The Itty Bitty Bentley Blower Jnr Finally Enters Production

It took longer than expected, but the promised mini Bentley Blower, the Blower Jnr, from Hedley Studios (a.k.a. The Little Car Company) is finally heading into production. The company originally planned to start building them last year, but evidently it took longer to get everything ready for the vehicle. Like other vehicles from Hedley, the Blower Jnr is a smaller-scale version of a real vintage car, in this case, the 1929 Bentley Blower. Unlike its other vehicles, this mini Bentley is actually street legal, even in the US.

The Coolest Scale Model You Can Get

The specific scale of the Blower Jnr is 85% of the full-size car. It measures 145.7 inches long and 59.1 inches wide. For comparison, a modern Mini Cooper is 152.6 inches long and 68.7 inches wide. That makes the Blower Jnr genuinely small for public road use. It also reduces the amount of interior space. It carries a maximum of two people, who will sit in tandem. The attention to detail and accuracy of the vehicle are impressive. The whole car has a steel ladder frame like the real thing, and even leaf springs with friction dampers. The rear section of the body is made from fabric stretched over a carbon fiber frame, as opposed to a wood frame, and the metal panels, such as the aluminum hood, are hand-formed. The interior also features an engine-turned dashboard and classic gauges.

Where the vehicle departs its inspiration is with the powertrain. As cool as a tiny version of Bentley’s 4.5-liter supercharged four-cylinder would’ve been, it would’ve surely been another level of engineering and development headache. Plus, it would’ve likely been a problem for obtaining street-legal status. So, like other Hedley vehicles, it uses an electric powertrain. Hidden under the fake supercharger is the port for the on-board battery charger. The battery itself is nestled under the car, and the fake fuel tank at the back is actually cargo space. Sitting on the rear axle is the single electric motor, which makes 20 horsepower.

Related

Little Car Company Launches New Configurator For $62,500 Bugatti Baby II

At least it’s not a million dollars.

Few Of These Blower Jnrs Will Be Built

Production of the mini Bentleys may be under way, but not many will be built. The production cap is set at 349 examples, each of which will be customized to the tastes of the owners. As previously mentioned, these vehicles will be legal for use on public roads in the UK, Europe, and the US. That’s because they’re classified as low-speed vehicles in those different regions. The versions for the UK and Europe will be faster than the American ones, though, due to different regulations. Those will top out at 45 mph, whereas the American versions will be limited to 25 mph. That’s still better than not being street legal, because these little cars will have a bit more usability than other Hedley cars that would have to be run solely on private roads and closed courses. As for pricing, neither Bentley nor Hedley gave a number, but the price would probably buy you a very nice full-size, full-speed automobile, either vintage or new. At the same time, it’ll probably be far more affordable than a real-life Bentley Blower, either an original or a continuation.