The first all-electric Bentley isn't what you would have expected. Instead of going head-to-head with the Rolls-Royce Spectre, Bentley has collaborated with The Little Car Company to create an 85% scale replica of its 1929 4.5-litre Supercharged, more commonly known as the Blower.
Revealed during Monterey Car Week in California, the Bentley Blower Jnr is a replica of the company’s own Team Car No 2, and it is the first road-legal vehicle to come from The Little Car Company.
Headquartered in Bicester, Oxfordshire, you may remember The Little Car Company’s previous creations. These include miniature electric replicas of the Bugatti Type 35, Aston Martin DB5 and Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa. It’s even working on an off-road buggy resembling the Tamiya Wild One remote control car.
Back to the Bentley – which is road legal thanks to electric quadricycle laws in the UK, EU and USA – and we have a car powered by a 15 kW (20 horsepower) motor on the rear axle, using a 48-volt electrical system and with a claimed range of up to 65 miles.
The top speed is 45 mph in the UK and Europe (but 25 mph in the US due to local legislation) and as with other Little Car Company creations there are three drive modes with varying maximum power outputs.
Built entirely by hand, the Bentley Blower Jnr has seating for two adults sitting one behind the other, each with a conventional three-point seatbelt. A charge port is concealed in what was the front-mounted supercharger of the real thing, and the interior features dials that resemble those of the 1929 original, but repurposed for the electric drivetrain.
Owned by Bentley, insured for £25 million and still regularly driven, the original No 2 race car was used by The Little Car Company as a reference point for the design of the Blower Jnr. Scaled down to 85 percent, the result is a car that measures 3.7 metres long and 1.5 metres wide. Unlike previous products from The Little Car Company, the Blower Jnr was designed from the start to be fully road legal; no need for customers to stick to private land this time.
The car features an authentic chassis attached to a painted steel frame. Accurate details include leaf spring suspension and scaled-down, period-correct friction dampers. The car has modern Brembo disc brakes up front and authentic drum brakes on the rear axle, while the batteries are housed in a hidden undertray.
Instead of using ash wood like the 1929 racer, the Blower Jnr’s rear structure is made from carbon fibre, but covered in impregnated fabric just like the original. Behind the passenger compartment is a lockable boot, housed in what would have been the fuel tank and into which customers can store an optional, bespoke weekend bag. Up front, the bonnet is made from aluminium and secured with buckled leather straps.
Inside, the dashboard features an engine-turned aluminium finish. The original’s fuel pressure pump has been repurposed as the drive mode selector, with modes called Comfort, Bentley and Sport, just like in today’s Bentley cars.
Forward, neutral and reverse are selected via a lever designed to look and feel like the ignition advance control of the original Blower, while switchgear for the headlights and indicators copies those of the Blower’s magneto switches.
The battery charge gauge recreates the original’s ammeter, there’s a discreetly concealed USB charging port, and lastly a dual-function display serves as both a Garmin navigation system and a reversing camera.
Although not strictly a limited-edition vehicle, the first 99 examples of Blower Jnr will be First Edition models. These have unique badging, Blower Green bodywork, chassis and wheels, a Union flag hand-painted on both sides and an interior with Dark Green Lustrana hide by Mulliner – as used by Bentley for its own, full-size Blower Continuation Series.
First Edition cars also get painted race numbers and an authentic rope-bound steering wheel. They are priced from £90,000 excluding VAT and shipping, and production is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2024.
