This is the Bentley Blower Jr, an 85 per cent scale recreation (not replica) of the magnificent 1929 Supercharged Bentley. The latest vehicle from The Little Car Company, the Jr is a beautifully authentic recreation that somehow conveys the size and heft of the original, with the 4.5-litre engine swapped out and replaced by a 15kW electric motor.
We've previously enthused over The Little Car Company’s pint-sized recreations of classic Bugattis, Ferraris and Aston Martins, but the Blower Jr is by far the physically largest project the company has undertaken (to date).
At 3.7m long and 1.5m wide, the Blower Jr is still a pretty sizeable machine, with a presence that matches the interwar original. The Little Car Company’s team used Bentley’s own 1929 4.5-litre Supercharged Team Car No. 2, one of the most prized cars in the brand’s Heritage Collection, to master the design, form and materials of the Blower Jr, with details recreated at the chosen, still sizeable, scale.
This particular original car (insured for £25m) will also inspire the colour and trim of the first 99 Blower Jrs to come off The Little Car Company’s modest manufacturing facility at Bicester, Oxfordshire, from early in 2024.
The ‘Blower’ name comes from the superchargers used to boost the power of the fabled racing Bentleys of the 1920s. Just 55 of these 4.5-litre machines were made, five of which were earmarked for competition use. ‘UU 5872’, shown here, finished second in the 1930 Le Mans 24 Hours race, behind another Works Bentley. Bentley has owned the car since 2000.
Crucially, unlike The Little Car Company’s other products, the Blower Jr has been designed to be fully road legal. With tandem seating for two adults and their luggage, and an expected range of around 65 miles, it won’t be challenging even the lightest of modern city cars. However, the Blower Jr’s top speed of 45mph will certainly keep it competitive in urban traffic, allowing it to live up to the company’s suggestion that it is ‘the most sophisticated city car ever built’. It will also share the giddying handling characteristics of its stablemates, providing enormous entertainment on the track.
Hand-built, using materials and techniques derived from the original car, the EV rides on a painted steel frame, complete with leaf springs and friction dampers. The electric motor is mounted across the rear axle, with batteries and electronics concealed within a hidden undertray.
The original cars used an ash frame for the bodywork, but the Blower Jr utilises carbon fibre, over which is stretched the same impregnated fabric used in the 1920s cars.
The front-mounted supercharger – designed to suck in more air to the engine – has been repurposed as a charging socket (Type 1 and Type 2 included), with the Bentley mesh grille all present and correct. There’s also the distinctive pattern of engine-turned aluminium on the dash, with switches that imitate the look and feel of the original car, albeit repurposed for an EV drive system. A concealed USB charge point, discreet satnav and reversing camera complete the suite of essential modern tech.
As with every undertaking by The Little Car Company, detail is top-notch. Every facet of the car has been developed in close collaboration with Bentley itself, right down to the rope-wound steering wheel. A couple of years ago, the British luxury car maker kicked off its own exclusive edition of 12 Continuation Blowers at its workshops in Crewe. Using a mix of ancient and modern toolsets (and ancient and modern experience and skill), Bentley is precisely replicating the original cars at 1:1 scale, especially for those who want to participate in classic rallies and races without the insurance headaches and ruinous repair costs.
Bentley's Continuation series is a profitable sideline for a company that prides itself in its bespoke capabilities; 12 examples of the Bentley Speed Six model will follow. At a fraction of the cost, dare we say it, but the Blower Jr is perhaps a more sensible bet for the eccentric everyday driver.
For more details, visit BentleyBlowerJr.com
