Bentley’s First EV SUV Has 838 HP and a Very Unusual Sound

Bentley is getting ready to enter the electric SUV market, and its first attempt is already looking very different from the usual luxury EV.

The automaker is testing the 2028 Bentley Torcal, an all-electric SUV that shares its underlying technology with the Porsche Cayenne Electric. But Bentley is giving the car its own suspension tuning, interior and, perhaps most surprisingly, a powertrain sound made using real drums.

The Torcal is still covered in camouflage, but an early ride in a prototype in northern California offered a closer look at what Bentley is working on.

A Porsche underneath, a Bentley on top

The Torcal will use Volkswagen Group hardware also found in the electric Cayenne. That includes an 800-volt electrical system and a battery with about 113 kWh of capacity.

Bentley is targeting more than 838 horsepower from the dual-motor setup, along with around 738 lb-ft of torque. If those figures make it into the production car, the Torcal could become the most powerful Bentley yet.

The company is aiming for roughly 373 miles of range under the European WLTP testing standard.

Charging is expected to be another major selling point. Bentley says the SUV should be able to charge from 10 to 80 percent in less than 20 minutes when connected to a 400-kW charger. It also claims the car could add about 100 miles of range in seven minutes under the right conditions.

Those numbers are targets rather than something buyers can test today. The production version is still some time away.

Bentley wants it to feel like a Bentley

Sharing hardware with Porsche does not mean Bentley wants the Torcal to drive like a Cayenne.

The company is developing its own suspension calibration, using the Cayenne Electric's active suspension as a starting point. Bentley says it wants the SUV to combine the comfort associated with its Flying Spur sedan with the sharper handling of the Continental GT.

That is a familiar Bentley formula, but the Torcal also appears to be taking the SUV side of the brief seriously.

Engineers have hinted at off-road ability, although Bentley has not yet explained exactly what that will mean in production form.

The prototype is expected to weigh around 6,000 pounds, so this is unlikely to be an off-road vehicle in the same sense as a lightweight adventure SUV. Its strength will probably be its ability to handle rougher terrain without sacrificing the luxury expected from a Bentley.

And then there is the sound

The strangest part of the prototype may be what happens when you press the accelerator.

Electric cars do not need the mechanical soundtrack of a petrol engine, so manufacturers have had to create new ways of making them sound fast. Bentley's approach is unusually literal: real drums were used to create the Torcal's artificial powertrain sound.

During the prototype drive, the sound was one of the details that stood out. Rather than trying to imitate a conventional engine note exactly, Bentley appears to be creating something that gives the driver an audible sense of acceleration while still feeling distinctive.

Inside the prototype, Bentley's usual focus on materials and craftsmanship was also visible, although much of the cabin remained covered and photography was not permitted during the drive.

The Torcal is still some way from showrooms, so Bentley has plenty of time to refine the details. But the direction is becoming clearer.

The company is not simply taking a petrol Bentley and replacing the engine with batteries. It is using Porsche technology underneath while trying to build an electric SUV that still feels unmistakably like a Bentley—and apparently sounds like one using a set of drums.