Finally, a Bugatti that only costs $68,000, but there's a catch
The catch is that it's a three-quarter-scale replica of a Type 35 race car, and it only does 43 mph.
While a Bugatti Baby may sound like a third-rate Soundcloud rapper, it's actually a scaled-down vehicle produced by Ettore and Jean Bugatti in the 1920s -- initially as a gift for Ettore's youngest son, but due to customer interest they later built a full 500 of them.
Now, when I say scaled-down, I mean it. The Bugatti Baby was a half-size recreation of the legendary Type 35 grand prix car (aka the winningest racing car in history) powered by a primitive electric drivetrain. The cars were used and abused by children, and as such, they are exceedingly rare today.
Today's Bugatti decided that it might be time to take a brief break from 1,600-horsepower hypercars, and partnered with The Little Car Company to produce a new version of the Bugatti Baby -- though this time it's 75% of the size of the Type 35 -- and offer it for sale.
The three-quarter-scale Baby Bugatti II is still electric, but because things are just a little more advanced in the world of electric drivetrains now than they were in the mid-1920s, these costly toy cars are capable of delivering what should be a reasonably hilarious driving experience.
The Baby II will be offered in three trim levels: Base, Vitesse and Pur Sang. Both the Base and Vitesse models will have dual driving modes with different power levels suitable for novice and more experienced drivers, respectively. The Pur Sang model also has those modes, but benefits from a more powerful drivetrain.
The interior is very close to that of the original Type 35.
Just how powerful are these little cars? Well, the Base model produces 1.3 brake horsepower in Novice mode and 5.4 bhp in Expert mode. The speeds are limited to 12 mph and 30 mph, respectively. The Vitesse and Pur Sang models get an additional mode, unlocked by a Bugatti Speed Key (like the Chiron) that will give the car 13.4 hp and a top speed of 43 mph. Bugatti claims the Pur Sang and Vitesse models will try and spin the rear wheels in the top mode.
Powertrains aren't the only thing that separates the three models. The materials from which their bodies are constructed are also different. The Base model gets a composite body. Vitesse upgrades that to carbon fiber. The Pur Sang is made with a hand-beaten aluminum body, much like the original would have been. Bugatti says it takes 200 hours to complete a single body.
Inside the cars, the instrumentation is a reasonably faithful recreation of what you might see in an actual Type 35 race car except the fuel gauge becomes a battery gauge and the oil gauge becomes a power gauge (like in the Veyron).
The chassis design is also faithful to the Type 35 thanks to 3D-scanning technology. The Baby II engineers used a genuine Type 35 that sees regular use and scanned the entire thing. This means your Baby will get quarter elliptical springs in front and semielliptical springs in back with friction dampers instead of shocks. If it was good enough for Pierre Veyron, it's good enough for your Little Lord Fauntleroy.
Of course, with all this talk of performance and accuracy in design, suffice it to say the Baby II is not cheap -- then again, neither is anything with a Bugatti badge. The base model will be offered for the equivalent of $34,720, while the Vitesse will sell for just over $50,000. The Pur Sang? That'll set you back an absurd $67,844 (for what is, let's not forget, an electric toy car).
If you find yourself as rich as Croesus and feel that a Baby II is just what you need in your life, you can inquire about getting one at BugattiBaby.com.
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