Lifestyle
Bugatti Baby is Back
Almost a century ago, Ettore Bugatti himself crafted a unique toy for his son Roland, turning the Bugatti Type 35 into a scaled kiddie car. This year Bugatti produced 500 copies of the iconic racer, replacing its internal combustion engine with an electromotor.
December 25, 2020
The iconic Bugatti Type 35, built in 1924, is generally recognised as the most successful racing cars of all time. During its long career it was the champion of around 2,000 professional and amateur races. In 1926 the founder of Automobiles Ettore Bugatti and his son Jean built a half-scale Type 35 for Ettore's youngest son, Roland, to mark his fourth birthday.
Image: Bugatti
The kiddie car was such a success, that Ettore's clients soon asked him to make one for their own children. Some 500 cars nicknamed the Bugatti "Baby" were produced and sold. Production ended in 1936, so they are very rare and expensive collectibles for Bugatti fanatics today.
Image: Bugatti
A contemporary tribute to Ettore's masterpiece, launching almost a century after its predecessor, the Baby II has been created using the latest technology, whilst maintaining the utmost respect for the brand's heritage. Hand-built, the car was designed with the aid of a precise digital scan of the original Type 35, created for the 1924 French Grand Prix in Lyon.
Baby II is a genuine mixture of technologies and heritage. Its' eight-spoke aluminium alloy wheels are faithful reproductions of the wheels on the 1924 original car but are wrapped in modern Michelin rubber. The original car's front axle has also been replicated to scale, along with its suspension and steering systems. The cockpit of the Baby II features Bugatti's signature turned aluminium dashboard, a leather seat and a scale recreation of the Type 35's distinctive four-spoke steering wheel. The original car's tachometer, oil pressure and fuel level gauges have been replaced by a speedometer, a battery level indicator and a power gauge. The Baby II is electric driven, as a toy car ought to be.
Baby II is a genuine mixture of technologies and heritage. Its' eight-spoke aluminium alloy wheels are faithful reproductions of the wheels on the 1924 original car but are wrapped in modern Michelin rubber. The original car's front axle has also been replicated to scale, along with its suspension and steering systems. The cockpit of the Baby II features Bugatti's signature turned aluminium dashboard, a leather seat and a scale recreation of the Type 35's distinctive four-spoke steering wheel. 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. The Baby II is electric driven, as a toy car ought to be.
Image: Bugatti
The Bugatti Baby II is available in three versions. The Base model features a lightweight composite body shell and a 1.4 kWh battery pack, with base prices at $36,600. The mid-tier Vitesse trim – base prices starting at $53,000 – has a carbon-fiber body and a 2.8 kWh battery. And finally, the 'top-of-the-line' Pur Sang model which is the most sought-after by adults over children. It has a similar powertrain to the Vitesse but has a hand-formed aluminum body instead of carbon-fiber. According to Bugatti, it takes up to 200 hours of labor to hand-form the Pur Sang's body panels. The Pur Sang is the most expensive of the lot with base prices starting at $71,400.
Banner image: Bugatti