The Little Car Company prides itself on being at the forefront of producing junior cars partnered with the some of the worlds most elite and high profile vehicle manufacturers. Founded in 2018, they are engaged in the production of junior versions of superior marques such as the Aston Martin DB5 Junior, the Ferrari Testa Rossa Junior and the Bugatti Baby. Each car is hand built in the UK, and is an officially licenced model of its brand.
In 2018, CAI were approached by CEO Ben Hedley to produce a set of instruments for their Bugatti Baby, an electric driven junior version of the iconic Bugatti Type 35. The hand built vehicle is scaled to 75% of the original car, and features Controller Area Network (CAN) driven electric gauges, highest quality components and is decorated with the sterling silver Bugatti “Macaron” badge.
The instrument set consists of 80mm dual scale speedometer measuring speeds from 0-80Km/h (0-50 MPH), 52mm illuminated time clock, 52mm power meter and Battery Meter. All gauges are CAN enabled and feature white dials with black print, black pointers, half round aluminium bezel and the BUGATTI red logo.
CAI were also commissioned to manufacture a set of instruments for the Aston Martin DB5 Junior. Built to a scale of 66% of the original, each limited-edition vehicle includes the classic Aston Martin badges, Silver Birch paintwork, Smiths instruments, and individually numbered chassis plates.
The instruments were designed aesthetically identical to the original, but scaled to fit the Junior model and feature the original Smiths styling with chrome bezels, black dials and white font. The set is made up of a speedometer, power meter, original DB5 clock, battery level, battery temperature, state of charge gauge, motor temperature and direction gauge. The original 100mm Speedometer and the Power Meter, which replaces the Tachometer have been resized to 80mm to fit.
Following the success of the DB5 Junior and Baby Bugatti, CAI were further commissioned by the Little Car Company to design and manufacture a set of CAN gauges for the Baby Ferrari Testa Rossa; an electric powered reproduction of the 1957 250 Testarossa scaled at 75% of the original.
We worked closely with the customer who were keen to preserve the style of the original 1957 250 Testa Rossa gauges. All classic black dials were repurposed for their electric environment but retained the original design and fonts. The oil and water gauges have been replaced by battery and motor temperature gauges, in place of the fuel gauge sits the battery gauge and the tachometer, no longer required for an electric drive is replaced by a power gauge.
The speedometer, which is centred and is the main focal point of the dashboard, completes the set. It features a battery warning light and LED illumination. All CAN bus (Controller Area Network) enabled gauges feature black dials with white print, chrome bezels, original fonts and the distinctive Ferrari trademark or Ferrari logo.
CAI continues to supply The Little Car Company with electric gauges for their Junior models. The success of the new technology of gauges has paved the way for other electronic vehicle projects.
