Bentley has brought its 1929 Team Blower together with three smaller versions in Crewe, as the first 25 of Hedley Studios’ road-legal, electric Blower Jnr cars get ready for customers.
How many Blowers does one company need? Bentley’s answer appears to be four, in four very different sizes. The brand has lined up its original 1929 Team Car No. 2 at its Crewe home alongside three smaller versions, ranging from a road-legal electric car to a model that fits on a desk.
The occasion is more than a family photo. The first 25 examples of Hedley Studios’ Blower Jnr are now finished and ready to go to customers. Amalgam Collection has also revealed a new 1:18 scale model.
The Original Article
At the centre sits the 1929 Bentley 4½ Litre Supercharged Team Car No. 2, registered UU 5872. It was one of four Team Blowers built for competition, and it raced at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1930.
It hasn’t been retired to a plinth, either. The car remains an active part of the Bentley Heritage Collection, appearing at events and historic driving experiences around the world. Its exposed mechanicals and upright proportions make it one of the most recognisable cars from Bentley’s early racing years.
Blower Jnr Reaches Customers
The Blower Jnr was first shown in 2023 as a joint project between Bentley and The Little Car Company, now renamed Hedley Studios. It is an 85 per cent scale, fully electric car that can be driven on public roads.
The figures are modest, and that’s the point. A 23kW (31bhp) powertrain gives a top speed of more than 80km/h, with a certified range of up to 120km. This is a car for country lanes and gentle trips, not motorways.
The bigger achievement sits behind the scenes. Founder Ben Hedley says the difficult part was the hidden work: lighting, indicators, brakes, the electrical system and even a reversing camera, all designed to blend into the car. Production is limited to 349 units. Hedley believes it may be the first recreation of a pre-war design homologated as a newly built production road vehicle, a claim the company makes itself.
The first 25 cars were completed at Hedley Studios’ Bicester workshop. Fittingly, the first of them has gone to Bentley and is now at the Crewe campus.
Smaller Still
Amalgam Collection fills the other two spots. Its 1:8 scale Blower first appeared in February 2020, and the new 1:18 model joins it. Developed with Bentley, the smaller car is the most technically accomplished 1:18 model Amalgam has built, according to the company.
Two details stand out for collectors:
- Matched specification: Blower Continuation Series owners can commission a 1:8 or 1:18 model that mirrors the specification of their own car.
- Race-weathered 1:8: limited to 30 hand-painted examples, it recreates Team Car No. 2 as it looked after Le Mans in 1930, bent rear wings from tyre failures included.
That weathered version is a nice touch. Most models celebrate a car in showroom condition, while this one records the damage it took in competition.
One Car, Many Afterlives
Bentley hasn’t released pricing for any of the recreations. Even so, the line-up shows how much one racing car can still produce nearly a century later. Few pre-war icons now exist as a heritage racer, a continuation series, a homologated electric road car and a choice of detailed models. If you own a full-size continuation Blower, you can now order a miniature that matches it right down to the specification.
