Bentley Motors unveiled its first fully electric car, the Torcal, at an event in London on Wednesday, marking a significant shift for the 107-year-old British luxury brand. The SUV starts at £173,000 (around $230,000) and becomes Bentley's fourth model line, alongside the Continental GT, Flying Spur, and Bentayga.
Bentley put £350 million ($465 million) into its Crewe facility in northwest England — where the Torcal was both designed and built — to ready it for production, according to Reuters. The car offers a range of up to 375 miles (600 km) and can charge from 10% to 80% in under 20 minutes at 400 kW. It accelerates from 0-60 mph in as little as 2.8 seconds in its more powerful S variant.
The car launches in two versions: a core model producing 821 PS and an S model producing 888 PS, with peak torque of 1,350 Nm — the highest of any Bentley ever made, the company said. The 113 kWh battery carries a 10-year, 100,000-mile warranty. Rather than simulate an engine note electronically, Bentley recorded live instruments — including drums, viola, and bass guitar — to create a driving soundtrack calibrated to vehicle speed and driver input.
Bentley's launch comes roughly three months after Ferrari $RACE -2.79%'s debut electric model, the Luce, drew a sharp negative reaction from investors and enthusiasts who criticized its styling as resembling mainstream EVs rather than the Italian brand's traditional sports cars. Ferrari stock fell as much as 7.8% on the day of that unveiling. The Luce carries a starting price of €550,000, more than three times that of the Torcal. Asked whether Bentley had drawn lessons from the Ferrari launch, Walliser told CNBC: "No, not really, because you know the car industry is very long term."
