The Little Car Company – what would you like to see next?

[TheLittleCarCo]

Dear PH,

You may have seen pieces on the Bugatti Baby II and Aston Martin DB5 Junior.
I’m the founder of The Little Car Company and a long time fan of PH, and I wanted to try something a little bit different.

As we've launched our models so far it's really hard to know what we did right and what we didn't do so right in terms of the design, the features, the specification and so on. We would love to know what proper enthusiasts think of our little cars, and see if we can find a way to take on feedback to make our current and future cars better via the PH forum. We'd also love to be able to answer any questions on what we do and the models we've made so far.

A big thing is that we'd like to know which models you’d like to see next, ideas for new features and so on. We don’t know if it will work (we may just get a stream of abuse about them being rich playthings), but we thought we’d give it a try. And we will listen to each comment and idea and see what we can do.

Where we are at:

So we have two models currently announced:
- Bugatti Baby II
- Aston Martin DB5 Junior

They were both developed in partnership with Bugatti & Aston Martin, and are both officially recognised as cars by the manufacturers. Each one took us about 18 months to develop and we have tried to include as many authentic elements from the originals as possible. The same suspension geometry as the original Bugatti T35 (so it handles the same), the solid silver Macaron from the Bugatti Chiron, the same badges and clock as the original DB5, Smiths gauges as per the original DB5s and so on.

That does also mean they are not cheap. We are working on making the cars more accessible, both in terms of being able to hire them for a drive at events, and producing lower cost models in the future. As a young (two year old) company we are still learning as we go.

We have more models in the pipeline and we hope to give you some sneak previews here, as well as updates on the development of the existing models.

We aren’t making toys - these are designed to be authentic scale versions of the original cars with as many authentic features as possible. We also can’t call them toys as they use a 48V powertrain and EU rules say that toys (for people under 14) have to be 24V and below. And if when you drive them you see they are properly quick - hence why we have different power modes for different experience levels.

The whole idea of our company is to:

- Bring the classics of the past to a new generation. We know that many of the originals are far too valuable now to hoon about for fun or even put mileage on. Many are sadly hidden away in collections. We want our cars to be used and abused.
- Show that electric vehicles can be fun - one of the bits of feedback we had from journos on test drives was that the Baby II would be much worse with a little petrol lawnmower engine in it.
- Try and give different generations the opportunity to bond over cars - many kids today don’t care about cars like we did when we were younger. This is about the Werthers originals moments, or the Patek Phillippe watch ads - creating something to teach your kids to drive in, and pass down the generations.

We have some internal rules which we try and follow:

- Safety above all else
- They need to be fun for adults and kids (the DB5 has a hydraulic handbrake for no other reason than it would be fun).
- They need to fit an adult and a kid wherever possible (the Baby is a bit tight there - the original Type 35 wasn't a big car)
- Nothing fake - we can repurpose (the fuel pump handle on the Baby II is now the F/N/R for example), but you won’t see any fake exhausts on the car.
- It has to include as many of the original elements of the cars as possible. An authentic tribute to the original. Not a remake, more of a respectful reinterpretation. These are not plastic bodies on a go-kart chassis.
- It has to be supported, endorsed and developed with the original manufacturer as we did with Bugatti and Aston Martin - we want their input to make it as authentic as possible.

So over to you PH: What car would you like to see next from us? From what brand? And what would you like to see on it? Please comment below with your ideas!

Thank you PH.

Ben

DB5 Junior






Bugatti Baby II

[TheLittleCarCo]

Hi folks,

Just to defend PH, this isn't a paid / commercial arrangement at all. We're not trying to advertise. We would just like to know what you would like to see from us next?

A couple of questions we're particularly interested in if you do want to chuck in an opinion:

Which decade are you most interested in a car coming from?
1920s / 1930s / 1940s / 1950s / 1960s / 1970s / 1980s / 1990s / 2000s / 2010s

Which of these brands would you most like to see our next car come from?
AC / Alfa Romeo / Aston Martin / Bentley / Bugatti / Chevrolet / Dodge / Ferrari / Ford/ / Jaguar / Lamborghini / Land Rover / Lotus / Maserati / McLaren / Mercedes-Benz / Porsche / Rolls Royce / TVR / OTHER

Which of these models would 'float your boat' in particular?
- AC / Shelby Cobra
- Aston Martin DBR1 / Aston Martin 1980s V8 Vantage
- Alfa Romeo 8C (Classic) / Alfa Romeo 8C (Modern) / Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider / Alfa Romeo Alfetta 158/159
- Austin Healey 3000
- Bentley Blower / Bentley Continental Convertible (Classic – S1,S2,S3) / Bentley Continental GT Convertible (Modern)
- BMW 507
- Chevrolet Camaro / Chevrolet Corvette (Classic) / Chevrolet Corvette (Modern)
- Dodge Viper / Dodge Charger (Classic)
- Ferrari 250 California Spider / Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa / Ferrari 275 Spider / Ferrari 290 MM / Ferrari 308 GTS / Ferrari Dino / Ferrari F50 / Ferrari 458 Spider
- Ford GT40 / Ford Mustang
- Jaguar C-Type / Jaguar D-Type / Jaguar E-Type / Jaguar XKSS / Jaguar XK120/140
- Jeep (Classic)
- Lamborghini Muira / Lamborghini Diablo Roadster
- Land Rover Series I/ II / III / 90 / Defender / Range Rover
- Lotus Elan / Lotus F1 Classic (12 – 49)
- Mercedes 300SL / Mercedes W196
- Maserati Birdcage
- McLaren F1 (modified to convertible) / McLaren Modern Porsche 356 Speedster
- Pagini Zonda
- Pontiac GTO
- Porsche 550 Spyder / Porsche 917 / Porsche 911 / Rolls Royce Drophead
OTHER?

We love to include "Easter Eggs" in our car, like the Bugatti Chiron Speed Key in the Bugatti Baby II. Or the hidden missile switch which doubles the power in the DB5 Vantage. What features or gadgets would you like to see?

Edited by TheLittleCarCo on Tuesday 27th October 10:53

[TheLittleCarCo]

Keep it stiff said:

Surely the ideal products are cars that children can relate and that means what they see on screen.

For this reason I think you are spot on with the DB5. Also high on the kids awareness radar I suggest would be the Delorean (lots of gadget potential to be had with that one), Batmobile perhaps, Mini (Italian job style) etc.

I suspect you will get a very different view from Dad's compared to their offspring, mind you as it will be Dads writing the cheque maybe Cobra, D Type, DB3S and 917 etc is the direction you should be heading in.

I was at a mixed car show a couple of years ago, I was parked next to a Tesla with gull-wing doors and opposite a genuine Dino. The Tesla had a scrum of parents/children around it all day, the Dino hardly got a look!

I have to say, what you have done so far looks fantastic, shame I no longer have kids on my hands to give mean excuse to buy one!

Thanks Mike. There is definitely something about the cars you relate to. When I was a kid it was the 1980s supercars (F40, 959, Countach) which I related to. We've also had a lot of grandparents buy Bugattis for their kids as they remember the originals being around when they were kids.

Taking your suggestion above, I think a Mini Moke might be interesting in terms of space and something we could build at a lower price? Love the idea of the DeLorean, but would people be upset as we'd have to make it convertible (for safety) - you then lose the doors....

[TheLittleCarCo]

In a really unscientific way, this is what we've got so far:

Single votes:
Classic Morgan (Ozzie Dave)
Riley MPH (Ozzie Dave)
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Ozzie Dave)
Riley Brooklands (Riley Blue)
Porsche 935 (Scrump
Ferrari 250 (Hol)
Mercedes W196 (Hol)
Ford GT40 (pidsy)
Spitfire (Scrump)
DB3S (Keep it stiff)
DeLorean (Keep it stiff)
Batmobile (Keep it stiff)
Mini (Keep it stiff)
Bentley Blower (AMGSee55)

Two votes:
Fab One (Bodo)
Indianrockolis 500 (Bodo) (Flintstone’s car – had to Google that!)
Jaguar D-Type x 2 (Varelco & Keep it stiff))
Jaguar E-Type x 2 (Cocknose & AMGSee55)
AC Cobra x 2 (Keep it stiff & AMGSee55)
Porsche 917 x 2 (Scrump & Keep it stiff)
Porsche 550 Spyder x 2 (Scamper & Hol)

Three votes:
Porsche 356 x 3 (Scamper & Hol & Scump)

We're definitely looking at older cars because (and I don't mean this in a bad way) they're not as well put together / much less complex.

We got a factory tour from one of our future partners who wanted us to have a crack at a current on-sale model. We were told the steering wheel on its own took a day to put together, and without massive economies of scale and robots we realised we'd never be able to build a junior car for less than the full scale one cost if we wanted to do a decent job. Fortunately older cars are a bit simpler and easier to develop.

Edited by TheLittleCarCo on Thursday 29th October 13:47

[TheLittleCarCo]

Skyedriver said:

A sort of GT26.8 ?
Sorry, not interested PH advertising (free apparently) expensive toys for very rich kids.

We're dead serious about going beyond the more expensive little cars.
You might be interested to know we've recruited four of the old TVR engineering team have joined the company to develop the cars and future projects.
And we're trying to make them as accessible as possible in the future as they are bloody expensive at the moment, but we're working on it.
In fact, drop us an email through the website and come and have a test drive at Bicester if you're passing?

Edited by TheLittleCarCo on Tuesday 27th October 20:14

[TheLittleCarCo]

Breadvan72 said:

OP, in the list of votes above, you have incorrectly listed me as voting for two types of car. I have not done so. I have no views on which products your company should develop. I am about as far outside your target market as it is possible to be. I have no doubt that products of this kind could easily sell in runs of 1000 or more - the 1% of the 1% is quite a large group. I don't understand why your company is so coy about advertising. There is nothing wrong with advertising, and this thread is an advertisement or at least a form of marketing. When a website says "Survey Monkey would like to ask you some questions about your experience buying a widget from Widgetco" , that's a form of marketing. It's not a shameful practice.

I've removed you from that vote - apologies there.
We're not coy about advertising, but this isn't what we're trying to do here. I really do want to know what people would like us develop next so it's customer research. We advertise elsewhere.
We're a small start up company and if the team keep listening to me (which they do rarely anyway) we'll end up with a skewed old portfolio.

[TheLittleCarCo]

OLDBENZ said:

Without wishing to be Captain Obvious if these are not toys but scale models intended for adult use there is a small problem with suggesting fixed roof cars for production (unless of course you are similarly built to scale).

Its a very fair point. There are a few we'd love to do (McLaren F1 / Porsche 917 (non-Can Am)) but we'd have to make them convertible and that sort of goes against our authenticity angle.

[TheLittleCarCo]

Mikebentley said:

The obvious ones have to be E Type (loads of wealthy owners), AC Cobra, Blower Bentley (shift a few at Goodwood) and Ferrari 250.

When you showed the Aston I was surprised you didn’t 3D print some door handles and have fake door shuts. I know you don’t like fake bits but I personally feel it would have finished the look.

Mike, it was one we went back and forward on. We originally had planned vinyl transfers for the outlines of the doors, but with someone inside it looked weird they were sat so far back behind the end of the door. Eventually we made the call with Aston to have them plain all the way along. We also looked at indends / a recess in the panels to hint at the door profile, but with the carbon fibre body it was hard to get the definition we needed out of the mould. It would have been a bit too soft / rounded.
The door handles we looked at, but we couldn't come up with any decent repurposing. Any suggestions?

[TheLittleCarCo]

lol64 said:

Probably not your thing, but what about kits that people can build, i.e. weld / assemble / paint / endlessly fettle. I’d love a long term project for me & granddaughter #1 and there must be endless old gits like me?

We are 100% looking at this, and trying to get the cost below (£10,000). We have some early designs we're working on - no welding needed, but paint / assemble. Maybe even a "road-legal" kit?
Once we've got the next 2 models released we should be able to focus on it.

[TheLittleCarCo]

jeremyc said:

You should team up with this guy.







All scratch built.

We know Stuart well. He's an incredibly talented engineer and his cars are fantastic. We would love to have him involved.

[TheLittleCarCo]

hyphen said:

My suggestion would be do more for those those who won't be buying one.

At £27k+vat starting price, many people who like them won't buy one, so perhaps do some 'dads and kids' type exerience days or other ways for people to experience the cars short term.

Great idea - we're hoping to run something at our base at Bicester Heritage soon. We can hire the whole track there, and give people the chance to have a run about for as long as they like. The DB5 might be better suited as it means a parent can share the car with a kid at the same time. We're hoping to do something in Q1/Q2 next year.