Bentley has named its first battery-electric vehicle the Torcal, giving the brand’s coming fourth model a badge before its scheduled unveiling on September 23.
The choice matters because Bentley is using the name to signal two things at once: another nature-derived label in its lineup, and a fairly unsubtle nod to electric propulsion. The company said Torcal refers to El Torcal de Antequera, a limestone formation area in Andalusia, Spain. Bentley also connected the word to the Latin “torquere,” the root associated with “torque.” That is marketing, yes, but it is at least mechanically relevant marketing: electric motors can deliver high torque without waiting for engine revs to build.
The Torcal will join Bentley’s existing range as the company’s first EV. The automaker has been working toward the model for some time. Autocar reported late last year that a development car had been seen testing inside the Arctic Circle, with images giving an early look at the cabin. Motor1 later published footage of another prototype running at the Nürburgring.
The name had already attracted attention before Bentley confirmed it. Earlier trademark filings in Europe and the UK pointed to Torcal, while Car and Driver noted that the lack of a comparable US filing left room for another possibility: Barnato. That name would have referenced Woolf Barnato, the pre-war Bentley racer associated with three 24 Hours of Le Mans victories in 1928, 1929, and 1930.
Bentley went with the geology name instead. That keeps it in the same naming habit as Bentayga, Bacalar, and Batur, which also draw from natural landmarks. For a company that sells heaviness, leather, wood, and enormous engines as cultural artifacts, the Latin torque wink is doing plenty of work.
Frank-Steffen Walliser, Bentley’s chairman and CEO, described the Torcal as an attempt to carry the brand’s traditional pitch into an electric car. “For 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,” Walliser said. “Our new Torcal sets extraordinary benchmarks in every area that matters and may just be the most considered car in our history.”
The “soundtrack with soul” part is the awkward bit for any luxury EV maker. Bentley has not detailed how the Torcal will address that, and there is no need to pretend a battery-electric drivetrain will behave like one of the company’s combustion engines. The confirmed clue is the powertrain direction: Bentley is positioning the Torcal around electrified torque rather than internal-combustion theater.
Ars Technica reported that Bentley is expected to build the Torcal at its Crewe factory in England. As a Volkswagen Group brand, Bentley will use the group’s PPE electric architecture, which is also used in other EVs, including Porsche’s Cayenne electric program.
The car is expected to share some visual direction with Bentley’s EXP 15 concept, rather than follow the path taken by Rolls-Royce with the Spectre, a two-door coupe that became that brand’s first EV. Bentley has not yet released the Torcal’s production specifications, pricing, range, or final design.
This story draws on original reporting from Ars Technica.
