Bugatti Pedal Car

Designed and built in South American by Pur-Sang of Argentina, this baby Type 52 has to be the ultimate Christmas present for the kid who has everything.

Those of you who recognise their Bugattis might think that this is a scaled model of say a type 35, but it is in fact a full-scale replica of a Type 52 Bugatti. The Type 52 was built for Roland, the second son of Ettore Bugatti, and shown at the 1927 Milan Auto Show. Designed for a child between six and eight years of age, the Type 52 had a top speed of around 25kph from its 12V accumulator, was just under two metres long and weighed 68kg. Like all good models, the wheels were faithful scaled reproductions of the real thing and had specially made pneumatic tyres. Type 52s were obviously very expensive and built for the aristocracy.

Pur Sang

In a recent issue of NZCC we featured Pur Sang of Argentina, which makes gorgeous full-scale replicas of the type 35 Bugatti. They are now building type 52s and one was recently imported into New Zealand by Devereux Ltd.

Designed for a child between six and eight years of age, the Type 52 had a top speed of around 25kph from its 12V accumulator

We road tested one of these cars and can attest to its performance. Alas, being full-sized, none of our normal road-testers can fit into this Bugatti, so we enlisted the assistance of the publisher’s No2 son, Freddy Vincent. Freddy was going to provide a full report, but has been engaged on some urgent X-BOX testing and hasn’t had time, although we managed to elicit from him that it was ‘cool’ and ‘wicked’.
It has one forward gear and one reverse, and simply lifting off the throttle will stop the car, although a hand operated brake outside the cockpit provides good retardation.
We established that it is a good thing to have plenty of room to use the Pur Sang Bugatti Type 52 as it has enough performance to draw a sweat on a grown-up’s brow if there are full size cars around to negotiate.

Pur Sang has also made an incredibly faithful half-scale Aston Martin DBR1, which, like the Bugatti, is a work of art. The Argentinean craftsmen at Pur Sang go to incredible lengths to replicate the real thing, most of which will be lost on the drivers, but will be a source of immense pleasure to their parents.
You will need a substantial sum to indulge your youngster in either the Bugatti or Aston Martin, but email info@devereax.co.nz for more information.

A Little Chummy Named Lo-Litre

Chris looks at a hand-made pedal car

Lo Litre is unique — a hand-made pedal car replica of the 1928 Austin Seven Chummy tourer taking its name from the low capacity 750cc motor of the full-size car. The owner/builder talks happily about his little Chummy on a no names, no pack drill understanding. “It’s definitely a one-off. I won’t be doing another,” he says.
When asked why he built Lo-Litre, his answer is a jest. “I’m not allowed any more full size vintage cars, so I went for a shrunken one instead.” Building began at the end of 2000 and took up 18 months of spare-time work, which he says was often an hour snatched here and there. Scrap metal, Velcro and items he purchased at a swap meet went into the construction.

Lo Litre is just over 1m long, 48cm wide and weighs approx 13kg. The maroon painted aluminium body and black mudguards closely match those of the actual Austin Seven that inspired the pedal car. Hinges from a piano lid are fitted to the opening bonnet and the driver’s door opens by turning a bonnet vent handle from a pre-war Austin 10.

The pedal car has a mock engine with a removable dipstick and its spark plugs are made from nuts, bolts and bits of brass. There’s a carburettor and magnetos, as found in the real car — the last Seven model exported to the Southern Hemisphere with a magneto engine — and a brass sleeve crank handle turns the engine’s fan blades.

Authentic look

The motor meter on the radiator was made from a brass screw, melted down and shaped, with the meter’s hands coming from an old watch. Some mesh that looked right went into the radiator grille, while an Austin club lapel badge became the name badge on the radiator. A member of the owner’s family created the rest of the pedal car’s authentic-looking Austin labelling by hand The only other help he received was from a friend with better welding skills.

A dummy spare tyre sits at the rear. The wheel has a vinyl cover to look the part because another matching wheel was unavailable. Lo Litre’s four wheels came from a Pedigree pram, the white tyres receiving a coat of black paint for their new role. A chain drive was fitted to make it easier for the short legs of young children to turn those big wheels.

Seats are upholstered in black vinyl and have fluted backs with plain squabs resembling as closely as possible those found on the full-size car. The seats in Austin Seven tourers were built this way because rain would get into the flutes giving the driver and passengers wet backsides. Lo-Litre’s fold-down hood is made from the same black vinyl as the seats and the spare tyre cover.

Two size D torch batteries power the headlights and taillight. The headlights were once Lucas sidelights, a standard fitting for Austin cars, while the taillight is modified from a bicycle. Structural steel, bent and shaped, forms the steering wheel, while the hand throttle and the ignition lever on the steering wheel are moveable. The dashboard has an amp meter and speedometer.

An adjustable rear vision mirror is mounted in the centre of the windscreen, while the antique-sounding horn on the right side was once a battery-operated horn from another pedal car. The owner describes the view from the Perspex windscreen as the same as looking through a real one — only scaled down.
As this story went to press, Lo Litre awaited its first test drive.