Expert in redesigning exceptional junior cars in partnership with the most elite car manufacturers, The Little Car Company has made its name in automobile sector with their unique approach to hand-build each customized model as per customer’s requirements.
Talking about their latest developments regarding Tamiya Wild One MAX Launch Edition, Aishwarya had a brief chat with Ben Hedley, CEO of The Little Car Company.
Primarily dealing in reforming classic cars, what prompted you to focus on electric vehicle segment?
For us, our brand philosophy is all around celebrating iconic vehicles of the past but in a new, fully electric way. We want to prove that EV’s can be fun.
Launching limited edition series, how do you select your possible clients or is it based on pre-order, first come first served basis?
All of our cars are strictly limited editions and are offered on a first-come-first-served basis. Existing Little Car Company clients do receive priority build slots for new releases so that they are able to add to their collection.
Re-releasing an old classic comes with expectation. Were the original parts manufactured or were supplied from the original manufacturer?
It’s an extensive process and that is why we employ some of the most experienced engineers in the industry from a range of testing environments. At the design stage, it’s important we have access to the original drawings to remain as authentic to the original as possible. Alongside this, we painstakingly 3D scan every component of the original car to grasp an understanding of dimensions and scale. Both these elements form the start point for design. On all of our cars, nothing is fake. By this I mean that if there are components on the car which are no longer needed – we repurpose them, rather than include them just for the aesthetics. For example, on the Bugatti Baby II, the iconic rear fuel filler cap has now been repurposed as the car’s electric charging point, and the fuel gauge is now the battery level indicator. Every prototype is meticulously examined by the brands that we work with before production can begin. This process involves many stakeholders from the Classic Design departments, through to their Test Pilots signing off the performance and handling of the vehicles to ensure they handle just like the original.
Mention the challenges the company faced while building this high specification-based Tamiya Wild One MAX Launch Edition?
The engineering of each of our vehicle is incredibly complex. We pride ourselves on craftsmanship and detailed engineering which allows us to bear the marque of the brands we work with. Like all automotive brands, we have been hit by supply chain delays which has resulted in slower development of this project. However, we are really excited to finally reveal the car to the public this summer. We’ve listened to the Tamiya community and taken on board a lot of feedback from deposit holders which has fed into the latest design of the Launch Edition.
What is the expected date for Tamiya Wild One MAX Launch Edition?
This will be revealed to the public for the first time this Summer.
Click Here to get the latest EV news and exclusive updates from EV Mechanica on WhatsApp!