Bentley revives Blower as an EV

Bentley and Hedley Studios have united efforts to bring back the iconic 1929 Bentley Blower. The new car, a replica called Blower Jnr., is all-electric and only 85% as large as the original. Production plans exist for 349 examples, with the first ones set to ship in late summer.

The exterior of the car has been painstakingly copied from an original Blower kept in the company’s museum. The replica was downscaled to 3.7 meters (~144 inches) long and 1.5 meters (~58 inches) wide for convenience. It seats two people – the driver at the front and a passenger in the back.

Bentley says the mechanical design and layout partially mimics that of the original car, but with some modern-day improvements. For example, the Blower Jnr. uses Brembo brakes and has a carbon-fiber bodywork at the back. The interior retains many of the original levers and switches, but they perform new functions now. Thus, the fuel hand pump lever is now used for drive mode selection, while the spark timer serves as a transmission selector. The ampere gauge now displays the remaining battery charge.

Armed with all of 20 horsepower (15 kilowatts), the replica can attain a top speed of 72 km/h (45 mph). Its U.S. version will be further capped at 40 km/h (25 mph). The battery pack runs out of charge after 105 km (65 miles). Despite all this, Bentley says it is street-legal.

The development and testing took a year and a half to complete, according to the engineers behind the project.