- The newest electric Bentley is probably not the one you were expecting.
- This one-of-one Bentley Blower Junior is the work of Hedley Studios, and it’s heading to Jason Momoa.
- Built in partnership with Bentley Motors, the 85% scale vintage-looking car has the charge port in what looks like a mechanical supercharger.
Bentley’s first production electric car is scheduled to arrive next year, but a little independent studio in the United Kingdom is already building battery-powered Bentleys—with a twist.
Hedley Studios’ latest creation was commissioned by American actor Jason Momoa, who wanted a unique car that stands out from the crowd of blob-shaped EVs. Based on the Bicester studio’s Bentley Blower Junior, Momoa’s one-of-one EV has more than 100 bespoke or specially designed components, including a specially created Momoa Crimson paintwork, aged brass body detailing, a Koa wood dashboard, and a hand-carved brass skull drive selector that took over 100 hours to complete.
Photo by: Hedley Studios
Up front, the “666” radiator badge pays tribute to Momoa’s grandfather, who was nicknamed “El Diablo,” while the dashboard discreetly shows a “Momoa 1 of 1” badge.
It’s a stunning little piece of machinery, but there’s some explaining to do. While it looks like a vintage supercharged race car, this is, in fact, a brand-new car. It’s also smaller than the original. Built by Hedley Studios in collaboration with Bentley Motors, the Blower Junior is a hand-built 85% scale representation of the 1929 Bentley 4½ Litre Supercharged—with the Blower designation coming from the massive, front-mounted supercharger.
Instead of the massive inline-four under the hood, Hedley Studios fits a 20-horsepower (15-kilowatt) electric motor and a 48-volt battery that enables an estimated driving range of 65 miles (105 kilometers).
The car is a faithful recreation of the original, with the supercharger case acting as the charge port’s home, which I think is a clever little trick.
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Source: Hedley Studios
All of this being said, while the original was a fire-spitting, tire-squashing, 3,800-pound beast, the modern recreation is classified as a low-speed vehicle and can be legally driven in the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom. In the EU and UK, it’s categorized as an L7e vehicle with a maximum speed of 45 miles per hour (72 kilometers per hour), while U.S. customers will have to contend with an LSV classification that limits the top speed to just 25 mph (40 kph).
The two-seater weighs 1,212 lbs (550 kg), and its 10.8-kilowatt-hour battery pack needs between three and five hours for a full charge. Pricing starts from $121,000 (£90,000).