You Can Design Your Own One-of-a-Kind Car Replica With Hedley Studios

It all started with a dent in a Bugatti chassis.

Ben Hedley had been car-obsessed since childhood—so much so that, as an undergrad at Cambridge, he managed to keep a car on campus despite a university ban. “I justified it as being part of the windsurfing club,” he says of the old, rusted MGB roadster he’d rebuilt. “[It] broke down every 10 yards.” Still, a traditional path into the automotive industry didn’t appeal. “They let you design window wipers for six years, then you get a door mirror all of your own,” he jokes. Instead, Hedley began importing go-karts from Asia modeled after classic cars. That’s when a friend at Bugatti asked if he’d be interested in a side project: creating replicas of the Bugatti Baby.

Originally built in the 1920s by founder Ettore Bugatti for his 4-year-old son, Roland, the pint-size electric car soon became a hit among family friends, resulting in a limited run of 500. But not all of these models were used by children. Hedley noticed a recurring dent behind the driver’s seat in the originals—a telltale sign that adults had tried to climb in, leaving a permanent impression. His solution? Scale the cars to 75 percent of full size. “When Bugatti came along, they said, ‘I thought you were making a toy, but you made a little car,’ ” he recalls. “I was looking to make an accurate reinterpretation of the thing that adults could enjoy and that Ettore would approve of.”

That prototype sparked what became the Little Car Company—now known as Hedley Studios—a thriving business dedicated to crafting what he proudly calls drivable art. The firm collaborates directly with marques such as Aston Martin, Bentley, Bugatti, and Ferrari to build scaled re-creations of iconic cars. Each is produced in ultra-limited numbers and offers deep levels of customization. “A lot of car companies have to be cautious and careful with their brand,” he says. “But what we’re allowed to do is act like a naughty little brother.”

Now, through this exclusive Vault experience, you can join the mischief. You’ll work directly with Hedley and his team to design your own one-of-a-kind collectible, complete with an official chassis plate from the original automaker. Choose from reimagined legends like the Bugatti Baby II, Aston Martin DB5 J, Ferrari Testa Rossa J, or Bentley Blower Jnr. Every one has its own character—whether it’s the Bond- inspired Aston, with simulated Gatling guns and a license plate that plays the 007 theme, or the Bentley Blower Jnr, based on the 1929 4.5-liter Team Car No. 2 and engineered as the brand’s first road-legal scaled re-creation car.

Because the company is small, the customization possibilities are virtually endless. One client brought in her favorite bubblegum-pink handbag; the team scanned it to match the car’s paint exactly. Another commissioned an all-white model, then handed it off to an artist for four days of hand-painting. A third requested a Bentley with a built-in surfboard rack. But perhaps no order topped the one from a New Yorker living on the 76th floor of a Manhattan skyscraper: To ensure the car could be delivered, Hedley’s team built a replica of the building’s elevator in their Oxfordshire HQ. The finished vehicle now sits beside a picture window with sweeping views of Central Park. “We had to make sure the hand brake was pretty good, so he doesn’t drive it out of the window,” Hedley jokes, adding, “No, we disconnected the power.”

As part of this unique experience, you’ll spend time with Hedley himself, hearing stories like these during a one-on-one design consultation. Together, you’ll customize every detail—from colors to materials to hand-painted initials—of your motoring masterpiece.

The package includes a night at the Four Seasons Hotel London at Tower Bridge, a wine-paired tasting menu at its restaurant Mei Ume, and helicopter transfer to Hedley Studios HQ. A few months later, you’ll return to Oxfordshire to get behind the wheel of your completed car—wearing your custom driving gloves, of course.

“One of our great testing routes for the Bentley Blower Jnr is to Soho Farmhouse,” Hedley says. “[It’s] a beautiful drive through the countryside. And we can stop at a nice English pub—for a nonalcoholic beverage.” $352,000