Jonny drives scaled-down Bentley Blower Junior on public roads

Paying homage to the famous vintage racer, this 85% scale replica Bentley is fully road legal. But, with a top speed of just 45 mph, can it keep up with modern traffic?

From ¾ sized Ferraris to baby Bugattis, Hedley Studios are the experts when it comes to shrinking classic cars. However, while its previous works were little more than expensive playthings for remarkably rich kids, its latest reimagining can be driven on the public highway. Well, sort of… As The Late Brake Show host, Jonny Smith, finds out, joining the dual carriageway in a vehicle that tops out at 45 mph isn’t for the fainthearted. 

As he’s buffeted by the wind and clutching his flat cap for dear life, Jonny confesses that that the Blower Junior isn’t best suited to faster roads. Thankfully, the baby Bentley is much more at home on rolling rural and urban routes. Here, the 15 kw all-electric powertrain makes it feel usefully spritely. And, thanks to a lack of inertia — at 550 kg, the Blower Junior weighs less than a third of the real deal — the handling is surprisingly entertaining. 

So if it’s more than a toy, who is it aimed at? Jonny suspects the Bentley will be snapped up by those who already own several authentic vintage supercars (perhaps even an original Blower), but who also want something that’s far easier to live with around town. We get the logic: it looks the part without costing a fortune to fuel or failing to squeeze into a conventional parking bay. Oh, and any rogue stone chips and parking dings won’t sting quite as badly as they would in the £5 million original.

On that subject, you’re probably wondering how much this exquisite recreation will set you back. Given that fellow quadricycles like the Citroen Ami cost around £8,000, the baby Bentley’s £90,000 starting figure might be enough to make you dizzy.  However, as Jonny confesses, the Blower Junior is worth more than the sum of its parts. “Ordinarily I’m confused by cars like this, but there’s a real charm to this one. I’m grinning before I’ve even sat in it.” 

Is this pint-sized machine a gateway to classic car ownership? Hit play to explore every quirk and feature.