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Bentley unveils electric Torcal SUV with synthetic engine sounds
The Torcal, built in Crewe, targets a younger customer base with starting prices at £173,000 and up to 375 miles of range on a single charge.
Bentley has launched its first fully electric model, the Torcal SUV, positioned as the luxury brand’s entry-level option with prices starting at £173,000. The vehicle is designed to appeal to younger buyers and EV skeptics, pairing a “synthetic engine noise” feature built from drum recordings based on the brand’s prior eight-cylinder sounds.
The Torcal is expected to deliver up to 375 miles on a single charge. Bentley said the synthetic sound is meant to add “emotion to the car” and help “bridge the gap” for new customers, with the company pointing to a more muscular body shape and the comparatively lower price versus some Bentley one-off builds that can reach up to £1.7 million.
Bentley will build the Torcal at its factory in Crewe, securing the jobs of the 4,000 workers there. The company also framed the model as entering a thin market for fully electric luxury SUVs, noting rivals such as Rolls-Royce and Jaguar Land Rover’s Range Rover Electric, and it said it has no plans at the moment for a second EV launch.
The launch comes after Bentley scaled back prior electric plans, abandoning a plan to launch new electric cars each year from 2025 to 2030 due to poor demand. The wider UK auto sector has seen other recent funding announcements, including Nissan’s £170 million investment in Sunderland and McLaren’s £500 million plan to create 1,000 jobs and its first SUV.