Tag Archives: GTR

Super Sunday

If you’re six (or a TLCB Elf), this post is for you. Yes today we have two of the greatest supercars ever made in LEGO form, and best of all they’re tiny, showing you don’t need to have a million pieces to build a blogworthy replica of your favourite supercar.

The first (above) is Jonathan Elliott‘s beautifully presented Lamborghini Diablo GTR, constructed to almost ridiculous accuracy in Speed Champions scale. Parts facing in every direction hint at the complexities within, and there’s more of the model to see at Jonathan’s photostream.

Today’s second small-scale supercar (below) is one from a later decade, the phenomenal Lexus LFA. Also constructed in Speed Champions scale, Flickr’s Tommy ñ has captured the iconic carbon-fibre supercar superbly in brick form, and you can check it out at his photostream via the link above.

Le Mans ’95

Mid-’90s endurance racing was – in this writer’s opinion – the peak of Le Mans cool. Purpose-built racers competed on equal terms wildly fast supercars, based on those that could actually be bought by the public (in some years they even had to have space for luggage in the regulations!). This created both spectacular on-track battles and some astonishing road cars, with this being one of them; the Le Mans winning 1995 McLaren F1 GTR.

Designed by Gordon Murray and powered by a BMW M-Power V12, the McLaren F1 was the fastest production car in the world, and remains the fastest naturally-aspirated production car to this day. Twenty-eight ‘GTR’-spec F1s were produced for racing, with the model winning not just Le Mans, but becoming the first non-domestic car to win the All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship.

This is the Le Mans winning car, which beat rivals from Ferrari, Corvette, Honda, and Porsche, plus a range of purpose-built open-cockpit racers, and took third, fourth and fifth places too. It comes from previous bloggee 3D supercarBricks, who has captured the F1 GTR and its ’95 Le Mans livery beautifully in brick form.

Custom wheels and opening doors, front trunk and engine cover feature, and there’s much more to see at 3D’s photostream. Click the link above to travel as fast as it was possible to go in car in 1995.

LEGO Technic 42123 McLaren Senna GTR | Set Preview

It’s that time of year again, when shadowy figures scurry through the night in search of things they didn’t know they wanted. No, not Black Friday, but the annual Elven unearthing of LEGO’s new Technic sets!

One of the ‘lucky’ Elves chosen to be catapulted over the walls of The LEGO Company HQ returned a little while ago with this (and only a few Alsatian teeth marks), which we can now show you following LEGO’s official unveiling. This is the new for 2021 42123 McLaren Senna GTR.

Following the brands’ previous partnership within the Speed Champions line-up, the Senna becomes the first McLaren to become an official Technic set (although it won’t be the only real-world car to be immortalised in Technic for 2021…).

Expected to cost around $50/£45 when it reaches stores, the 830-piece 42123 McLaren Senna GTR looks quite pricey for a mid-range set despite the high parts count, but perhaps the ’10+’ on the box hints at a complexity within that justifies the price of admission.

We’d be surprised though, as 42123 appears only to have working steering, a miniature V8, and opening doors, which is a long way short of what we would usually expect from a Technic set targeted at ages ten and up.

Still, what 42123 misses in working features it attempts to cover (literally) with a great many stickers, with a vast array of printed and be-stickered parts helping to add visual realism to the set’s complicated (and parts intensive) bodywork.

We’re sure that LEGO know what they’re doing and their focus groups have determined that stickers trump features in the minds of ten year olds, but we’d happily trade a few ‘GTR’ decals for working suspension.

The other officially-licensed Technic 2021 set it is then…

The Other GTR

Lego Speed Champions McLaren F1 GTR

Nissan may be the most obvious brand to use the ‘GTR’ moniker, but those three letters have found themselves on all sorts of cars over the years. Suggested by a reader, today’s post is simultaneously one of the most and least famous to use the GTR name; the mighty McLaren F1 GTR.

Built for endurance racing just nine F1 GTR’s were produced in 1995, with reduced weight, higher downforce thanks to modified bodywork, and – somewhat oddly – less power, as FIA rules restricted output.

Despite the F1 never being envisaged for racing at all the GTR proved phenomenally successful, winning the ’95 Le Mans 24 Hours race against the prototype class expected to dominate, encouraging McLaren to build a further ten GTRs in 1997.

This excellent Speed Champions recreation of the McLaren F1 GTR is the work of newcomer Sean Cox of MOCpages and it captures the mid-’90s icon superbly. See more via the link above.

Godzilla’s Grandfather

Lego Nissan Skyline GTR

Nissan’s GTR hasn’t always been a 600bhp all-wheel-drive supercar killer. In fact the GTR started life simply as the sporty variant in the humble Skyline range of mid-size sedans. Powered by a 160bhp two-litre inline-6 the original 1970s Skyline GTR was quick enough in its day and it became a successful racing car in Japan and beyond.

This lovely Speed Champions style creation depicts the second generation Skyline GTR built from 1973, of which just 197 were made before the oil crisis put an end to production and the GTR nameplate was hibernated until 1989.

Legomasino is the builder behind it and he’s recreated the 1974 Nissan/Datsun Skyline GTR beautifully. Head over to Flickr via the link above to see more of Legomasino’s superb images.

Lego Datsun Skyline GTR

Three Champions

Lego Datsun 240Z Fairlady

It’s a bumper haul today at The Lego Car Blog as we have not one, not two, but three superb models to show you. Newcomer Simon Przepiorka recently uploaded a trio of brilliant Speed Champions-style creations to Flickr and is here making his TLCB debut with all three!

Lego Datsun 240Z Fairlady

First up is the wonderful Datsun 240Z pictured in the image above in a retina-searing orange and in the first image in a cool white. Measuring just eight studs wide Simon’s gorgeous recreation of one of Japan’s most iconic sports cars not only looks superbly accurate, it features a plethora of opening panels too, including the doors, tailgate and hood – all of which reveal further detailing within.

Lego Nissan R34 Skyline GTR

Simon’s second creation is another icon from Nissan, this excellent R34 Skyline GTR. One of the most accurate Lego R34s we’ve seen in any scale, Simon’s model includes opening doors, trunk and hood, with a detailed interior and the GTR’s beautifully replicated RB26DETT engine neatly constructed in Lego too.

Lego Nissan R34 Skyline GTR

Simon’s third and final Speed Champions model is another classic, this stunning Chevrolet Camaro SS, again complete with opening everything and with a miniature V8 engine under the hood.

All three creations are well worth a closer look and you can do just that at each model’s Flickr album. Click this link for the Datsun 240Z, this one for the Nissan Skyline GTR, and this one for the Chevrolet Camaro SS.

Lego Chevrolet Camaro SS

Godzilla!

Lego Nissan GTR Nismo

A huge reputation, a legend of the car scene for almost as long as there’s been one, and incredible attention to detail… Firas Abu-Jaber and the Nissan GT-R have much in common.

This, as you may have guessed, is Firas’ latest build; a faithfully recreated replica of Nissan’s 2017 Nismo GT-R. The current GT-R is an old-age pensioner by car design standards, but like that elderly ex-marine at the bus stop, or your Mom in the buffet queue, you wouldn’t mess with it. Launched a decade ago in 2007, Nissan’s replacement for the much-loved R34 Skyline GT-R took the well known all-wheel-drive turbocharged formula and thoroughly Spinal Tapped it.

A hand-built 3.8litre V6 engine fitted with twin parallel Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries turbochargers gave the GT-R just under 500bhp at launch, a figure which when combined with Nissan’s trick all-wheel-drive system allowed the GT-R to obliterate almost any other car off the line and in the corners. Hypercars included.

Lego Nissan GT-R Nismo Firas Abu Jaber

Since its launch the GT-R’s power has steadily increased, with standard models up to 545bhp by 2012 and this, the 2017 Nismo version, reaching almost 600bhp. That extra 50bhp doesn’t come cheap though, as the Nismo GT-R costs around 50% more than the standard model, making it surely one of the worst value-for-money special editions in automotive history.

We’ll stick with the standard car thanks Nissan, which is genuinely still something of a bargain, and we’ll leave the Nismo GT-R, its mad carbon-fibre aero, and its even madder sticker price, to Firas Abu-Jaber’s spectacular Model Team recreation.

Firas has made an extensive gallery of stunning images available, including several showing the interior inside the opening doors, and the realistic twin-turbo V6 engine under the opening hood. See more of the legend for yourself at Firas’ photostream, and you can read our interview with the builder as part of the Master MOCers series by clicking here.

Lego Nissan GT-R Nismo

Featured TFOL: Marco. QM

Lego Nissan Skyline GTR

You thought we’d forgotten about the ‘Featured TFOL’ (Teen Fan of Lego) feature didn’t you? Well you’re right. We had. But it’s back!

Here at The Lego Car Blog we have quite a strict criteria that must be met before a model is published. However occasionally we bend the rules just a little if a model is close, and if the builder is unlikely to have a billion bricks at their disposal. A Teen Fan of Lego for example.

Today’s featured builder is Marco. qm, who has been building cars for a little while. He’s also entered the recent Review My Set competition and suggested models himself via the Feedback and Submission Suggestions page. All of that is very nice, but it doesn’t earn a spot here. However, this does; his excellent Nissan Skyline GT-R R34.

Instantly recognisable, with opening doors, hood and trunk, and some interior and engine bay detailing too, it’s a model that’s worth a closer look. You can see more at Marco’s Flickr photostream, and you can discover all of our past Featured TFOL’s by clicking here.

Lego Nissan Skyline GTR

Sideways Skyline

Lego Nissan Skyline GTR Drift

Nissan’s Skyline is not made for drifting. With computer controlled all-wheel-drive the GTR is in fact designed to have as much grip as possible. But with enough modifications and some clever engineering Nissan’s technological marvel can be turned into a tool for any purpose, drifting included, and car building legend Sariel has taken exactly this approach to create his drift Skyline GTR.

There’s no all-wheel-drive here, and Sariel has fitted his rear-wheel-drive remote control model with a few modifications of his own. Third-party LED lights are employed front and rear, whilst the wheels have been replaced by 3D-printed parts from Seven Studs which provide limited grip on shiny surfaces, allowing the car to get wonderfully sideways.

There’s lots more to see, including a great video of the Skyline getting its drift on, at Sariel’s MOCpage – click the link above to get sideways, or here to read Sariel’s interview here at TLCB.

Lego Nissan Skyline GTR

Tiny but Mighty

Tommy ñ's GTR - front

It’s not often that one of the Lego community’s most diminutive vehicle scales – Tiny Turbo – puts detail on full-scale models to shame, but every now and then one does. This GTR by Tommy ñ over on Flickr has enough intakes, greebles, and realistic details to go toe-to-toe with models tens of times its size (and look good doing it).  You can check out this and more of Tommy ñ’s cars over on Flickr.

Tommy ñ's GTR - front

R34 Godzilla

Lego R34 Skyline

Probably the most lusted after car of the Playstation Generation, Nissan’s R34 Skyline became one of the most fearsome giant slayers ever built. And – being Japanese – it’s tuneable to produce truly epic power figures. Yakov Selutin makes his second appearance on TLCB this month with his spectacular Model Team recreation of the incredible ’90s legend. See all the photos, including close-ups of the superb engine and interior, at Yakov’s MOCpage here.

Nissan Skyline R34

Crowdsourcing

Lego Nissan GTR, Lego Car, Lego Audi R8

It’s time for some of your suggestions here at The Lego Car Blog. These three creations were brought to us in the Feedback page or in the comments during the last week. We can’t publish all of your suggestions (well we can, but some aren’t quiet good enough, have blurry photos, or aren’t vehicles at all) but we do consider each submission. Congratulations to (from left to right) Alexander Paschoaletto, Peteris Sprogis, and Joel Seow.