcal is 161mm shorter than the standard-wheelbase Bentayga – which shares its architecture with the petrol- and PHEV-powered ‘E3’ Porsche Cayenne – and is poised to become Bentley’s most attainable model, priced from “around £165,000” (A$309,784) in the UK for the standard Torcal.

For reference, the Bentayga kicks off from about £156,000 (A$292,879) in the UK for the plug-in ‘Hybrid’ version that’s no longer sold here, while in Australia the most attainable Bentayga is the Bentayga V8 ($412,600 plus on-road costs). In the UK, the cheapest Bentayga V8 is priced from about £178,800 (A$335,693).