Bugatti ‘Baby II’ Type 35 mini replica priced from £27,000
Bugatti has started building its pint-sized pure-electric Type 35 toy racers
Bugatti has revealed prices for the Baby II - a 75 per cent scale, battery powered Type 35 racer, designed for both children and adults.
With a strictly limited run of just 500 units, a number of cars are still available to buy on a first come, first serve basis - the rest of the allocation is sold out.
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Prices start from £27,000 for the base-model, although that figure climbs to an eye-watering £53,000 for the Pur Sang model. It’s also worth bearing in mind that neither of those figures include VAT. Once the tax is applied, you’ll be spending more than £63,000 on the most expensive model, which is about the same as a Porsche 718 Cayman GTS.
Buyers have their choice of three specifications. The base-model comes as standard with a composite body, a 1.4kWh battery pack, regenerative braking, a limited-slip differential and an electric powertrain with two driving modes – Novice and Expert.
The former setting is designed for youngsters and provides a maximum output of 1.3bhp and top speed of 12mph. Bugatti’s Expert setting increases both of these figures, disabling the motor’s limiters to provide a maximum output of 5.4bhp and a top speed of 30mph. Range stands at around 25km (roughly 15.5 miles).
The Vitesse model is priced from around £40,000. Additions over the entry-level model include a carbon fibre body, a more powerful electric motor and a larger 2.8kWh battery pack. These upgrades give the Baby II a maximum output of 13.4bhp, a higher 42mph top speed and an increased range of 31 miles.
The flagship Pur Sang model is aimed at collectors, says Bugatti. It features the same drivetrain as the Vitesse model, but has a hand-crafted aluminium body shell, which is built using the same techniques that were used on the original Type 35 racer. The body shell takes more than 200 hours to complete.
Just like the Bugatti Chiron hypercar, the two more expensive variants also come with a “Speed Key,” which is used to disengage the toys’ speed limiter and allow it to reach its 42mph top speed.
Bugatti Baby II: body and chassis
The Bugatti Baby II’s body and chassis are near-perfect scale replicas of the Type 35’s. The model’s production started with a full digital scan of the 1924 Bugatti Type 35 Lyon Grand Prix racer, to which the designers added mounts for the toy’s modern all-electric drivetrain, detachable lithium-ion battery pack and adjustable dampers.
Its eight-spoke alloy wheels are faithful reproductions of the wheels on the original car, but are wrapped in modern Michelin rubber, rather than outmoded cross-ply tyres. The original car’s lightweight hollow front axle has also been replicated to scale, along with its suspension and steering systems.
The Baby II’s cockpit features a classic, four-spoke, wood-rimmed steering wheel, a turned aluminium dashboard and custom Bugatti gauges. The original car’s tachometer, oil pressure and fuel level gauges have been replaced by a speedometer, a battery level indicator and a power gauge (a dial which the toy shares with the Veyron hypercar).
All cars also feature a working horn, a rear view mirror, a handbrake, headlights and a remote control which can disable the car from a distance of 50 metres. On the car’s nose sits a replica of Bugatti’s famous “Macaron” badge, hewn from 50 grammes of solid silver. Buyers can also choose from a range of 21 body colours and eight upholstery finishes.
What do you make of Bugatti’s scaled-down Type 35? Let us know in the comments section below…
