Bentley unveils Torcal, its first EV: 888 PS, 375 miles of range

James Kelly didn't grow up knowing he wanted to be a writer, but once he fell into the whacky world of automotive journalism, he hasn't wanted to leave. In college, he found ways to make every paper he wrote related to automobiles and even hosted a show on the campus radio station called "The Engine Block. " James's experience involves road-testing brand new cars, breaking old cars, and everything in between. By 2030, Bentley plans to be carbon-neutral. It wants to electrify its entire lineup by the end of this decade and do away with all combustion whatsoever from its vehicles. It’s on track to do so, too, with the new Torcal and its 800V electric powertrain. Gone is the twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter W12 from all models, and V8s can only be had with the help of hybrid assistance. The Batur, however, tore up all the new rules previously written for the future. It’s Bentley’s wild child, ripping down the hall for one last hurrah before being expelled from the factory at Crewe. The very last of those W12s have a home in Mulliner's Batur, Bentley's bespoke division that takes existing models and raises the price, but not without cause.

Evan Williams is an automotive journalist and mechanical engineering technologist with more than a decade of experience in the industry. He has written for the Toronto Star and AutoTrader Canada and previously served as editor of Wheelscene.ca. A four-time Canadian Automotive Journalism Award winner, he is the current President of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada, where he oversees the Canadian Car of the Year Awards program. At CarBuzz for the last year, Evan uses his engineering background to analyze vehicle tech and patents, with a focus on the details that defines great cars. This time last year, Bentley revealed its stripped-down rear-drive lightweight Continental Supersports performance coupe. Naturally, the luxury automaker is planning a convertible version to add back some of the weight and a little luxury. The CarBuzz spy photographers have just snapped it testing in Germany. The new version is barely disguised and looks exceptionally mean.

Because who wouldn't want a 657 horsepower convertible? The Bentley Supersports coupe is the most hardcore spinoff from the Continental series you can buy, and also the brand's lightest car in 85 years. But we all know how hard it is to keep those pounds off after an extreme diet, and judging from these new spy shot, Bentley knows it too. They show a Supersports convertible that could debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show this November.

When David Gwyther, professionally known in the art world as Death Spray, had the pre-production Bentley Flying Spur at his studio in Wales, he knew their time together was limited—as would be the lifespan of his work. The Death Spray treatment is no stranger to the automotive world; it has been applied to racing paraphernalia, motorcycles, and five of Ken Block’s Gymkhana vehicles over the years, most of which were realized through painstaking, collaborative processes. But unlike most of those past works, the prototype Flying Spur wasn’t destined to be long for this world. Over the course of 10 days, Gwyther applied his vivid visual language to the V-8 super-sedan, creating a surface treatment that pokes fun at traditional automaker camouflage. The first step was to apply a base coat of deep black paint. Then, Gwyther hand-applied maskings before adding a layer of white paint, creating an asymmetric smattering of shapes around the Bentley. Bentley“The thing about Bentleys is that, the car disappears, but the only thing that remains is how everything feels—the knurling and texture.

Artificial intelligence is much more than a buzzword in the automotive industry and is fundamentally changing how companies design, develop, and build cars. General Motors is the latest to dive headfirst into the AI future, promising to speed up new model launches because of it. AI will also make interacting with a GM product very different. In a bid to ensure they can keep up with new players from China, legacy manufacturers understand the importance of bringing new products to production quickly. It's typically taken GM products of the past four to five years to move from concept to production. By leaning on AI, virtualization, and combining its design, engineering, and manufacturing into a single "unified digital thread," the carmaker wants to slash that to about two years.

If you thought a car like the ND-generation Mazda MX-5 was old, currently in its 11th year of production, you may be surprised to learn about the Hyundai Porter. This small truck has been around since 1977 and has been sold in its current fourth-generation guise since 2004, with few updates. The South Korean brand is finally preparing an all-new version and has been nabbed testing a heavily disguised prototype in Europe. It's immediately apparent that the new Porter will look very different than the outgoing model, but the design isn't the most important development. More pivotal is that this fifth-generation model will be the first available as an EV, truly bringing the plucky truck into the modern age. It may also be sold in Europe for the first time.