The first-ever electric Bentley is… Well, it’s a car.
It’s safe to say that the general reaction to the Bentley Torcal was one of horror. The uninspiring blocky body looks like a bunch of already existing electric SUVs that already aren’t anything too special.
It’s also safe to say that the majority of us won’t be buying one. Not just because it’s ugly, but because it’s $230,000. That’s a lot of dough for Americans in 2026.
Well, let’s just say we had $230,000. I think most of us wouldn’t spend it on the Bentley Torcal. Here are some fun alternatives to the over-the-top luxury EV.
23 NA Mazda Miata
You could probably buy more Miata if you were fine paying a few thousand for some highly modded ones or ones that need a lot of work. But can you imagine a fleet of 23 pristine NA Mazda Miata?
The Bentley Torcal has more horsepower, sure. But it has fake engine noises, an automatic transmission, and it weighs 6,000 pounds. You won’t be smiling like a crazy person while driving the Torcal. In fact, you probably won’t even be driving it. That’s up to your driver.
If you don’t care about a bunch of screens and massaging seats, you are way better off with dozens of Miatas. You will be having a blast on winding beachside roads, canyon drives, and the track. Even your drive to work will be full of smiles. I can safely say this is one of the only cars where I find myself smiling the entire time I’m commuting. It’s light, moves like a go-kart, and it has blinky headlights.
Plus, if you have 23 at your disposal, you can give it all you got at the track without any worry. You’d have 22 more at home if you had to take it to the shop.
Lucid Air Sapphire
The Lucid Air Sapphire is $10,000 more than the Bentley Torcal, but if you have that kinda money to blow, I feel that’s not a deal breaker. You wouldn’t hold back on that $10,000, would you? Then you’d end up with Bentley’s chunky, uggo Torcal rather than the near perfect Lucid Air Sapphire. That $10K would go straight to therapy.
The Lucid Air Sapphire has two electric motors for a mind-blowing 1,234 horsepower and 1,430 pound-feet of torque. The Sapphire weighs around the same as the Torcal, but it’s incredibly more powerful. You have four drive modes at your disposal, including Track mode, which disables traction control. This culminates in a quarter-mile time of 9.3 seconds at 153 miles per hour. Getting to 60 mph only takes 2.1 seconds.
You’ll be flying.
On top of a superior performance, the Sapphire is also extremely better looking. It’s sleek, luxurious, and sporty, almost aggressive. It will definitely turn heads. Inside, you get heated, ventilated, and massing seats, plenty of screens, and incredible attention to detail.
6,389 Waymo rides
If you’re not planning to drive anyway, you would save a lot of money taking a Waymo rather than paying a driver and ongoing vehicle maintenance.
Right now, the average price of a 10 mile (or 40 minute) ride in Los Angeles is $36, which is how I got this number. But I’m not a number person. You could probably take even more rides if you live in a cheaper city.
I know there’s a hit piece going around that claims Waymo is full of human feces, but it’s really not true. Waymo is extremely clean, comfortable, and almost serene. It’s not as luxury as a Bentley, but you’ll definitely feel a bit fancy and fun taking a Waymo everywhere you go.
A personal flying car
Instead of the chunky, weighed down Torcal, you can buy your own personal flying car. And you’d have tons of money left over.
The Jetson ONE is an Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) from a Polish startup, Jetson. You won’t need a pilot’s license or special training to operate this in the United States.
You will have a flight time of 20 minutes. It’s more of a commuter than a long-distance solution. At least for now. But hey, you can skip the traffic and get a drone’s eye view.
One review said that the Jetson ONE is easy to manuever and control. It feels steady as you fly. You can even hover.
Flying cars are legal to operate in the United States, but it’s a strictly regulated space right now. Still, it’s not a Torcal.
