The 2028 Bentley Torcal will not only be the brand’s first electric vehicle, but the new luxury SUV will also represent its most powerful model ever. Bentley is about to enter new territory with the esteemed ultra-luxury brand preparing to unveil the first fully electric model in its 107-year history. Dubbed the Torcal, the EV SUV will not only take Bentley into a new era, but it will also raise the bar when it comes to performance bragging rights.
Bentley recently released two teaser images, one showing the famous winged “B” logo above Bentley script on the Torcal’s rear end and the other providing a glimpse of the SUV’s hood and front fender. Along with these images, the automaker made some strong claims regarding the new vehicle’s capabilities. The Torcal will be the most powerful production car that Bentley has ever built and will also boast the quickest acceleration time from a stop. Zero-to-60-mph times are often one of the most common metrics touted among performance models, and Bentley expects the Torcal to beat them all.
While we are still in the dark regarding exactly how powerful and how quick the Bentley Torcal will be, some educated guesses can be made about the threshold for those claims. The Continental GT currently holds the title as the mightiest Bentley production car, with its plug-in hybrid V-8 powertrain packing 771 horsepower. The Conti GT Speed is also claimed to race to 62 mph in 3.1 seconds; the version we tested hit the mile-per-minute mark in just 2.8 seconds, so we expect the Torcal to be even quicker.
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How the transition to electric power affects the competitive setting for established manufacturers has changed. For decades, the hierarchy of speed at the top of the market has been defined by internal combustion engines pushing the limits of friction and aerodynamics. Now, with electric motors offering instant torque and a lack of a traditional transmission, the physics of high-performance driving are shifting. The torque curve of an electric motor is flat and immediate, meaning the reaction time to the driver’s input is virtually zero. This fundamental difference in power delivery suggests that the performance gaps between legacy supercars and modern electric SUVs may widen significantly as battery technology matures. It is not just about raw horsepower anymore; it is about the responsiveness of the system as a whole.
Of course, Bentley says the Torcal will still offer these impressive feats with an equal level of comfort that has long defined the brand. Along with the instant torque that electric powertrains provide, passengers aboard the Torcal will also get to experience a different kind of soundtrack. The sound is inspired by the melody of Bentley’s most famous engines and mixes musical drum and string elements when drivers press the go pedal.
