The U.Okay.’s Little Automotive Firm has added the iconic Bentley Blower to its rising checklist of scaled-down replicas.
Unveiled on Thursday throughout 2023 Monterey Automotive Week, the most recent duplicate is roughly 85% the dimensions of the unique supercharged 4.5-liter inline-4 Bentley of 1929, although it does not run on gasoline.
As an alternative it depends on a 20-hp electrical motor to cart it round, with Little Automotive Firm quoting a spread of 65 miles and a high pace of 45 mph. The corporate additionally claims the duplicate, dubbed the Blower Jnr, is street-legal within the U.S. however with its high pace capped at 25 mph resulting from rules.
Two folks can sit within the automotive, in a tandem place, and there is even a devoted area for baggage.
Little Automotive Firm Bentley Blower Jnr
The unique Blowers, nicknamed due to the supercharger the vehicles used, was made well-known by Henry Ralph Stanley “Tim” Birkin, who raced one throughout Europe within the Nineteen Twenties and early ’30s, together with within the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
To make sure authenticity, Little Automotive Firm labored carefully with Bentley’s heritage division to make sure the design and supplies match the unique. The job was made simpler as Bentley itself created a continuation sequence of the unique Blower a number of years in the past and had all the required scans and detailed drawings on file.
For the Blower Jnr, a lot of the building was completed by hand. Specs embrace a metal body, a leaf-spring suspension, and even scaled-down, period-correct friction dampers. Some trendy parts are used, comparable to Brembo brakes and the aforementioned electrical powertrain. Carbon fiber can be used for the rear fame as an alternative of wooden like the unique, although a material cowl is used, which was additionally the case for the unique.
Little Automotive Firm Bentley Blower Jnr
For the sprint, there’s engine-turned detailing, identical to the unique. Nevertheless, as an alternative of the unique gasoline stress pump, the duplicate has a drive mode selector. Gear choice is dealt with by a lever that appears like the unique’s ignition advance management, whereas different switchgear, comparable to for the lights and indicators, are all copies of the unique.
Little Automotive Firm plans to begin manufacturing within the second quarter of 2024. Pricing hasn’t been talked about.
