The Bugatti Owners’ Club and The Little Car Company announced their official partnership after a highly successful launch of the limited-edition Bugatti Baby II by The Little Car Company.
The Bugatti Owners’ Club is the oldest club for the marque in the world. It was founded in 1929 and based at Prescott Hill Climb in the UK and it currently has more than 2000 members. The partnership will enable the members of both The Little Car Company and Bugatti Owners Club to share their common interest in beautiful design and powerful engineering.
The partnership also opens up many opportunities to members of either organization, which includes participation in events at the Bugatti Owners’ Club clubhouse which is tucked in the iconic setting of Prescott Speed Hill Climb in Gloucestershire.
The Bugatti Baby II is a modern-day remastering of the original Bugatti Baby by The Little Car Company. The example is important for two main reasons, one, it helps in preserving the history of the Bugatti marque, and secondly it will also help inspire a new generation of Bugatti enthusiasts.
“As the oldest Bugatti Car Club in the world we are delighted to have formed a new partnership with The Little Car Company, focused on their Bugatti Baby II. We are looking forward to working with The Little Car Company closely and developing a strong partnership centered around the excellence of Ettore Bugatti’s design and engineering prowess that has proven to be visionary and timeless throughout the decades. This has been exceptionally captured and reimagined with the Bugatti Baby II and we look forward to celebrating this common affection through the development of the association of our two organizations.”
Bugatti Owners’ Club General Manager Gemma Price.
The Bugatti Baby was first manufactured in 1926. Ettore Bugatti, along with his son, Jean, thought to build a 1:2 scale of the Type 35 for Roland, Ettore’s youngest son, for his fourth birthday. Ettore and Jean initially planned the Bugatti Baby to be just a one-off model, but it received a lot of positive feedback from clients that were visiting Molsheim that Ettore decided to put the Bugatti Baby into production.
Between 1927 to 1936, there were 500 units of the model made. With the Bugatti Baby II, enthusiasts can now own a piece of history.
The Little Car Company did a digital 3D scan of an original Lyon GP car, copying even the geometry and suspension so the handling is as authentic as can be.
The Little Car Company did some minor modern modifications with the addition of the adjustable dampers so that clients can tailor the handling, a feature that was not possible with the former Type 35. The improved handling of the Bugatti Baby II was additionally refined at the Prescot Speed Hill Climb course.
The Bugatti Baby II also had faithful working replicas of the original instruments of the Type 35, although with a few minor modern adaptions. The fuel pressure gauge was replaced with a battery gauge and inspired by the Bugatti Veyron, they replaced the oil gauge with a power gauge.
For easier access to the cockpit, a quick release was added to the scale replica of the beloved four-spoke steering wheel.
The famous Bugatti “EB” logo is proudly displayed in the solid aluminum adjustable pedals. The fuel pump handle was replicated exactly although it now used as the forward, neutral, and reverse selector.
Unlike the original Bugatti Baby, which was a 50% scale of the Type 35, the Bugatti Baby II is a 75% scale of the Type 35 with the speed an improvement on the former, achieving 0 to 60kph in just six seconds.
As a tribute to the modern engineering of Bugatti, the Vitesse and Pursang models will have a ‘Speed Key’ where it can have a top speed of 70kph (42mph). Like the original, there will only be 500 units made.
“The Bugatti Owners’ Club has been incredibly supportive from day one and has been instrumental to the success of the Bugatti Baby II project. As custodians of Ettore Bugatti’s legacy, we knew their approval would always be the hardest to earn, a remarkable undertaking that we are incredibly proud to have achieved. We are honored that with this partnership we are able to help ensure that the extraordinary craftsmanship of Ettore lives on to be enjoyed for the generations to come.”
The Little Car Company CEO, Ben Hedley stated.
More information on the limited edition Bugatti Baby II can be found at The Little Company website.
[Source: The Little Car Company]
