Bentley Blower Junior goes on general sale
First Edition cars were all gone long ago. Now there are 250 more offered - with a configurator to play with too
There’s a giddying sense of excitement that comes with the launch of a new car configurator. Seeing if any of the snazzy new colours fit the car, finding an interior trim that compliments it perfectly and adding every optional package just to see how much money you could possibly spend. Well, folks - there’s a new configurator in town and it’s unlike any you’ve used before. That’s because it’s for Bentley’s new Blower Junior EV, which lets you see what a configurator may have looked like had the internet been around in the 1920s.
So far, we’ve seen the 85 per cent scale electric recreation of the 1929 ‘Blower’ in traditional green with Union Flags and roundels down the sides, which featured on our test car from a few months back, as well as the Old English White car that appeared in Monterey a week ago. Those make up the Green and White packs respectively, with new additions including Black, Grey, Blue and Red colour schemes. Some hark back to moments from Bentley’s past, too, with the Blue pack marking Woolf Barnato’s race against the Blue Train from Côte d’Azur to Calais in a Bentley Speed Six, while the Grey scheme is meant as a homage to the 1929 and 1930 Le Mans-winning car that was converted for road use and repainted grey.
Bentley suggests there are ‘thousands of possible configurations’ available, which does seem a bit of a stretch given that interior colours appear to tied to whichever pack you choose, but there’s still a decent amount of customisation available. Each configuration comes with a ‘signature’ option, painting most of the lower half of the bodywork and suspension in the same shade as the body, plus you can choose whether or not to have the Union Flag on the side. Finally, there are options to have numbers printed on the grill and down the side if plan on sneaking it onto the start grid at the Goodwood Revival. Only one power grade is available, that being a 20hp electric motor with a targeted 65 miles of range.
“Craftsmanship lies at the heart of what we do, and giving customers the opportunity to curate their very own Bentley Blower Jnr through our online configurator provides a wonderful route into owning a slice of history, but with a very personal touch”, said Hedley Studios (formerly The Little Car Company) chief Ben Hedley. “Each configured pack we have on offer bears its own unique story and provenance, celebrating the great seminal moments and creations of the legendary Bentley brand.” Although the initial 99 First Edition have now sold out (at £108,000 apiece), the company has opened orders for an additional 250 cars given the success of the first batch. So, go on then. See if the configurator can tempt you into placing an order.
25-30cwt (~1300-1500kg) bodied, so no lightweights, but not huge, certainly not the 1800kg that gets bandied about in modern sources.
Of course, if you wanted something like a Bentley "litre" car with a modern engine there are probably people out there willing to hold their noses and butcher some unmarketable inter-war saloon, chop-in the bits from a scrapyard XJ and give it a cod-Bentley body. Shudder....
would like to see more old cars at 85% but with a roof and a proper engine :-)
but, must say nice weight for a EV although I guess with such range and power, not much battery :-)
so, please make also some classic sportcars with roof in 85% as fun cars
edited to say, older cars (coupe's and sort) are mostly not that wide, so if you make those cars to max 85% then keep the wide of the original car, to get an even better look in proportions, those old cars are mostly not wider then say 1.80 mtr or so (mostly way under 2 mtr) keep the wide, make them to max 85% or the real cars, shorter/lower but not smaller or slower.
Technically not needed for USA regs, a lap belt will do, but we preferred the extra level of safety.
- Ben / Hedley Studios
would like to see more old cars at 85% but with a roof and a proper engine :-)
but, must say nice weight for a EV although I guess with such range and power, not much battery :-)
so, please make also some classic sportcars with roof in 85% as fun cars
But we're looking forward to getting more people behind the wheel to give it a try so you don't have to take my word for it.
Ben - Hedley Studios
would like to see more old cars at 85% but with a roof and a proper engine :-)
but, must say nice weight for a EV although I guess with such range and power, not much battery :-)
so, please make also some classic sportcars with roof in 85% as fun cars
Was lucky enough to see many of the full size ones last year going flat out around castle Combe. I can’t afford the small or the large version. But I’d take a green one with the Union flag on the door if I could.
The originals were about the engine. This is just pathetic EV nonsense, that has nothing to with the original other than a scaled down design. Either buy a proper classic car or buy a white goods EV but don’t try to combine the two.
Not much of a wait was it, precious?
The originals were about the engine. This is just pathetic EV nonsense, that has nothing to with the original other than a scaled down design. Either buy a proper classic car or buy a white goods EV but don’t try to combine the two.
Not much of a wait was it, precious?
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