The Little Car Company reveals scaled-down, road-legal Bentley Blower Jnr
Yours for £90,000 - plus taxes...
The British company behind ultra-detailed scaled down versions of the Bugatti Type 35 and Aston Martin DB5 has revealed a new 85-per-cent-scale, pure-electric Blower Bentley that can be used on the road.
Based on the 1929 4½-litre Supercharged No. 2 team car in Bentley’s own collection, the new shrunken “city car” from The Little Car Company is described as a “recreation of the most famous Bentley in the world.”
With a 20bhp electric motor and a top speed of 45mph, the Blower Jnr will offer tandem seating for two and a dedicated luggage space. It’s also expected to cover around 65 miles on a single charge.
While the Bugatti Baby, Aston Martin DB5 Junior and more recent Ferrari Testa Rossa J are all impressive machines capable of being driven by adults at similar speeds, the Bentley Blower Jnr is The Little Car Company’s first road-legal product.
About the same footprint as a Volkswagen Up!
According to The Little Car Company, the Blower Jnr is “the most sophisticated city car ever built,” with materials designed to match the original and neat methods of hiding the car’s pure-electric powertrain. The charging port, for example, is incorporated into a mock-up of the original car’s supercharger housing.
Although it’s built by The Little Car Company, the hand-crafted Blower Jnr will be anything but small, measuring 3.7m long and 1.5m wide. That gives it roughly the same footprint as a Volkswagen Up!, although the VW is a tad shorter and wider.
Size aside, though, the Blower Jnr is designed to be a “faithful homage” to the real Bentley, with a similar chassis including leaf springs and period-correct dampers, as well as disc brakes at the front and drum brakes at the rear.
The electric motor is mounted at the rear of the car, while the batteries and electronics are housed under the floor.
Carbon fibre and aluminium in its construction
The Blower Jnr’s bodywork is made in two sections, with the rear comprising a carbon-fibre frame covered in impregnated fabric, while the bonnet is made with aluminium. There’s a central driving position, with space for a passenger behind and an optional bespoke weekend bag that fits in what looks like the fuel tank.
The Little Car Company has even repurposed some of the original switchgear and dials, with the fuel pressure pump recreated as a drive mode selector, while neutral and reverse are selected using a lever that looks like the original Blower’s ignition advance control. A battery charge gauge, meanwhile, mimics the original ammeter.
However, some modern touches have been fitted, including a USB charging point and a dual-function display with navigation and a reversing camera.
Made in collaboration with Bentley
The car has been created in collaboration with Bentley, and it is intended to honour the company’s own Blower, UU 5872, which is the second of four supercharged “team” racing cars developed by Sir Tim Birkin and his firm. The cars competed in 12 races, including the 1930 24 Hours of Le Mans, where UU 5872 failed to win but proved itself to be the fastest car on the day.
The first 99 examples of the Blower Jnr will be First Edition models that honour the Bentley-owned vehicle with Blower Green paint, a Union Flag on the sides of the body and Dark Green Lustrana Hide upholstery.
The steering wheel will also be rope-bound, while the side panel and radiator carry the period-correct racing number and there will be numerous First Edition badges.
California’s Monterey Car Week provides the backdrop for the Blower Jnr’s reveal, and the car will make a number of appearances at the event. Production will begin next year, with the 99 First Edition models expected to cost £90,000 plus local taxes.
Related articles
- If you were interested in the new scaled-down replica of the Bentley Blower, you might find it entertaining to read about Clarkson bringing a Bentley on holiday
- You might also be interested in knowing more about the Bentley Bentayga Hybrid
- Or read our review of the Bentley Bentayga EWB
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