- The Bentley Blower Jnr is an all-electric 85% scale replica of the iconic 1929 Bentley racer.
- The Blower Jnr is a collaboration between UK company Hedley Studios and Bentley Motors.
- Hedley Studios has previously produced driveable 75% scale models of Ferraris, Aston Martins and Bugattis.
Hedley Studios (formerly The Little Car Company) has commenced production of the Bentley Blower Jnr, a fully-drivable, road-legal 85% scale electric version of the mighty 1929 Bentley Blower.
The company - known for its 75% scale replicas of exotic classics like the Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa, the Bugatti Type 35 and the Aston Martin DB5 - designed and developed the Blower Jnr in conjunction with Bentley’s Heritage Collection.
The original racing car from 1929 – insured for a colosal NZ$56 million – was used by Hedley Studios to design the Blower Jnr, with details recreated at a sizeable 85 per cent scale. The result is a vehicle that the company says will have even experts looking twice – unless they see a full size person standing next to it that is.
While small in comparison to the massive original, the Blower Jnr is still 3.7 metres long and 1.5 metres wide, or roughly Suzuki Ignis-sized. This means that, unlike Hedley Studios’ other products, the Blower Jnr is fully road legal and designed specifically to be used on the road, and is perhaps the most elaborate and interesting city car ever built.
Hedley Studios says that the Blower Jnr is crafted by hand "to the same standards as any Bentley" and is built around a 48V electric powertrain with a 15kW motor that will provide a top speed of just over 70km/h. Well, in the UK and EU at least - it is restricted to 40km/h in the USA due to legislation around road legal low speed vehicles there. The company says the UK/EU version will have a range of around 105 kilometres.
The electric motor is mounted across the rear axle, while the batteries and drive electronics are all housed in a hidden undertray. Much like the thoroughly modern powertrain, other concessions to modern technology were made in the scaling down process, and while the suspension features leaf springs and scaled-down, period-correct friction dampers, braking is handled by Brembo disc brakes at the front and drums at the rear.
The Blower Jnr's bodywork is crafted in two sections, and while the rear body structure is crafted in carbon fibre rather than being an ash frame, it is covered in impregnated fabric, just like the original, while the bonnet is hand-crafted in aluminium using traditional techniques and fastened with leather buckled bonnet straps.
The two-person cockpit is in a 1+1 layout, with a central adjustable driving position and the passenger travelling behind in the rear seat. The "fuel tank" is now a storage compartment complete with lockable a latch and Hedley Studios offers an optional bespoke weekend bag that will fit into it.
At the front of the car, the supercharger now houses the charging port, while in the cockpit, what looks at first to be a scaled-down replica of the original, has also bee repurposed.
The fuel pressurisation hand pump has been repurposed as the drive mode selector, with a choice of Comfort, Bentley or Sport modes. Forward, Neutral and Reverse are selected via a lever that looks and feels like the ignition advance control from the original Blower, while other switchgear for the headlights and indicators copies the form and material of the magneto switches from the original car, and the battery charge gauge recreates the original ammeter.
The company says only 349 examples of the Bentley Blower Jnr will go into production, with prospective owners able to customise their car to "their own individual style". Hedley Studios says its team will "work closely with each client to curate a Blower Jnr that is bespoke to their taste, from specific colour finishes to a choice of racing number."
"Heading into production of the Bentley Blower Jnr marks a seminal moment for our brand, as we bring to life our very first road-legal piece of automotive art," said Ben Hedley, CEO and Founder of Hedley Studios.
"Our team of engineers and craftspeople have worked tirelessly to design and craft the Bentley Blower Jnr, and in close collaboration with clients around the world, they have begun the design process of some wonderfully unique examples of the Bentley Blower Jnr.
"We’re anticipating that the first customer deliveries will commence in just a matter of months, and we’re just as excited as our clients are to see them behind the wheel and out on the road.”
Of course, it might be Suzuki Ignis-sized, but it certainly won't be Suzuki Ignis-priced. As the old saying goes "if you have to ask, you can't afford it".
