Less than a month after its’ world premiere in London, the Bentley Torcal arrived on the French Riviera. On 20 October, Bentley Monaco invited VIP clients, partners and media together just outside the Principality for a static presentation of the marque’s first fully electric model. For a brand with 107 years of history, and for the collectors of Monaco, it was a moment worth pausing over.
A fourth model line for Bentley
The Torcal is the fourth model line in the Bentley range, joining the Continental GT, the Flying Spur and the Bentayga. It is also the first Bentley without an internal combustion engine. Until now the marque has sold petrol and plug-in hybrid cars, so the Torcal marks a genuine change of direction rather than a new trim level.
The car is designed, engineered and built in Crewe, in the United Kingdom. Bentley describes it as a roughly five-metre SUV positioned below the Bentayga, and the first model to carry the marque’s updated logo, introduced in 2025.
Thomas Cordier, General Manager of Bentley Monaco, framed the launch as proof of the marque’s “ability to reinvent itself” while staying true to its century-long values of craftsmanship and performance.
Performance and engineering
The figures are considerable. According to the manufacturer, the Torcal delivers up to 888 PS in its sportier S specification, with a range of up to 600 km on the WLTP cycle. Bentley also quotes 400 kW fast charging, which it says takes the battery from 10 to 80% in 16 minutes. Bentley has described the Torcal as the most powerful and fastest-accelerating production model it has built, though these are manufacturer claims awaiting independent testing.
The more interesting story may lie in the chassis. The Torcal introduces fully active suspension to a Bentley for the first time, paired with adaptive dual-valve dampers that remove the need for traditional anti-roll bars. All-wheel steering reduces the turning circle to 11.1 metres, a useful detail for a car pitched at urban use as much as grand touring. Two versions are available at launch, the Torcal and the Torcal S.
Craft in the electric era
The question for any luxury electric car is whether it can carry the sensory richness of the brand. Bentley’s answers are partly material. Working with Somerset-based Fox Brothers, it has developed what it calls the first Merino wool fabric suitable for automotive upholstery. For the sound of the car, it commissioned musicians to record a “Dynamic Symphony”, a human-generated soundtrack said to take its cues from the beat of the marque’s classic V8.
Whether these touches succeed will be judged on the road. As an editorial observation, they show a manufacturer working to ensure that silence does not become absence of character.
Why Monaco matters to the launch
Bentley Monaco’s presentation describes its ambition as assembling one of Europe’s most exclusive automotive offerings under the signature “Passion in Motion”. The Torcal presentation, a static display rather than a driving event, was designed to let guests study the new design and details at close range.
Monaco is a logical stage. The Principality has one of the highest concentrations of luxury cars per square kilometre in the world, and a clientele that has embraced electrification early, driven in part by the Principality’s long-standing support for clean mobility. A Bentley that is silent, compact enough for the Riviera’s coastal roads and finished in wool rather than conventional fabric suits that audience.
The Torcal will not replace the combustion Bentley in the garages of the Côte d’Azur. It will, however, test whether the marque’s loyal clients are ready to follow it into a new era. In Monaco, that answer may arrive sooner than elsewhere.
by Sara Moradi
