A Company In England Is Building Small, Drivable Replicas Of Classic Cars
Most of us will probably never get the chance to own something like an Aston Martin DB6 or a Ferrari 250 GT. But, as Bloomberg reports, a company in England is willing to make those big dreams come true, albeit in a smaller form.
A company called Little Car Co. builds actual operating scale models of classic cars. Working out of an old aircraft hangar in Oxfordshire, England, a small team of 25 hand builds every model. These aren't just some run-of-the-mill, rich people toys. These are sophisticated, drivable (not street legal of course) models. Think of them as being a few steps above a go-kart in terms of sophistication and features, but still below a golf car and full-on car as far as speed and legality go.
How sophisticated are these things? The attention to detail is incredible and ensures that everything, from wheel design to the interior is replicated exactly. We're talking things like leather seating, LED headlights, adjustable dampers, different power modes for the 13 horsepower electric motor and regenerative braking with Brembo brakes. Can you imagine that? Brembo brakes on something most people would consider a novelty. There are also special keys that remove the speed limiter, which is set at 30 mph. Last year, our own Brett Berk had the chance to drive the Baby Bugatti at Willow Springs. It held its own and he actually managed to get it up to a whopping 42 mph.
The founder of the company, Ben Hedley, told Bloomberg that more often than not, these little cars act as a complement to the actual cars. Something the owners can have fun in since the real cars are too delicate to be driven regularly.
"Many beautiful cars from the past have become too valuable to drive every day. If you've got an Aston Martin DB5 and take it out for a 1,000-mile round trip, you've just knocked $50,000 off from the value."
The models cost as much as an actual full-sized mid-range to luxury car, but they do cost much less than the cars they are modeled on. Not that price really matters as Hedley told Bloomberg 40 percent of his customers already own a vintage or modern Bugatti. So if you're buying one of these, you already need to have some cash.
Right now the company only makes two models: a Bugatti Type 35 replica called the Bugatti Baby II that ranges from $37,000 to $80,000 depending on how you customize it; or there is an exact 66-percent scale model of the Aston Martin DB5 called the DB5 Vantage Junior. The DB5 will come out later this year with a starting price of $48,000. The company is planning on making 1,059 examples. Thirty of the 500 Bugattis the company will produce have been delivered to customers, with 90 percent of the available spots for a model sold. The company plans to introduce six more models in the next few years. So if you've been eyeing that vintage BMW but you want something you can actually play in, Little Car Co. might have something for you.