- Bugatti unveiled the 500-pound, go-kart-like Bugatti Baby II, a 75-percent scale replica of the 1924 Type 35 Lyon Grand Prix Car.
- There are only 500 in existence, and they run for a cool $33,000
- Oh, yeah: They're made for kids.
Good news! Bugatti built a car that costs less than a Mustang GT.
Bad news! It's sized for kids, they're only making 500 of them, and they're all sold out.
But they're taking names for the reserve list, anyway, in case anyone who's already made a deposit subsequently decides they have a better use for $33,000. Though we can't for the life of us imagine what that might be. If you have a kid whose name is a common noun, this is the toy you want. Climb in, Cardboard, we're driving to the opposite side of the compound to pick up your sister, Cantaloupe.
The Bugatti Baby II is a 75-percent scale replica of the 1924 Type 35 Lyon Grand Prix car. Which means that there's actually room for adults to drive this thing, too (an adjustable pedal box facilitates driver swaps between masters of the universe and their progeny). Attention, wealthy Shriners!
In child mode, the Bugatti Baby II has 1.3 hp and a range of 12.4 mph. Adult mode unlocks 5.4 hp and 28 mph. But some versions will have a "speed key" (just like the Chiron, and the Veyron before it) that enables 13.4 hp and kills the speed limiter. The removable battery pack is 1.4 kWh but can be upgraded to 2.8 kWh, for those buyers with really long driveways (the larger battery gives about 19 miles of range).
The basic car weighs about 500 pounds, and about a tenth of one of those pounds is devoted to the solid silver badge on the nose. There's a remote control that can kill the motor, so remember that when you decide to run away, Cardboard.
There are three versions of the car, to ensure that even some of these people will still experience envy. The Baby II is the standard car with a composite body. That's your everyday $33,000 go-kart. But if your parents really loved you, they'd at least spring for the Baby II Vitesse, which has a carbon fiber body and comes with the speed key.
The spawn of especially ruthless oligarchs will no doubt want the Baby II Pur Sang, which has a hand-built aluminum body. It's up to you whether you choose to paint that body with mercury, which is extremely lethal for the worker who applies it but looks ever so shiny! Bugatti won't do that, of course, but you could probably have it done in certain countries that aren't so uptight.
The Bugatti Baby II implies that there was a Bugatti Baby I, but frankly, we couldn't be bothered to investigate that.
Ezra Dyer is a Car and Driver senior editor and columnist. He's now based in North Carolina but still remembers how to turn right. He owns a 2009 GEM e4 and once drove 206 mph. Those facts are mutually exclusive.
