Putting Baby in the corner
it Baby, but don’t accuse this miniaturised Bugatti Type 35 of being a toy. Many will doubtless be bought for the offspring of those wealthy enough to buy a full-sized Type 35, but the small EV’s 42mph top speed means it’s no plaything. ‘The EU says it is too fast to be classified as a toy,’ says Ben Hedley, CEO of the Little Car Company, which is building 500 on behalf of Bugatti.
Nearly a century ago, Bugatti created an electrically powered half-scale Type 35 for Ettore Bugatti’s youngest son Roland’s fourth birthday. The sight of this zipping around the factory persuaded many of the company’s clientele to order their own and around 500 of the original Bébé were built. They are now highly collectable (and expensive).
The new Baby II is a two-thirds replica, so it’s possible for adults to squeeze into one, although most drivers are predicted to be teenagers. Construction is similar to the full-sized Type 35’s, although the cheapest version uses composite bodywork. The downsized suspension is as the prototype’s, with positively cambered front wheels.
It is beautifully finished, as you would expect given a €30,000 starting price, with an ‘engineturned’ metal dashboard and replica instruments, of which several are repurposed to report on the charge and power flow of the electric drive system. The wooden-rimmed Nardi wheel detaches to make access easier.
Two powertrains will be available, the entry level getting a 4kW (5.4hp) electric motor at the back and a 1.4kW/h 48-volt battery pack under its bonnet; it can do 30mph. The €43,500 Vitesse gets a 10kW (13.4hp) motor and a 2.8kW/h battery, for a 42mph top speed when unlocked with a Chiron-style ‘Speed Key’.
At the top of the range is the €58,500 Pur Sang, which combines the Vitesse powertrain with hand-formed aluminium bodywork. Batteries can be recharged in around four hours from a 240V supply. If that’s too long, the battery can be removed and replaced in seconds. Range is claimed to be up to 31 miles with the larger battery; even the wealthiest are unlikely to have such extensive grounds to patrol.
The driving experience is bright and breezy. The right-hand steering wheel dictates a slouched seating position for taller pilots, but even the mass of an adult male doesn’t do much to blunt a still-potent power-to-weight ratio. Acceleration is brisk – LCC claims a six-second 0-60km/h (37mph) time – meaning that even modest straights are enough to reach the top speed. Steering is light and impressively accurate, and grip levels from the Michelin motorcycle tyres are impressive.
The electric motor gives strong regenerative braking when the accelerator is released, and only the fastest progress will require additional use of the four-wheel hydraulic system, which is fortunate given the awkward ankle articulation required to reach the pedal. Hedley says his team tried to use prototypical cable brakes, but decided not to on the grounds that ‘they were lethal’.
While the Baby II isn’t sold for road use, LCC offers an optional ‘touring pack’ that adds indicators and even a high-intensity foglamp, and Hedley admits it will be possible to register one as a quadricycle in some countries. The Little Car Company is working on other officially sanctioned miniature heroes with other manufacturers – next up will be a tiny Aston Martin DB5.