Tag Archives: 2020s

Only By the Night*

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From a tiny and beautifully packaged vehicle to… er, not that. The Ram 1500 is a ‘full-size’ (read ‘bloody massive’ for non-Americans) pick-up truck, marketed first as a Dodge, and today spun-off as an independent brand.

Now in its fifth generation, the 1500 is available with an array of enormous engines and – as pictured here – also as a ‘Night Edition’, which according to Ram’s own website means “Boasting a menacing monotone exterior and backed by equally intimidating capability”.

The words ‘menacing’ and ‘intimidating’ appear a few times on the first page in fact, which suggests both that Ram really need a thesaurus, and also that the 1500 ‘Night Edition’ is very much not our kind of vehicle.

Despite the real truck’s pointless dick-waving, this Model Team recreation of the Ram 1500 ‘Night Edition’ is rather excellent however, and comes from previous bloggee 3D supercarBricks.

Featuring working steering and suspension, plus opening doors, hood, load cover and tailgate, 3D’s creation also includes a few 3D-printed pieces and custom wheels. Presumably to enhance the truck’s menacing monotone exterior and intimidating capability.

There’s much more to see at 3D’s photostream, and you can click the link above to check out all of the superb imagery.

*The first track from today’s title album. It’s a good one.

What Might Have Been

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The story of the 2022 Formula 1 season is one of what might have been. After years in the doldrums, Scuderia Ferrari finally had the fastest car on the grid, and not only that, they had one of the most talented driver pairings too. Ferrari duly won two of the first three races, with fastest lap at all three, and with only one podium place dropped. And then – courtesy of some inexplicable tactical decisions – they threw it all away.

Now longstanding readers of this crumbling ruin in the corner of the internet will know that we aren’t Scuderia Ferrari’s biggest fans, what with them being immoral scumbags and everything, but if they stopped us having to see Christian Horner’s smug face every week we’d have taken it. However, unfortunately for Ferrari’s drivers – and us – some of the worst decision making in modern Formula 1 history gifted Red Bull’s Max Verstappen a second consecutive World Championship, and Horner’s smugness gained its own gravity.

Still, Ferrari’s 2022 F1 car looked rather lovely, and probably was the fastest car of the season, if only the team weren’t run by muppets, and it looks just as stunning in brick form courtesy of Noah_L, who has added the F1-75 to his amazing catalogue of Scuderia Ferrari racers.

Noah’s astonishing attention to detail is brought to life by some truly masterful building techniques, with superbly replicated decals and impeccable presentation making his Scuderia Ferrari F1-75 one of the most realistic real-world cars of the year so far.

A beautiful gallery of imagery is available to view on Flickr, where links to Noah’s previous Scuderia Ferrari racers and building instructions for the F1-75 pictured here can also be found. Build your own 2022 title challenger and reenact Ferrari’s strategic incompetence (not pitting under the safety car, pitting two cars at once, pitting for the wrong tyres…) via the link above. Just don’t be surprised if Christian Horner appears out of nowhere looking smug.

Virtual Vision

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Hyundai’s N Vision 74 concept is – as detailed here last year – the car of the moment. And that’s despite it not being real. Nor may it ever be either, as unless the world collectively pulls its finger out to create hydrogen infrastructure, EVs (and the enormous environmental catastrophe they will create) will continue to be the only inevitability.

It’s perhaps fitting then, that this stunning Model Team recreation of Hyundai’s fabulous 2022 concept isn’t real either, being rendered instead in digital form. However the virtual nature of the model means that Flickr’s seter82 had the freedom to include some simply brilliant ‘printed tile’ detailing, including Hyundai’s trademark dot-matrix lights, bespoke badging, and even tyres, creating a model that looks like it would if LEGO were to release it as an official Creator set.

A huge gallery of renders are available to view and there’s more to see of seter82’s brilliant virtual N Vision 74 at their photostream. Click the link above to take a look.

Eruptin’ Bronco

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We kick-off 2023 with this; the brand new Ford Bronco, the latest addition to the burgeoning factory hardcore off-road market. In four-door flavour, with removable door panels and a removable roof, there’s little cooler, especially with colours such as ‘Race Red’, ‘Cactus’, ‘Hot Pepper’ and – as pictured here – “Eruption Green’.

We’re not sure which eruptions are green, beyond the child in ‘The Exorcist‘ and this rather spectacular event, but that’s why we’re not in vehicle marketing.

This excellent Model Team / Creator style recreation of the 2022 Ford Bronco in ‘Eruption Green’ comes from Peter Blackert (aka Lego911) – a TLCB LEGO Professional no less – and includes those removable panels, a highly detailed interior, plus an opening hood, tailgate and doors (when they’re attached).

Built as a commissioned model there’s lots more to see at Peter’s photostream. Trigger an eruption via the link above!

Big Vision

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TLCB’s car manufacturer of 2022 is Hyundai. Yup, a company once best known for building precisely nothing that any car enthusiast would ever want to own has transformed into a maker of hugely desirable, yet attainable cars.

Capping off Hyundai’s stellar year is this, the N Vision 74, a one-off concept harking back to Hyundai’s first in-house product, whilst simultaneously pointing to the future with an 600+ bhp hydrogen fuel-cell powertrain.

This excellent recreation of the best concept car of 2022 comes from Leo 1 of Flickr, who has captured the retro-futuristic Hyundai brilliantly in Model Team form. Building instructions are available and there’s lots more to see at Leo’s photostream; take a look via the link above, or alternatively shout in the comments how wrong we are about Hyundai no longer being crap and boring.

A Supra Set of Mods

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Toyota’s Supra has – thanks to car culture, hype, a certain move franchise, and internet exaggeration – become a legend impossible for anything, even the Supra itself, to live up to.

But get past the internet commenters, and the A90 Supra is really rather good, and as modifiable as its predecessor too.

Flickr’s 3D supercarBricks has recreated the latest Toyota Supra in fine fashion, capturing the exceptionally difficult curves of the car’s form superbly in Danish plastic.

Of course, being a Supra on the internet, it has to be modified too, with 3D duly obliging via a set of wide arches, an enormous rear spoiler, and some phat rims. Extra internet points scored.

There’s more of the build to to see at 3D’s photostream, and you can click the link in the text above to make the jump.

An F1 Car for the Road

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…is always a terrible idea. Every few years a new ‘F1 car for the road’ is announced, and it is inevitably an unreliable, undrivable, top-trumps card.

But then Mercedes-Benz AMG decided to have a go, and the result is… an unreliable, undrivable top-trumps card.

However perhaps that’s not as daft as it sounds. All 275 units of the AMG Project One – each powered by a 1,050bhp 1.6 litre hybrid Formula 1 engine and costing $2.72 million – were sold out years before the first car was finished, to customers who will park them in their garages alongside seventeen other unused hypercars.

Which means the fact that the AMG Project One doesn’t work is as relevant to the ownership experience as calorie information is to a KFC bucket meal customer.

Cue 3D supercarBricks‘ excellent recreation of Mercedes-AMG’s ‘F1 car for the road’, complete with opening butterfly doors, 3D-printed wheels, and as much likelihood of actually being driven as its full-size counterpart.

Top drawer building techniques and high quality presentation abound, and there’s lots more of the model to see at 3D’s photostream. Grab a KFC bucket meal, ignore the calorie information, and take a look via the link above.

N Vision

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The coolest car company on the planet right now is… Hyundai. Yes, the company that really not that long ago made cars like this, this, and this, is now one of the largest, most innovative, and successful motor manufacturers in the world.

Hyundai began producing cars in 1968 by building a licensed Ford Cortina, but by the mid-’70s the company wanted their own car. They hired top British engineers along with legendary designer Giorgio Giugiaro, creating their first in-house product (albeit with Mitsubishi mechanicals), the 1974 Pony. And it was rather good.

Exports began the following year, and by the next decade Hyundai products were sold in the U.S and Canada, where the Pony became briefly (and somewhat amazingly) the best selling car.

Hyundai’s growth continued throughout the ’90s and ’00s, when they completely forgot about their rather good first effort and instead produced two-decades of automotive magnolia wallpaper.

But magnolia wallpaper sells, and the profits enabled Hyundai to begin a radical transformation of both its products and itself, with rapid powertrain development, a racing division, and – remembering their roots – hiring some of the best car designers in the business (something of a relief after years of cars that looked like this).

Cue the Hyundai N Vision 74 concept, a car that incorporates a nod to the company’s sharply styled 1974 Pony, their ‘N’ high performance and motorsports division, and their remarkable leap to technology leadership, with 670bhp coming from two electric motors powered by a hydrogen fuel cell system.

It’s a demonstration to the astonishing progress Hyundai have made since the sale of their first in-house car four decades ago, and – more so – since the complete crap they foisted on the world for the whole of the 1990s and 2000s. In a decade we could well be talking about Hyundai as the largest car maker on earth. Few companies would have done more to earn it.

This fantastic Speed Champions version of the phenomenal Hyundai N Vision 74 comes from previous bloggee The G Brix of Flickr, who has constructed and presented his brick-built recreation beautifully. There’s more of the model to see at G Brix’s photostream and you can take a look at probably the coolest car anywhere right now via the link above.

Business Express

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With TLCB’s home nation outlawing the sale of non-zero-emissions vehicles from the middle of next decade, some have wondered whether manufacturers whose brands are built on internal combustion will have a place. Porsche, famous for flat-6 power, have proved emphatically that they will.

The Taycan – Porsche’s first EV – is formidably fast, has a reasonable range, and – unlike Tesla – isn’t built like total crap. However all of that is secondary to the fact that in the UK, company car drivers can pay a tiny fraction of the tax that they would versus combustion engined vehicles.

As is sadly often the case, this means the poor – who can’t afford a £100k electric Porsche – will be subsiding the rich so they can get one on the cheap, but it has meant that the Taycan is a wildly popular company car in the UK.

Cue 3D supercarBricks, who has created the businessman’s favourite beautifully in appropriate Business Grey. The brick-built Porsche Taycan includes opening everything and top quality presentation, with more to see at 3D’s photostream.

Click the link above to take a look – just note that if you decide to buy some LEGO bricks to build one yourself, you’ll pay more tax than an owner of the real thing.

Application Accepted

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From one of Ford’s most boring ever vehicles to one of their most exciting, the Ford GT wowed even Ford employees when was unveiled in 2015, having been developed in secret within the company by just twelve individuals.

Such was the the hype surrounding the car that customers had to be selected to buy it (TLCB’s application was rejected for some reason…), which means only a very few will ever get behind the wheel.

But no matter, because this brilliant Lego recreation of the Ford supercar by Flickr’s Leo 1 is thoroughly attainable, as Leo has made building instructions available. You’ll need to be skilled though, as there look to be some properly trick techniques used to replicate the GT’s wild shape.

There’s more of the GT to see at Leo’s photostream via the link above, where a link to purchase building instructions can also be found – no application necessary.

Scandi Grey

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Scandinavian design is very ‘in’ right now. Grey, white, with a dash of a calming colour like blue, it’s the default for every upper-middle class redecoration. Here at The Lego Car Blog we don’t follow such fads though, which is why TLCB Towers hasn’t been redecorated since the late ’80s. That, and our redecoration budget stretches to a roll of duct tape and some blu-tack.

Representing Scandinavian design minimalism beautifully however, is MCD‘s 2022 Volvo FH500 truck, which utilises the aforementioned nordic colour palette to great effect. MCD’s monochrome tractor unit successfully blends Technic and System bricks to capture the real truck, whilst a Maersk Sealand container sits atop an excellent three-axle trailer behind.

There’s more of the MCD’s build to see at the Eurobricks forum, and you can sit in a monochrome chair drinking a coffee from an exquisitely designed cup, enjoying 18 hours of daylight via the link in the text above.

Camp Jimny

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Speaking of ‘coolest vehicles on the planet‘ following today’s other post, here’s another. The Suzuki Jimny is one of the hottest vehicles to own right now, helped no doubt by the EU’s ‘CAFE’ CO2 regulations taking it off sale after just two years, during which time it had a sizeable waiting list. But buying a hateful G63 AMG is fine… go figure.

Anyway, these two polar bears have managed to get themselves a Suzuki Jimny (whose survival was surely the point of that non-sensical, counter-productive EU legislation), applying a few well-chosen mods to equip them with everything they need for a weekend camping.

There’s a folding table, cooler, camping stove, and much more besides to ensure a successful polar-bear-father-son camping trip.

Flickr’s LEGO 7 is the builder behind this wonderfully whimsical, delightfully detailed, and beautifully built creation, and there’s more to see of his superbly presented bear-based camping scene at his ‘Camping Time’ album. Click the link above to join the fun.

Ride of the Valkyries*

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The economic outlook, driven largely by worldwide energy price inflation, is looking increasingly bleak. A global recession is not unlikely, but – if you’re rich enough – such events can have no effect whatsoever. They might even make you richer.

Thus whilst normal cars for us plebs are certain to become more expensive (and sales will slow accordingly), we expect the production of ultra-limited hypercars to continue unabated. Which is fine by us, because dream cars, within reach of only a few, provide inspiration for the many.

Cue Jeroen Ottens, who has recreated Aston Martin’s sold-out 2023 $3m Valkyrie hybrid hypercar, rising to $3.5m if you’re one of the lucky 25 who’ve placed a deposit for the track version.

Designed in conjunction with Red Bull Advanced Technologies (back when Red Bull and Aston Martin weren’t fighting) and powered by a Cosworth V12 with a Rimac hybrid system, the Valkyrie will be the highest revving and most powerful naturally-aspirated road car ever built.

It also features some wild aerodynamics, which Jeroen has replicated brilliantly in brick from. Accurate venturi channels necessitate pushrod in-board suspension, whilst the mid-mounted V12 connected to an eight-speed gearbox sits within one of the tightest engine bays we’ve ever seen.

Working steering via a brick-built yoke plus an opening engine cover and butterfly doors complete the technical features, and you can recreate Jeroen’s expertly-engineered creation for yourself as building instructions are available. Click these links to Flickr and Eurobricks to ride out the coming recession like the super rich with your very own Aston Martin Valkyrie.

*Today’s title song. We’re feeling very cultured. (Normal service of Your Mom jokes and poo references will resume shortly).

Ukrainian Harvest

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There has been no finer sight in 2022 than that of Ukrainian farmers pulling abandoned Russian tanks out of the mud during the Russian invasion and claiming them for the Ukrainian Army, having been deserted by their crews due to poor logistics, low moral, incompetent navigation, or all of the above.

Unless you’re a viewer of Russia-1 television of course, in which case the story is one of grateful Ukrainians helping the brave Russian tank crews in their noble quest to rid Ukraine of ultra-nationalist Nazis. Or some other bullshit.

Stefan Johansson is the builder behind this wonderful depiction of Russian military ineptitude / Ukrainian ingenuity, and there’s more to see of his creation ‘Spring Harvest in Ukraine’ on Flickr via the link.

You can also help the relief efforts in Ukraine required due to Putin’s war via the Disasters Emergency Committee and many others. Whilst wonderfully brave Ukrainians have indeed pulled abandoned Russian tanks from the mud for repurposing, an estimated twelve million Ukrainians have now fled their homes, or what’s left of them. If you can, help.

Nothing Happens at This Venue

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Aaand here it is. The blandest, most uninspiring, default vehicular category of the 2020s; the crossover SUV.

This is the Hyundai Venue, part of the Hyundai/Kia group SUV line-up that includes the Bayon, Kona, Tuscon, Sante Fe, Palisade, Niro, Sportage, Xceed, Soul, Stonic, Seltos, Sorento, Carnival, Telluride… and that’s before we even get to the electric ones.

Forget counting sheep, Korean crossovers work twice as well.

Here in TLCB’s home market small SUVs often include the jazziest of styling cues. Big wheels, contrast roofs, absurd LED lighting signatures – all in the hope of elevating a particular nameplate above the infinite sea of rival crossovers that are all also deploying big wheels, contrast roofs and absurd lighting signatures…

There is nothing more automotively bland, which makes the modern small crossover SUV the perfect choice for the current Festival of Mundanity competition.

Tim Inman is the creator of soporific Hyundai Venue pictured here, and a marvellous job he’s done too! A superbly detailed exterior, life-like interior, realistic engine, and four opening doors create an excellent brick-built version of one of the most insipid vehicles in existence, and we love it!

There’s more of the Venue to see at Tim’s photostream here, just don’t start counting the images whilst operating heavy machinery.