When Bentley let R&T drive the original 1929 Blower "Team Car" a couple of years ago, the automaker estimated its value to be around $34 million. Bentley subsequently created a run of near-identical Continuation models, which were sold to a dozen lucky collectors for $2.1 million each.
Now, there is another officially sanctioned Blower replica for those who missed out on that chance. This one is being sold for barely one-twentieth of the price of the Continuation, but it has been reduced in size by only 15 percent. It is the Bentley Blower Junior, complete with an EV powertrain and the promise of road legality, albeit only under the Neighborhood Electric Vehicle (NEV) standards that will limit top speed in the U.S. to a modest 25 mph.
Ludicrous as that combination of statistics makes the Junior sound, it is desperately hard not to be impressed when seeing it in the metal (and fabric). The car was unveiled at Monterey Car Week in California on Thursday, but R&T got the chance to see the prototype version up close in the U.K. last month. We can confirm that even a Bentley Blower at 85 percent scale still possesses commanding presence.
The Blower Junior is the latest product from the Little Car Company in the U.K. This is the same outfit that has already produced smaller, electrically powered versions of other Premier Cru classics including the Bugatti Type 35, Aston Martin DB5, and Ferrari Testa Rossa. (It's also set to build an upsized version of the Tamiya Wild One RC car.) But while the earlier classic replicas have been aimed at the children of the superrich, and built to scales of between 66 percent and 75 percent, the Blower is both bigger and intended for more serious use, even on road.
In Europe it will be, legally, an L7e quadricycle and will have a top speed of 45 mph, allowing it to be driven on everything short of multilane highways. U.S. legislators seem more timid, with the NEV regulations limiting it to 25 mph on roads with posted speed limits of under 35 mph.
The need for road homologation means the Junior has well-disguised turn signals, as well as rear license-plate lamps. It has also the required fitment of strange-looking upright pillars that will be used to allow for three-point seatbelt mounting. The Blower Junior has also been upgraded to hydraulically operated brakes with front discs and rear drums—sensible improvements considering the lack of retardation we experienced from the 1929 Blower's cable-operated drums.
While the original Blower needed to accommodate a vast supercharged four-cylinder engine under its long hood, the Junior does not. That was obvious on the prototype with the chance to see daylight through the louvers on each side; LCC says it is considering repurposing the under-bonnet area to carry luggage and also block out the light better. Even without this, the Junior does already have storage space; the rear-hung "gas tank" actually hinges open to reveal a modest trunk. There is similar subterfuge at the front of the replica, where the cast "supercharger" contains the charging port. The rear bodywork uses period-appropriate treated fabric around a carbon-fiber structure.
The Blower Junior's battery is a compact 48-volt unit that sits beneath the floor and has a capacity of 10.8 kWh. That's reckoned to be enough for around 65 miles of range under Europe's WLTP testing protocol, a figure it is hard to imagine too many owners making even occasional use of during a single journey. The rear-mounted motor has three power outputs, these selected by the round circular knob on the dashboard (a homage to the original Blower's manual fuel pump.) In Comfort it has a kid-friendly 2.7 hp, Bentley then raises this to 10.8 hp, and selecting Sport takes it all the way to 20 hp. Even then the power-to-weight ratio will be someway short of that of the original Blower, which pitted a reputed 240 hp against 3600 pounds. We don't have final weight figures for the Junior, but LCC says to expect it will be around the 1200-pound mark.
While smaller than the car that inspired it, the Blower Junior is still 146 inches long, making it longer than a modern Fiat 500 and barely shorter than a Mini hatchback. Despite that, it can only accommodate two occupants, one behind the other, with the rear seat slightly offset to increase legroom. The cabin is beautiful, with a milled aluminum dashboard very similar to that of the original Blower, plus the use of what looks like domestic light switches for controls. And who doesn't like a cord-wrapped steering wheel? Suspension design is very similar to the original Blower too, with solid axles at each end with elliptical springs and circular friction dampers. Beyond the lack of speed, and the presence of brakes, the driving experience should be vintage Bentley.
How much for this spectacular gewgaw? A figure that will ensure exclusivity: $115,000 for the limited-to-99 First Edition at current exchange rates, with that getting standard British Racing Green paintwork and a Union Jack. Tallyho!
Our man on the other side of the pond, Mike Duff lives in Britain but reports from across Europe, sometimes beyond. He has previously held staff roles on UK titles including CAR, Autocar and evo, but his own automotive tastes tend towards the Germanic, owning both a troublesome 987-generation Porsche Cayman S and a Mercedes 190E 2.5-16.
