The rear passenger door motors itself noiselessly closed. Here we are, in the back seat of what company CEO Dr Frank Walliser has described as “perhaps the most considered car” in the 107-year history of his employer: the new Bentley Torcal.
The wheels beneath us begin to turn - gently, smoothly, but not without an accompanying soundtrack. And in an instant we become among the very first people in the world - aside from those who actually made it - to begin to learn what it is like to travel in an all-electric Bentley.
Despite this being a car both shorter and lower-roofed than the Bentayga SUV, Crewe has aimed to match the bigger car’s cabin package for things like leg room and head room; so there’s plenty of both. There’s a heavy disguise over almost all of the fittings and upholstery of our late-model prototype, but Bentley has already made it known that this car will bring plenty of developments on those fronts. Merino wool upholstery. ‘Ombre veneer’ wood trim. Plenty of other lavish materials and special effects, too, never before seen on a Bentley.
From my back row-seat I can see just enough up front to pique my interest as Torcal product line director Martin Page, who is also our chauffeur, starts peeling back the covers just enough to see instruments and access controls.
From the tone of Page’s explanation of his surroundings, I get the distinct impression that at least some of the potential customers that Bentley canvassed might have preferred a more traditional ambience and a bit less digital tech. What they are getting has loads of familiar Bentley gloss and richness, mind you. But there’s no rotating multimedia display, no ‘organ stop’ ventilation controls (these ones have vent airflow controlled via the multimedia display) and a great many twinkly, indirect ambient lighting effects running the full width of the dashboard and over the door panels.
The vivacity of the twinkling in question - together with the backlighting of the digital instruments and multimedia touchscreen - are controlled by the car’s ‘Curation Engine’. This is Crewe’s forgivably grandiloquent term for the central drive mode controller, which is large, glassy and ornate-looking. Cycling through the car’s mostly familiar settings (Bentley, Comfort and Sport, and introducing Refresh) changes not only suspension, powertrain and steering calibration but also the heating and ventilation, seat massage, lighting and display settings.
Above that sits the sizable multimedia touchscreen display. It’s trapezoidal (with slanted, rather than parallel, sides), and while it is curved, it is not actually the same screen that you’ll find in Porsche’s related Cayenne Electric; instead it is one with a less curtly radiused corner running horizontally across its middle, so it follows the arc of your wrist and fingertip more naturally as you swipe up and down.
