Category Archives: News

LEGO Technic Mercedes-AMG F1 W14… | Set Previews

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#TeamLH #Blessed #Vegan #JoiningFerrarifortheMoney

Shock Formula 1 news this week, as the most successful driver of all time is due to depart the team with whom he has won six World Championships to join Scuderia Ferrari at the end of the 2024 season.

Lewis Hamilton is looking for his eighth title, to take him clear of sharing the championship record with Michael Schumacher, and thinks Ferrari might be the team to do it (despite their long-time strategy of buying past champions, and promptly consigning their winning streak to history). There may also be some money involved.

Cue #TeamLH, surely at the bottom of even the filthy cesspit that is ‘X’, losing their collective minds, and 2024’s Mercedes-AMG F1 W15 being the team’s last to be driven by Lewis.

But back to 2023 – when Hamilton was definitely never ever leaving Mercedes-AMG – and two new LEGO Technic sets that add the season’s second best car to the 2024 Technic line-up; These are the brand new Technic 42165 Mercedes-AMG F1 W14 E Performance Pull-Back and Technic 42171 Mercedes-AMG F1 W14 E Performance.

Technic 42165 Mercedes-AMG F1 W14 E Performance Pull-Back

Constructed from 240 pieces and aimed at ages 7+, the Technic 42165 Mercedes-AMG F1 W14 E Performance Pull-Back, which we won’t be referring to by its full title again, brings Hamilton’s 2023 Formula 1 racer to bedroom floors for a pocket-money price.

With accurate shaping and livery, plus authentic sponsorship decals, 42165 looks fantastic (even if it doesn’t have slick tyres…. again), making it perhaps the best Pull-Back Technic set LEGO have ever created.

But it’s also $27/£21, which is about twice the price that Technic Pull-Backs used to be. Thus despite being the best ever Pull-Back Technic set, it might simultaneously be the worst $27/£21 one, with no technical features whatsoever.

For #TeamLH* we suspect that won’t matter though, and if you’re among them you can get your hands on the new 42165 Pull-Back when it goes on sale later this year.

Technic 42171 Mercedes-AMG F1 W14 E Performance

At six times the pieces and nine times the price, this is 42165’s (much) bigger brother; the brand new LEGO Technic 42171 Mercedes-AMG F1 W14 E Performance.

Aimed at ages 18+, 42171 recreates Lewis Hamilton’s 2023 Formula 1 car at a huge 1:8 scale and, unlike the recent non-specific 42141 Technic McLaren Formula 1 Race Car set, is a true replica of its real-world counterpart.

With accurate sponsorship decals and awesome new slick tyres (hurrah!!), 42171 certainly looks the part, but is perhaps a bit light on the technical bits. There’s working steering, a V6 engine and rear differential, an opening rear wing mimicking DRS, and… that’s it. Which is about as much a set costing a quarter of the price. And that price is $220/£190.

Thus despite its 1,520 pieces, 42171 is going to be a rather exclusive set. Which is suitably Formula 1. Expect to see those ace new tyres opening up a world of new creations though…

*If #TeamLH discover that LEGO included an Ayrton Senna mini-figure in the Icons 10330 McLaren MP4/4 set, but that neither of these Mercedes-AMG F1 sets include a miniature Lewis Hamilton, Twitter’s going to explode.

LEGO Icons 10330 McLaren MP4/4 & Ayrton Senna | Set Preview

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LEGO and McLaren have been hard at work, because the Speed Champions 76919 2023 McLaren Formula 1 Race Car is not the only new McLaren Formula 1 set to arrive in 2024. This is the new LEGO Icons 10330 McLaren MP4/4 & Ayrton Senna!

Arriving in March of this year, 10330 brings one of Formula 1’s most famous cars to the Icons range; the McLaren-Honda MP4/4, which – in the hands of Aytron Senna and Alain Prost – won an incredible 15 of the 16 races in the 1988 Formula 1 season, and gave Senna his first Driver’s World Championship.

The first LEGO set to wear the Honda badge (which means we might get to see more Honda sets in future), 10330 is constructed from 693 pieces and includes working steering, a detailed (but non-working) replica of the RA168E V6 turbo engine, suspension (we’re guessing rubber blocks rather than springs here…), plus authentic slick tyres and sponsors. Those tyres will be particularly exciting for many Lego fans, who’ve never yet had access to non-treaded rubber.

But what of the 10330 McLaren MP4/4 & Ayrton Senna set’s ‘& Ayrton Senna’ bit? Well, the late Ayrton Senna’s name is a carefully curated brand in its own right these days, and 10330 duly comes with an inappropriately-sized mini-figure that looks vaguely like him.

However with under 700 pieces yet costing $80/£70, we’d rather have saved a few quid to not have the pointless mini-figure and additional branding associated with it. Still, LEGO no doubt calculated the ‘& Ayrton Senna’ bit resonates with the set’s 18+ target age group, and thus kinda-Senna is here, holding a trophy and looking rather superfluous alongside the racing car in which he drove.

Dubious mini-figure inclusion and high price aside though, the LEGO Icons 10330 McLaren MP4/4 (& Ayrton Senna) set does look rather excellent, and you’ll be able to get your hands on one when they reach stores in March of this year.

Speed Champions 76919 2023 McLaren Formula 1 Race Car | Set Preview

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During our reveal of the 2024 LEGO Speed Champions sets, fans may have noticed that one number, 76919, was missing. Well it’s missing no more; this is the brand new 76919 2023 McLaren Formula 1 Race Car!

Replicating last year’s podium-placing McLaren MCL60 racing car (although peculiarly not called that), 76919 recreates Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri’s 2023 challenger from 245 papaya and black pieces, and about the same number of stickers.

It’s here we’d normally bemoan the stickerage, but in the case of a Formula 1 car, where the real thing wears sponsors on every inch of bodywork, they create wonderful authenticity. Every real McLaren Team sponsor is included, even the dodgy crypto-currency ones, whilst the slick tyres wear accurate Pirelli-printed type too.

The new 76919 2023 McLaren Formula 1 Race Car will reach stores in March of 2024, and we’re hoping it’s the start of many more LEGO Speed Champions replica F1 racers.

Speed Champions 2024 | Set Previews

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It’s that time of year again, when a special group of Lego Car Blog Elves, chosen due to their ~~expendabilit~~y… er, we mean ‘bravery’, are selected for a top secret mission.

That mission is to infiltrate The LEGO Company’s HQ, avoid being eaten by the German Shepherds, and return triumphant / mildly chewed to TLCB Towers having scooped the brand new Speed Champions sets joining the line-up.

But why risk our mythical workers for a few LEGO sets? Partly because we never seem to run out of them, but mostly it’s because the Speed Champions theme is the best decision LEGO have made since they invented the LEGO brick. Real-world cars for pocket money prices? What’s not to love. And here are the new ones…

76920 Ford Mustang Dark Horse

LEGO will never run out of real-world Mustangs to recreate in brick form. Ford’s seemingly endless supply of special edition ‘stangs – all stupidly named and all equally likely to stack it leaving a car meet – culminated in 2023* with this, the 500bhp ‘Dark Horse’.

Created from 344 pieces, the Speed Champions 76920 Ford Mustang Dark Horse looks right on the money – although inevitably with a few more stickers than we’d like to see – and features some surprisingly complex SNOT techniques, particularly to create the hood and rear window.

A female mini-figure driver is included and we expect 76902 to cost around £20/$26 from March next year, when you’ll be able to recreate your very favourite Mustang crashes at home.

*Until Ford release the next Mustang special edition in a few weeks.

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76921 Audi S1 e-tron quattro

The second new entry to the 2024 Speed Champions range brings a prototype all-electric racing car to the line-up; this is the Audi S1 e-tron quattro, using all lower-case because that’s cooler, and as deployed brilliantly in the last ever Ken Block ‘Gymkhana’ film.

Aimed at ages 9+, the new Speed Champions 76921 Audi S1 e-tron quattro is constructed from 274 pieces, of which about half of them wear a sticker.

The result looks as wild as the real thing, and whilst we bemoan the uses of decals to create every single detail, they are at least individual to each part, allowing the model to be deconstructed and the pieces re-purposed, as LEGO should be.

Priced identically to the 76920 Mustang Dark Horse above, 76921 will reach store shelves in March 2024 where for us, it’ll stay. Bricks beat stickers, every time.

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76922 BMW M4 GT3 & BMW M-Hybrid V8

The final new addition to the H1 2024 Speed Champions range is a racing car double, the Speed Champions 76922 BMW M4 GT3 & BMW M-Hybrid V8.

Featuring 676 pieces, 76922 includes new wheels and a racing driver mini-figure for each of the real-world BMW racers, with plenty of SNOT techniques and even more plentiful stickers doing a great job of recreating BMW Motorsport’s mega four-colour livery.

We expect 76922 to cost around 60% more than the single car Speed Champions sets when it races into stores next year, and it could be the pick of the bunch.

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That’s the brand new LEGO Speed Champions line-up for 2024; three new sets, four new cars, and about a million stickers. They do look good though.

Each will be available from March next year, with prices expected between £20/$26 and £35/$45. Great stuff.

LEGO Technic H1 2024 | Set Previews

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It’s time! After a period lost in space, and with the Elves that managed not to become German-Shepherd-snacks safely back at TLCB Towers, we can reveal the brand new for 2024 LEGO Technic line-up. And it’s such a good one…

42163 Heavy-Duty Bulldozer

LEGO have released several Technic bulldozers over the years, with recent incarnations being large enough to actually bulldoze. However we kick-off the 2024 Technic range with one that marks its entry point, the lovely 42163 Heavy-Duty Bulldozer.

Aimed at ages 7+ and with under 200 pieces, 42163 is the best starter set we’ve had in a long time, and includes rotating tracks plus a neat worm-gear driven blade elevation mechanism, controlled via a cog on the roof. A few System parts add realism and – joy – it needs no stickers whatsoever. Top work LEGO.

42164 Off-Road Race Buggy

The excellentness continues with the second new Technic set for 2024, the 42164 Off-Road Race Buggy. Aimed at ages 8+, the 219-piece ORRB looks a bit like ‘RC’ from ‘Toy Story’, and it seems LEGO have remembered more than just that computer-animated movie from 1995, having equipped 42164 with proper mechanical functionality that we thought they’d all but forgotten in recent starter sets.

Harking back to those mid-’90s Technic sets, 42164 includes working rear suspension via a single-shock, a miniature V4 piston engine turned by the rear wheels, opening doors, and – more unusually – tilt steering (like a skateboard).

The set also features good visual details, some almost comically generic stickers (what should be written on the side of a buggy if not ‘buggy’?), and some rather non-off-roady tyres, but overall we think the 42164 ORRB looks great, presenting another fine way for newcomers to begin Technic building…

42166 NEOM McLaren Extreme E Team & 42169 NEOM McLaren Formula E Team

…unlike these two. OK, that’s a little unfair, because LEGO do seem to have got their head around ‘Pull-Backs’ after some dismal efforts, with recent sets being visually appealing and bringing some unusual licenses to the range. 2024 continues this trend with the 42166 NEOM McLaren Extreme E Team and 42169 NEOM McLaren Formula E Team sets.

Aimed at ages 7+ and 9+ respectively, the new sets recreate two of McLaren’s non-F1 race teams, both of which are electrically-powered. Each does a decent job of reflecting its real-world counterpart, although via the assistance of a million stickers, whilst the 452-piece 42169 Formula E car (the most pieces for a Pull-Back ever?) also includes working steering alongside the obligatory kinetic motor. Operating this whilst deploying the aforementioned motor is probably the trickiest thing you’ll ever do however…

42167 Mack LR Electric Garbage Truck

The electric and officially-licensed trend continues with the next new addition to the 2024 Technic range, the superb-looking 42167 Mack LR Electric Garbage Truck.

Constructed from just over 500 pieces and aimed at ages 8+, 42167 resembles a miniaturised version of the 42078 Mack Anthem B-Model, and features some lovely mechanical functions, including working steering, a side-mounted bin emptying mechanism, and a tipping compactor, all controlled by hand via various cogs.

Wearing thoroughly excellent messaging and with a few new parts too, 42167 could be the pick of the range when it reaches stores early next year.

42168 John Deere 9700 Forage Harvester

Away from the starter sets and things are getting bigger, although not by much. This is the 42168 John Deere 9700 Forage Harvester, a 559-piece replica of the ‘self propelled forage harvester’ fitted with ‘ProStream Cropflow’ and ‘XStream KPTM’, according to the excerpts we took from John Deere’s website. We’re not really sure what any of that means, nor that 42168 needed to be an officially licensed set, but we suppose it’s nice to have the added authenticity.

Working rear steering and an elevating and spinning harvesting header (via many yellow cogs linked to a small jockey wheel on the ground) are the working features, which is actually a little less than the smaller 42167 Mack and 42164 ORRB. Still, if ‘Farming Simulator’ is your thing, then the 42168 Forage Harvester may be your cream of the crop when it reaches stores alongside the rest of the 2024 Technic range in January.

42170 Kawasaki Ninja H2R

The final new Technic set in our H1 2024 preview is this, the 42170 Kawasaki Ninja H2R. Yup, LEGO have partnered with another motorcycle manufacturer following their successful collaborations with BMW Motorrad, Yamaha, Harley Davidson, and Ducati, bringing Kawaski’s legendary Ninja to the Technic line-up.

In doing so, 42170 doesn’t actually bring anything new to the Technic Superbike genre beyond the new partnership, but it does offer as much in the way of working functionality as its predecessors, with working steering and suspension, a foot-peg operated two-speed plus neutral gearbox, and a piston engine buried somewhere inside the frame.

Aimed at ages 10+ and with 643 pieces, the 42170 Kawasaki Ninja H2R will join the rest of the 2024 Technic line-up in stores early next year, which – in case you missed it – includes a few new additions we really weren’t expecting.

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Let us know your favourite new 2024 Technic set in the comments. Us? We’ll be picking up the trash in the 42167 Mack LE Electric Garbage Truck. Although… there is one set number as yet unfilled…

LEGO Technic 2024 | Set Previews [Lost in Space]

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It’s that time of year again, when a crack team of TLCB Elves ‘volunteer’ to be fired over the perimeter wall of LEGO’s HQ. Their mission; to uncover the new-for-2024 Technic sets, dodge the guard dogs, and return with this new set bounty to TLCB Towers where fame and glory awaits. By which we mean they’ll get fed.

However this year, things have gone… well, unexpectedly…

42178 Surface Space Loader LT78

No it’s not April 1st, these really are (some of) the new LEGO Technic sets arriving in 2024, when – for the first time – LEGO’s Classic Space theme and Technic will collide like an asteroid into the surface of the Earth.

Four new Technic Space sets will launch in 2024, each bringing a galaxy of new elements, and each wearing a distinctive white-and-orange colour scheme. This is the first, the 42178 Surface Space Loader LT78.

Interestingly, LEGO have decided to give a Classic Space vehicle code to the new sets’ titles, with the Surface Space Loader denoted as an ‘LT78’, which is what we’ll call it from now on.

Aimed at ages 8+, LT78 features working rear-steering, a curious transformable body – where the bubble cabin can be raised above the surface or lowered close to it – and a side-loading mechanism for picking-up or depositing an orange crate. Kinda like a space garbage truck.

Newly grey tyres, 435 pieces, and a multitude of stickers complete the 42178 set, and you can expect to see LT78 and its cosmic counterparts in Earthly stores for 2024.

42179 Planet Earth and Moon in Orbit

There is one exception to the vehicles in the 2024 Technic Space range, and this is it; the 42179 Planet Earth and Moon in Orbit, although we’re not sure why LEGO didn’t just call it an orrery, seeing as that’s what it is.

Constructed from 526 pieces, the 42179 orrery creates an approximation of the Moon’s orbit around the Earth, and the Earth’s around the sun, with each celestial body represented via bespoke half-sphere elements (with the moon being a ball on a stick).

Turning a handle at the base of the orrery sends the Earth on its orbit courtesy of a large Technic arm, accurately spinning the planet on the correct tilt as it does so, whilst the Moon circulates it.

It’s a lovely example of mechanical engineering, something that perhaps Technic has lost in recent times, and we think it looks rather beautiful too.

The 42179 Planet Earth and Moon in Orbit is perhaps the most unusual addition to the Technic line-up that we can remember, and yet… it’s the one we’d really like to take home.

42180 Mars Crew Exploration Rover

The largest of the 2024 Technic Space sets is this, the 1,600-piece 42180 Mars Crew Exploration Rover. Apparently ‘Inspired by NASA Mars Rover Concepts’, 42180 is a huge six-wheel tow-truck/mobile laboratory arrangement, complete with a rotating and lifting crane, pendular suspension, working steering, and a body that can expand or condense for… er, space reasons.

Like 42178, the 42180 set also uses a myriad of System parts alongside its Technic components for greater detail, and allows for range of accompanying equipment, including gas canisters, a robotic rover, and storage containers. These items can be loaded on board by the crane, or there’s another bin-lorry-type-hoist at the rear, with all of the above controlled by mechanical levers and knobs.

The aforementioned System parts also mean that 42180 is approximately mini-figure scale, with a detailed crew quarters and cab suitable for your Classic Spacemen. They probably can’t wait.

New wheel covers, an array of decals, and the return of the Classic Space logo all feature, and you’ll be able to get your hands on the new 42180 Mars Crew Exploration Rover when it deploys in 2024.

42181 VTOL Heavy Cargo Spaceship LT81

The final set in the 2024 Technic Space line is this, the 1,365-piece 42181 VTOL Heavy Cargo Spaceship LT81.

Looking like some sort of spacey Bell-Boeing Osprey, the LT81 features pivoting engines to enable vertical flight, controlled via a mechanical cog, whilst another deploys the landing gear.

A container and a remotely operable vehicle are included, which can be plucked from the martian surface via a fuselage-mounted hook system. It also appears that the container from 42181 is able to be connected to the those included within the 42178 and 42180 sets, combining to build something no doubt very spacey indeed.

As with the other sets in the new Technic Space line, several new parts make their debut on LT81, with others available for the first time in new hues, whilst System pieces are combined with Technic (plus many stickers) for added detail.

Aimed at ages 10+, the 42181 VTOL Heavy Cargo Spaceship LT81 will land at the start of next year. Start turning your bedroom floor into a martian landscape now…

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We didn’t see that coming. LEGO’s decision to combine Technic and Space could well be an inspired one, but even if you’re not too sure about trading a supercar, tractor, or giant crane for a martian rover, we suspect many builders will be interested in the new Technic Space line for the parts alone.

Being a car blog, we’re rather more interested in the new earth-based vehicles that we’ll be able to reveal soon, but we nevertheless salute LEGO for boldly going where they’ve never gone before. And we really do like that orrery.

Bottled It – LEGO Halt Bricks Made from Bottles

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The LEGO Company’s products are built on oil.

Made from acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, LEGO bricks are a ‘virgin’ plastic; non-biodegradable, and crude oil based.

Of course this longevity means that LEGO bricks can be passed on to the next generation, an antidote to the mountains of disposable single-use toys cluttering up the world’s landfills, but the crude oil problem still looms.

LEGO are all too aware of this, having pledged to create bricks from sustainable materials that can continue to be passed down the generations. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) looked a promising solution; reusing the millions of single-use plastic bottles (that invariably end up in our oceans) to create LEGO pieces.

Unfortunately, following two years of testing, LEGO have scrapped the project, after discovering that using recycled PET bottles didn’t reduce carbon emissions.

The cause was the extra energy required to turn a recycled bottle into a LEGO brick, and thus the company has “decided not to progress” with making pieces from PET.

And we think they should be applauded. So many companies would have proceeded, doubtless with an immense PR fanfare, claiming the development meant their products were ‘good for the environment’, despite knowing the truth to be rather different. In the age of egregious green-washing, The LEGO Company have done what is right, not what looks to be.

LEGO remain committed to producing bricks from sustainable materials by 2032, and when they do we’ll be rather more sure of their environmental claims than we are of most.

LEGO Icons 10318 Concorde | Set Preview

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LEGO’s latest Icons set is arriving with a boom. This is the brand new Icons 10318 Airbus Concorde.

Developed in the 1960s by France and Great Britain, the Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde was the world’s first supersonic airliner. Flying at twice the speed of sound, Concorde halved traditional jet airliner travel times, and could fly higher and faster than even fighter jets of the time.

Unfortunately this incredible speed meant immense noise, and not just the sonic boom but during take-off too, limiting supersonic flight to the skies over open water and causing almost every potential airport destination to block Concorde flights in the face of local opposition.

It also meant huge costs, more than double those of a conventional jet airliner, with Concorde (operated in effect by the British and French governments) losing money every single year.

The British Concordes were eventually sold for ‘next to nothing’ to the newly privatised British Airways, and yet – despite all the problems and the financial disaster of the project – Concorde was the way for wealthy passengers to fly transatlantic until its retirement in 2003.

Paying homage to probably the most iconic aircraft ever built, the new 10318 Concorde set recreates the supersonic airliner from 2,083 pieces, and includes a miniaturised interior, working retracting landing gear, and the aircraft’s famous ‘drooping nose’ that allowed the pilots to see the ground when taxiing.

Measuring over a metre long and aimed at ages 18+, 10318 is expected to cost $199.99 / £169.99 / €199.99 when it reaches stores next month, and you can book your supersonic flight from September 7th.

Lego Technic 42159 Yamaha MT-10 SP | Set Preview

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LEGO’s officially licensed motorcycle range is about to get bigger!

Yes, following the fantastic recent 41207 Ducati Panigale V4 R and 42130 BMW M 1000 RR Technic sets, LEGO are bringing not just a new superbike but a new manufacturer to the line-up. This is the brand new 42159 Yamaha MT-10 SP.

Constructed from almost 1,500 pieces, the new 42159 set recreates Yamaha’s flagship 1000cc 4-cylinder superbike in Technic form, and brings with it a whole host of new pieces too.

Working suspension front and rear (the front using the lovely gold shock-tubes seen on the 42107 Ducati), a 4-cylinder engine with (gold) chain drive, functioning steering, bright blue wheels (the design of which debuted on the 42130 BMW M 1000 RR) and a three-speed gearbox all feature, with the latter of these likely be of the most interest to Technic builders.

That’s because the Yamaha’s gearbox debuts a slew of all-new transmission components, including shift drum, shift fork, gear shift ring and ratchet drum parts.

These new pieces are rather brightly coloured when compared to the grey components of old, but we suspect that won’t matter too much to those eager to deploy them in their own builds.

An augmented reality app, physical and digital building instructions, a display stand, and the prerequisite black box with ’18+’ printed on it ensure that the new LEGO Technic 42159 Yamaha MT-10 SP is a set pitched squarely at adults, as does the £200 price of admission when it reaches stores in August 2023.

Expect those new transmission components to be changing hands for similarly hefty prices very soon after…

LEGO Icons 10321 Corvette | Set Preview

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LEGO’s fantastic officially-licensed momentum continues… this is the brand new 1,210-piece LEGO Icons 10321 Corvette!

Interestingly forgoing ‘Chevrolet’ in the set title, the 10321 Corvette brings the second generation of Chevrolet’s iconic fibreglass sports car to the Icons (previously ‘Creator Expert’) range.

It’s a fine choice too, as – like the Ford Mustang – any generation of Corvette after the ’70s has more than a hint of ‘douchbag’ about it. Not so the ‘60s Corvettes however, which are perhaps the classiest – and most beautiful – American cars of all time.

The Icons 10321 Corvette set captures the early ’60s aesthetic of the real car beautifully, with a red-over-white colour-scheme, kinda whitewall tyres (via white rims behind grey caps), three sets of license plates, and a gorgeous curved windshield that is repeated at the rear on the hardtop version. Details are brick-built for the most part, with only a few well chosen badging decals enhancing the realism.

A convertible can also be constructed, with both versions featuring working tie-rod steering, opening hood, doors and trunk, and a detailed engine and interior.

The new Icons 10321 Corvette set will reach stores in August of ’23, costing around $150/£130 and aimed at ages 18+. Don’t worry if you’re not in LEGO’s ‘adult’ target demographic though – it’s a marketing ploy only, designed to make it more acceptable for Dad to bring one home claiming – as LEGO do – that it’s a “Mindful project for adults”.

Which this Dad is absolutely going to do. For his mindfulness obviously.

Lego Technic H2 2023 | Set Previews

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It’s new set reveal time here at The Lego Car Blog, and we have two brand new officially-licensed vehicles joining the Technic line-up for 2023! Read on to find out more about LEGO’s latest additions…

LEGO Technic 42161 Lamborghini Huracan Tecnica

The first of the two new sets arriving in the second half of 2023 comes from a staple of LEGO’s real-world partnerships, and follows the enormous (and enormously expensive) 42115 Lamborghini Sian FKP 37 set released in 2020. Like its 3,700-piece big brother, 42161 adopts Lamborghini’s signature lime green, but shrinks the package down to a far more attainable scale and price point, and represents a Lamborghini we’ve actually heard of.

Unfortunately the functions are scaled down too, with only a miniature V10 piston engine driven by the rear wheels and ‘HOG’ steering, which doesn’t seem like much for c£50. However – like many recent Technic sets – technic-ness seems to be secondary to aesthetics.

Extra visual detail is supplied via a range of decals, and whilst we’re bemoaning the fact that ‘in our day’ a Technic set half the size of 42161 would include steering, a piston engine, suspension, and probably something else too, LEGO know what appeals to the nine-year-olds of 2023. And that’s 800 largely lime-green pieces and a badge with a bull on it.

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LEGO Technic 42160 Audi RS Q e-tron

The second new set arriving in the second half of 2023 brings another real-world car to the Technic range. Sort of. This is the Audi RS Q e-tron, a prototype buggy that raced (and was soundly beaten) in the recent Dakar Rally. Still, it was an intriguing entry, using a mid-mounted 2 litre petrol engine to generate power for four electric drive motors.

LEGO’s new 42160 set recreates not just the look of the RS Q e-tron (via so many stickers), but rather excitingly it replicates the electric all-wheel-drive system too, with new hubs routing power to all four independently-suspended wheels (wearing brand new tyres).

Controlled remotely via the Control+ app, 42160 looks like it’ll be an absolute riot to drive, which will probably make up for a no-doubt infuriating build experience lining up a million stickers.

The new 42160 Audi RS Q e-tron will reach stores later this year aimed at ages 10+; expect a lofty price tag, and for its all-wheel-drive system to be supplanted into dozens of MOCs that’ll feature on this site thereafter.

LEGO Creator 40650 Land Rover Classic Defender | Set Preview

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LEGO’s Land Rover partnership continues apace! This is the brand new 40650 Land Rover Classic Defender.

Interestingly branded ‘Creator’ rather than ‘Speed Champions’ despite being the correct scale for the latter, 40650 brings the Land Rover Defender, featured twice in Technic form, into a far more attainable price bracket.

Aimed at ages 8+, 40650 features 150 pieces including a mini-figure, and includes some decent SNOT building techniques plus be-stickered headlights and front grill.

The new 40650 Land Rover Classic Defender set will reach stores later this year, and looks to be a very welcome officially-licensed product within reach of pocket-money-funder LEGO fans. Great job LEGO.

LEGO 76252 Batcave – Shadow Box | Set Preview

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LEGO’s ‘Set for Adults’ just keep getting bigger. This is the brand new 76252 Batcave – Shadow Box, a £345/$399, near-4,000 piece tableau that recreates Batman’s secret lair from the 1992 blockbuster ‘Batman Returns’ in mini-figure scale. And yes, we had to look up what a ‘tableau’ is.

Measuring over half-a-metre in length, featuring seven mini-figures, the Batmobile, and 3,981 pieces, almost all of which are black (or very very dark grey), 76252 is one of the largest mini-figure scale sets that LEGO has ever produced.

Hinging along its right-hand edge, allowing the box – sorry tableau – to open , a variety of small play features are included, which can be controlled from the back via hidden mechanisms. These include a rotating chair, changing computer screen, opening toolbox, and an “illuminated Batsuit vault”. It’s safe to say a ‘tableau’ is more about the visuals than the functions…

Due for release exclusively at LEGO.com on June 8th, the LEGO 76252 Batcave – Shadow Box is – like many of the brand’s recent sets – aimed at ages 18+, although for once the black packaging is more than marketing gimmick. With nearly 4,000 black or very very dark grey pieces, we expect the age on said packaging is more than a marketing gimmick this time too, as we can only imagine how difficult to read the instructions will be.

So what do you think internet? A spectacular homage to the 1992 ‘Batman Returns’ movie, a source of all the black and very very dark grey parts you will ever need, or another unattainable LEGO set priced so far out of reach only Bruce Wayne could afford it? There’s at least a neat circularity to 76252 if it’s the latter.

Technic 42156 Peugeot 9X8 24H Le Mans Hybrid Hypercar | Set Preview

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LEGO’s extensive catalogue of officially-licensed vehicle sets has brought many amazing real-world racers to bedroom floors, including the 42141 McLaren Formula 1 Car, 42125 Ferrari 488 GTE AF Corse, and the 42096 Porsche 911 RSR.

Today we can reveal that LEGO are not only bringing another real-world racer to the Technic range, but a whole new manufacturer too! This is the brand new 1:10 scale, 1,775-piece 42156 Peugeot 9X8 24H Le Mans Hybrid Hypercar.

Yes, we finally have a top-tier Le Mans Hypercar in brick form, although with LEGO also having licenses with rival teams Toyota, Ferrari, BMW, Porsche, and Ferrari, hopefully we could see the whole Le Mans grid in time.

The Peugeot 9X8 entered the championship this year, looking to challenge the dominance of Toyota at the front of the field, and combines a V6 engine with a Hybrid KER system and four-wheel drive.

The new LEGO 42156 set aims to recreate the functions of the real Peugeot 9X8, with working steering and suspension, a V6 piston engine, 7-speed transmission, and – mysteriously – replicating ‘the low emission hybrid powertrain system’, although we’re not sure what that means.

The set also features glow-in-the-dark headlights and a myriad of authentic decals, and is expected to cost around £170 / $200 when it reaches stores in time for the 2023 24 Heures du Mans race this summer, in which Peugeot Sport might get a little extra support from LEGO fans…

Life-Size Lego Kia EV6

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LEGO bricks have been used to create all manner of life-size real-world replicas, from Volkswagen Campers to Ferrari Formula 1 cars, via motorcycles, pick-up trucks, supercars, and classics. Korean electric crossovers haven’t featured though. Until now.

Of course until recently, creating a life-size Kia from LEGO bricks would’ve been like making the world’s largest rice cracker; impressive and yet also immensely dull. However with Hyundai/Kia now making some of the most interesting cars on the market, recreating one from hundreds of thousands of LEGO pieces is no longer a pointless endeavour. Cue certified LEGO Professional Riccardo Zangelmi’s company BrickVision and Kia Italia, who have turned 350,000 LEGO bricks into a 1:1 replica of Kia’s EV6 electric crossover.

Riccardo’s team took over 800 hours to create the life-size EV6, plus a further four months to develop the illumination system used to recreate the real EV6’s lighting signature.

It seems that Kia Italia used that time to write some of the most nonsensical marketing guff that we’ve ever read to accompany the build, with phrases like “strongly characterising luminous personality in every circumstance”, and “particular surfaces with accentuated inclinations, an expression of refined design” two of our highlights.

You can read more automotive marketing gibberish like that via Auto&Design by clicking here, or you can watch Kia Italia’s video on the project – which is mercifully free from the thoughts of their marketing department – by clicking play below.

YouTube Video

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