It takes the Earth more than a billion years – along with extreme pressure and lava-like temperatures – to produce natural diamonds. So Bentley’s love affair with diamonds as a design theme became fully formed much more quickly, starting 107 years ago at the luxury brand’s birth. And it’s still going today, evolving even with the company’s latest car.
From diamond-quilted seat leather and knurled metallic rotary knobs to diamond-shaped metallic mesh grilles and bespoke Mulliner-spec custom-crafted crystal glassware, there are few automotive brands more closely aligned with the planet’s hardest naturally occurring material. And that connection with diamonds is evolving with the company’s latest car.
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A New Take On Diamond Design Is Almost Here
As Bentley prepares to reveal its Torcal battery-electric SUV (smaller than the Bentayga) on Sept. 23 in London, the design house in Crewe, UK, is lifting the veil a little bit more, teasing us with design details that incorporate, of course, diamonds, or at least a near facsimile.
While today’s Bentley press release talks about the upcoming Torcal’s “floating diamond grille,” an exterior teaser image shows a closeup of horizontal red lighting, which would likely be at the rear. Before Sept. 23, perhaps we’ll also see a teaser picture of the Torcal’s grille.
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Hand-Blown, Hand-Cut Cumbria Crystal
Most of the teaser images focus on a short, ornate crystal cocktail glass. But the photos are all we get. For now, Bentley says it commissioned hand-cut crystal objects for the project from Cumbria Crystal, based in England’s Lake District and still using hand-blown and hand-cut artisan techniques dating back centuries. But how exactly this crystal will appear in the new Torcal remains a mystery, beyond its ability to convey movement and texture when light passes through it.
“Interior displays have been authentically created by capturing light passing through British hand-cut crystal,” Bentley says. “The subtle variations and natural imperfections inherent in hand craftsmanship bring an unexpected sense of warmth and humanity to an otherwise ultra-modern digital experience.”
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It was earlier this month that Bentley confirmed the Torcal will be the fourth model in the lineup, joining the Flying Spur sedan, Continental GT coupe and convertible, and the Bentayga SUV. The new nameplate comes from the distinctive Torcal de Antequera mountain range in Spain, known for its naturally occurring limestone cairns and rock formations. The word “torcal” also shares its Latin root – torquere – with the English word “torque,” which is sure to be plentiful in Bentley’s first EV.
Like the other brands across the struggling Volkswagen Group, Bentley needs to boost sales, and the Torcal just might provide a springboard. Through June, Bentley sold 4,200 vehicles globally, representing a 13.6% decline from first-half 2025. The only other VW Group brand showing a steeper first-half decline was Porsche, down 16.5%.
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CarBuzz Insight – Why This Matters:
The design team in Crewe surely used digital tools in developing the new Torcal, inside and out, but computer-generated graphics were shelved in favor of authentic, handcrafted materials while developing the digital displays.
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Diamonds and crystal have provided an enduring design theme for Bentley dating to the 1920s, so it’s no surprise that the automaker’s first EV will carry forward this jewel-like feature. Expect the E-segment crossover to arrive with a starting price around $250,000, for the 2028 model year.
