Bentley Torcal Curation Engine: modes, digital detox and the reveal date

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Bentley’s first electric car does not get a conventional drive mode switch but a system that runs the entire mood of the cabin. In the Torcal, the Curation Engine changes the car’s responses, the lighting, the climate and the sound at the same time. The model will be shown in full in London on 23 September 2026, although a prototype has already appeared on Rodeo Drive with barely any disguise; the price and the battery details have not been revealed.

According to the brand’s press office, the driver will be able to pick Comfort, Sport, Refresh or Bentley. The eponymous mode is the default setting and lands between softness and involvement. Sport sharpens the electric car’s responses, the ambient lighting and the audio, which is inspired by the 6.75-litre V8. The Torcal has no engine, and the soundtrack is not a synthesised motor either: it was performed by live musicians on drums, viola and bass guitar. The brand recreates the feel of a big engine mechanically as well — Bentley has patented active suspension that makes an EV rock like a V8 grand tourer.

Refresh steps up the ventilation and makes the lighting brighter to cut the sense of fatigue. Comfort softens the responses and the light; within it sits a digital detox that reduces the flow of information on the screens to a minimum.

The idea of digital decluttering is nothing new at Bentley: the Continental GT already had a rotating display able to hide the screen behind a wood panel or analogue dials. In the Torcal the approach now covers climate, audio, ambient lighting and driving settings.

Physical controls are not going away, though. The teasers show separate volume and temperature knobs, a floating console with room for two wireless charging pads, Naim audio, carbon-fibre trim and seats with diamond quilting.