The smallest four-door Bentley has ever built is also its fastest, and its quietest. The Torcal is a compact crossover and the first electric vehicle in the company’s history. It has arrived in a First Edition specification that pairs the strongest powertrain in the range with what Bentley calls “an extraordinary level of standard equipment.”
The First Edition is, in effect, Bentley’s argument that an electric car can still be a commission. Nearly every figure attached to it is an extreme for the range: the most power, the largest speaker count, the deepest standard equipment list. Readers who follow the top end of the market in The Social Register’s Lifestyle coverage will recognize the strategy. When the engine disappears, the handwork has to carry the price.
The Power Comes First
The First Edition uses the most powerful version of the Torcal’s powertrain, rated at 876 horsepower and 996 lb-ft of torque. The standard Torcal makes 810 horsepower and 880 lb-ft, numbers that would headline most launches by themselves. In S form, the Torcal reaches 60 mph in 2.8 seconds. CarBuzz points out that this matches the pace of the BMW M3 Competition xDrive in independent testing, delivered here by a tall crossover trimmed like a private lounge.
A Cabin Built Around Sound
An electric drivetrain leaves a silence, and Bentley filled it with hardware. The Naim for Bentley audio system is standard in the First Edition, a 1,780-watt installation with 28 speakers arranged for Dolby Atmos 7.1.4. The count holds up under scrutiny: kinesthetic transducers sit in the seats and speakers sit in the headrests, so every passenger is inside the system rather than in front of it.
The rest of the cabin follows the same logic. Wellness front seats and a Comfort Seat Specification for the rear are standard, along with deep-pile overmats and a gloss carbon fiber finish. The doors open and close under power, front and rear. Overhead, a Frosted Diamond Switchable Sunroof changes the light in the cabin on command.
Carbon Fiber Outside, Color Left Open
The First Edition rides on 22-inch wheels in gloss black with Liquid Silver spokes, their center badges self-leveling as the wheels turn. The Carbon Fiber Styling Specification is standard equipment, extending carbon fiber to the front bumper winglets, mirror caps, side sills and rear diffuser. Step inside and illuminated First Edition tread plates sit below seats finished with bespoke quilting and contrasting chevrons.
There is no fixed First Edition color. The Colour Specification opens additional color splits, two of them by Mulliner, plus eight accent colors and the option of a third interior color. Buyers choose the leather and the contrast stitching, and anyone who prefers a different cabin finish can trade the gloss carbon fiber for an alternative at no additional cost.
The Price Is Still a Secret
Bentley has not announced what the Torcal First Edition costs. CarBuzz expects a starting figure north of $200,000, rising from there, which is a great deal of money for the smallest four-door the company sells. The comparison that matters is not the compact class. With this equipment list, the Torcal is aimed at the level of the Rolls-Royce Cullinan, in a car that takes up less road.
Even the wheel badges were given a job. They level themselves while the wheels spin, upright in the driveway and upright at speed. Composure, engineered to the last inch.
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