Millionaires often have the annual quandary of what to buy the kid who has everything, but Christmas just got a whole lot easier for Richie Rich with the announcement of a collaboration between Aston Martin and The Little Car Company.
What does it mean? Well, you can now buy a two-thirds scale electric version of the DB5 that, if you squint a little bit, could easily fool you for the real thing.
The DB5 Junior is three meters long and 1.1 meters wide, and designed to fit an adult and a child alongside each other. An electric motor sends 5kW of power to the rear wheels, and will propel the car to a 48kph top speed. That’s quite fast when you’re four years old, although do make sure your kid can reach the pedals before you let them loose—the DB5 Junior costs £35,000 (P2.24 million) before taxes.
The Little Car Company is committed to the detail—the steering wheel is an exact (but slightly smaller) replica and sits inside a full black leather interior that’s fitted with swanky carpets. The instruments on the dashboard have been made by the same company as the ’60s original (but you get a battery meter instead of a fuel gauge), and every car comes painted in the DB5’s iconic Silver Birch as standard.
The double-wishbone suspension up front and the live axle at the rear are faithful reproductions of the original car’s underpinnings; roll center and camber gain match the original geometry as well. Don’t let the kids tell anyone that, though—they’ll probably get beaten up. Completing the DB5 look are 10-inch wire wheels.
You’ll get up to 32km of range from the removable battery that sits under the hood—enough for at least a couple of trips up and down the drive. A second battery can be fitted, and each is swappable in seconds. Regenerative braking will help maximize the driving fun.
Three driving modes are available—Novice keeps the power low and makes sure that Junior and his DB5 Junior can’t get more than 30 meters away, while Expert unleashes the full power—just under 7hp—from the motor. The third mode, Race, will peg the car’s performance with other Little Car Company models that might be nearby so that you can have a little competition and keep the playing field level.
What’s that, though? Still not enough power? Well, there’s just the thing for you—for £45,000 (P2.89 million, before taxes) you can have the DB5 Vantage Junior, which boosts power to 10kW, adds the second battery as standard, fits an LSD for improved traction, and boosts top speed to an as-yet unconfirmed figure. Phew. You don’t want the standard car’s 240kg holding you back, so the Vantage uses carbon fiber to keep the weight down.
Production of the pint-sized car starts in 2021, with just 1,059 DB5 Juniors set to be built, and every owner will get automatic membership of the Aston Martin Owners Club.
NOTE: This article first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
