Tag Archives: V12

Ol’ Yella

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This amazing machine is a Kenworth 993, a cab-over, six-wheel-drive, heavy duty truck designed in the 1980s to move heavy equipment. And, in one extraordinary case, a nuclear reactor.

We say ‘cab-over’, but the cab was not in fact over anything, as the 700bhp Cummins V12 that powered the 993 was too large to fit under the it, instead being mounted directly behind.

Capturing this unusual design is TsungNing Lee, who has recreated the Kenworth 933 in spectacular detail. Enormous third-party tyres afford a scale that enables incredible realism, with TsungNing both building and presenting his creation in stunning fashion.

There’s much more to see, including work-in-progress photos, at TsungNing’s photostream, and you can take a closer look at this remarkable truck via the link above.

My Other Car is Also a Ferrari

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The average Ferrari owner doesn’t own only one. In fact two-thirds of Ferrari owners own at least one other prancing horse amongst their five car garage. Which makes today’s post very apt for Ferrari ownership, as this spectacular Technic recreation of Ferrari’s latest 12-cylinder super car, the 12Cilindri (yes, Ferrari are still crap at names) has been constructed solely from the parts of another.

Like the 42143 Ferrari Daytona SP3 set on which it’s based, Alex Ilea’s alternate features a working engine, steering and suspension, an 8-speed paddle-shift gearbox, and opening doors, hood and trunk, with the model presented beautifully to boot.

Building instructions are also available, so if you own a 42143 set and you’d like to become a proper Ferrari owner (i.e. have access to more than one), then head to the Eurobricks forum where a link can be found, plus you can click here for the full Bricksafe gallery of top quality imagery.

8-Wide-8

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Remember when BMW’s were understated and classy? Well this was not one of those cars. But by today’s BMW standards it’s positively minimalist.

Launched in 1990, the E31 8-Series was a technical tour-de-force, featuring the world’s first drive-by-wire throttle and the first combination of a V12 engine with a manual gearbox. And BMW were going to go further still, with an even more powerful ‘M8’ version.

However it wasn’t to be, with a global recession and the Gulf War (thanks Saddam) killing the M8 before it could be released. That hasn’t stopped Flickr’s LegoSEB77 from imagining what could have been though, and you can check out his excellent 8-wide BMW ‘M8’ via the link above.

Speed Champions H2 2024 | Set Previews

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It’s that time of year again, when a crack team of Elven ‘volunteers’ are implanted into the LEGO Company’s HQ to uncover their latest sets. The return of the survivors heralds the arrival of three brand new Speed Champions sets for H2 2024, bringing even more real world cars to bedroom floors this summer! Read on to find out which cars are set to join to the 2024 Speed Champions line-up!

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76923 Lamborghini Lambo V12 Vision GT

Well, ‘Real world’ cars… except for this one.

Playstation’s ‘Gran Turismo’ series has deployed concepts alongside production cars for some years. Despite having the freedom to design literally anything, these ‘Vision GT’ cars all look rather similar, and the Lamborghini Lambo V12 Vision GT (clearly taking inspiration from a certain moronically-named Ferrari) follows the same route, being both wildly conceptual, and also insipidly paint-by-numbers.

It’s not exactly our first choice for a new Lamborghini Speed Champions set then, and the resultant 230-piece 76923 Lamborghini Lambo V12 Vision GT does little to change that. A funky colour and a new mini-figure torso aren’t enough to swing the balance; our £21/$27 will be spent on a rather better Speed Champions Lamborghini…Lego 76923 Lamborghini Lambo V12 Vision GT

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76924 Mercedes-AMG G63 & SL63

Are you a wealthy Londoner with no imagination? Now you can build your vanity-plated black Mercedes-AMG G 63 in LEGO form! The new-for-2024 76924 Mercedes-AMG G 63 & Mercedes-AMG SL 63 set recreates London’s default 4×4 choice brilliantly, and throws in a neat SL 63 too.

Two appropriately douchebaggy mini-figures, limited well-deployed decals, and some wonderfully accurate detailing on the G 63 in particular ensure 76924 is an excellent addition to the Speed Champions line. Expect to pay around £45/$50 for the dual-model 808-piece set when it arrives in stores in June, and half of Chelsea to own a copy immediately. 

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76925 Aston Martin F1 Safety Car & AMR23

The final addition to the 2024 Speed Champions line-up brings two more Aston Martins to the range, each of which played a starring role in the 2023 Formula 1 season.

The new 76925 Aston Martin F1 Safety Car & AMR23 set recreates F1-legend Fernando Alonso’s podium-placing AMR23 racing car (and that of his decidedly unlegendary, non-podium placing team mate), complete with authentic decals, replica Pirelli tyres, and a rather inexact colour.

The Aston Martin F1 Safety Car – often necessitated by Alonso’s aforementioned incompetent team mate – joins it, with a light bar, accurate be-sticked interior control panel, and the same loose approximation of the real car’s hue.

Aimed at ages 9+, expect 564 pieces, two mini-figures, and a £45/$50 price-tag when 76925 arrives in stores next month.

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Three new sets, five new cars, and even more choice in LEGO’s fantastic Speed Champions range. All three sets will be available from June 1st 2024, and you can check out the sets that were added to the Speed Champions range at the start of the year by clicking here.

MC12

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Maserati might today make a range of boring SUVs (which brand doesn’t?), but back in the mid-’00s they made something rather more special. This is the Maserati MC12.

Based on the chassis and V12 engine of the Ferrari Enzo, just fifty road-going MC12s were produced, the minimum number required for FIA homologation. A further twelve MC12s were built to go racing, which they did very successfully, taking forty race wins and claiming six Teams and Drivers’ GT championships.

This incredible replica of the Maserati MC12 is the work of previous bloggee ArtemyZotov, who has recreated the real car in stunning detail. A working V12 engine, 6-speed sequential gearbox, adjustable suspension, steering, plus opening and removable body panels make Artemy’s MC12 one of the best Technic Supercars of recent times.

Building instructions are available, and you can find a link to these plus full build details at the Eurobricks discussion forum, with the complete image gallery available via Bricksafe; take a look via the links above.

Bygone Motorsport Win

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Endurance racing is about to get properly exciting. After years of single team dominance due to limited competition, this year nineteen entrants across nine manufacturers will compete for the outright win.

One of several new or returning manufacturers, BMW will rejoin the top tier of endurance racing nearly a quarter of a century since they competed with this, the wild V12 LMR.

Using the same the engine as the Le Mans winning McLaren F1 GTR, the BMW V12 LM was developed with then-Formula 1 World Champions Williams, and deployed the new open-cockpit prototype rules against the old-school sports car designs in use by other teams. And it was… rubbish.

Slow, unreliable, and retiring after just a few dozen laps, the 1998 car was a disaster. So BMW and Williams started again, and returned in 1999 with this, the radically re-designed V12 LMR.

The all-new bodywork transformed the car, with it qualifying on pole and winning the first race it entered, at the 12 Hours of Sebring.

The big prize however was Le Mans, and despite fierce competition from Audi, Toyota, Nissan, Mercedes-Benz and others, it was a BMW V12 LMR that took (perhaps thanks to a little bit of luck) the overall win. Quite a turnaround from the embarrassment of the year before.

The team entered again in 2000, but a decade-long period of total Audi dominance had begun, and thus BMW withdrew the V12 LMR before the season was up.

BMW turned their attention instead to Formula 1, where the team continued their successful partnership with Williams. Thus without the V12 LMR, a BMW engine may never again have powered a race-winning Formula 1 car.

Suggested to us by a reader, PROTOTYP. of Flickr remembers BMW’s Le Mans glory with his fantastic V12 LMR model, riding atop 3D-printed replica wheels and with stunning period-correct vinyl decals.

Superbly presented, there’s more of the model to see at PROTOTYP.’s ‘BMW LMR LMP Le Mans 1999’ album, and you can click the link above to jump back to Le Mans 1999. BMW will sure be remembering it too, as they return to Le Mans later this year, some 25 years on…

Viva la Revolución

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Pagani somehow seem to have made more ultra-limited special editions than they have cars. And that’s mathematically impossible.

This one is the Zonda Cinque Revolucion, a track-based ultra-limited special edition based on the ultra-limited Zonda Cincque, which is a road-going version of the ultra-limited Zonda R, which was an ultra-limited track version of the Zonda. No, we don’t understand either.

Still, we’re not exactly the target demographic for Zonda ownership here at TLCB, and this Model Team recreation of the ultra-limited version of an ultra-limited version of another ultra-limited version of an ultra-limited hypercar is stunning.

Built by 3D supercarBricks, this incredible replica of the Pagani Zonda Cinque Revolucion captures the insanity of the real deal in jaw-dropping detail, with an engine bay, chassis and interior just as life-like as the wild bodywork.

There’s more to see – including the spectacular under-bodywork detail – at 3D’s photostream; join the revolution (for a very select few) via the link in the text above.

*Today’s punky title song.

Le Mans ’95

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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.

Ferrari LaFerrari | Picture Special

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You might think Japan has the stupidest car names. The Isuzu Mysterious Utility Wizard, the Daihatsu Naked, the Mazda Bongo Friendee, and (most ironically) the Mitsubishi Carisma – to name a few – are all incredibly daft, but the most ludicrous car name of all is surely the Ferrari The Ferrari.

The Ferrari LaFerrari is stupid only in name though, as in all other respects the Ferrari Ferrari Ferrari is one of the greatest hypercars of the modern age.

The first production car to feature an F1 kinetic energy recovery system, the LaFerrariFerrari produced 950bhp from its combination of a 6.3 litre V12 and an electric motor, whilst – somewhat superfluously – improving fuel economy over past V12 Ferraris by around 40%.

This jaw-dropping Technic replica of the Ferrari FerrariLaFerrari comes from T Lego of Eurobricks, who has recreated the 2013 hybrid hypercar in astonishing detail.

An unbelievably accurate exterior, complete with opening butterfly doors, engine cover and  front trunk, hides a modular chassis equipped with a V12 engine hooked up to an 8-speed sequential paddle-shift gearbox, dynamic suspension with nose-lift connected to the working steering, a deployable spoiler and aero flaps, and bespoke 3D-printed wheels.

It’s an incredible Technic creation and one you can take a complete in-depth look at via the Eurobricks forum, where a wealth of incredible imagery and full build details can be found. Click the link above to check out T Lego’s amazing model of the car so good that Ferrari named it twice.

Itsawhat?

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This is an Isdera Commendatore 112i. Nope, us neither, but apparently it was a Mercedes-Benz V12-powered supercar numbering just two units.

Futuristic in a way only an early ’90s supercar can be, the Isdera Commendatore 112i was engineered with support from Mercedes, Bilstein, and BBS, featured a gearbox from RUF, active suspension, a space-frame chassis, and even an air-brake.

The long bodywork was designed to go endurance racing, and indeed the car proved to be seriously fast. Unfortunately however, Isdera went bankrupt even faster…

Just one unit was built before Isdera’s insolvency, with a second completed six years afterwards via an enthusiast who bought an unfinished space-frame and the body moulds. Which makes the Isdera Commendatore 112i rarer than your Mom refusing cake.

This magnificent Model Team recreation of the unknown 1993 supercar is the work of TLCB debutant Jakob Semajer-Garic, and features gull-wing doors and engine covers, a replica V12 engine, and some truly incredible chassis detailing.

There’s much more to see of Jakob’s 1,600-piece Isdera Commendatore 112i at his Flickr album of the same name, where you can view over thirty superbly presented images of the model. Click the link above to take a closer look.

Advantage

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We’re rounding out 2022 with exactly the sort of car that this crumbling ruin in the corner of the internet was created for; the mighty Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3.

Built by previous bloggee Levihathan, this eye-catching Technic recreation of Aston Martin’s 2010s-2020s endurance racer captures the real deal brilliantly, with the aesthetics further enhanced by bespoke decals that add to the race-ready realism.

Inside, Levihathan’s V12 Vantage is just as impressive, with a working V12 piston engine underneath the opening hood, functioning steering and suspension, a detailed race interior, and a paddle-shift gearbox.

There’s much more of the build to see at Levihathan’s ‘Aston Martin Vantage V12 GT3’ album, and you can make the jump to all the imagery via the link in the text above.

Model Team Miura

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Launched in 1966, the Lamborghini Miura is probably the the world’s first supercar, and was designed by Lamborghini’s engineering team in their spare time, against the wishes of their founder. He changed his mind when he saw their work however, and gave them free reign to complete the car, with styling direction from the great Mercello Gandini.

Powered by Lamborghini’s 3.9 litre V12, transversely mounted behind the cabin, the Miura produced around 345bhp, with later versions upping the figure to almost 400bhp.

Now worth a gagillion dollars, Miuras are one of the most sought-after cars in the world, so the closest any of us here at TLCB will get to one is in Lego form. Fortunately today we can do just that, courtesy of Pingubrick’s beautiful 1,200-piece Model Team recreation of the iconic ’60s Lamborghini.

Opening doors, front and rear clamshells, and a detailed interior and engine bay feature, and there’s more to see at the Eurobricks discussion forum. Click the link above to take a look at Pingu’s recreation of Lamborghini’s finest work.

Senna & Cigarettes

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Formula 1 was different in 1991. Cigarettes, a variety of engine configurations, and only one Unites States Grand Prix. Oh, and a titanic battle between McLaren’s Ayrton Senna and Williams’ Nigel Mansell, that culminated in a third Driver’s World Championship for Senna and the only Constructor’s World Championship ever won by a V12 powered car.

This is that car, the awesome McLaren-Honda MP4/6, as designed, liveried, rendered and presented beautifully by Robson M aka BrickDesigners, and there’s more to see of Robson’s stunning recreation on Flickr. Click the link above to race in ’91.

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).

Technic 42143 Ferrari Daytona SP3 | Set Preview

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This is the brand new flagship LEGO Technic Supercar, and it’s a rather special one…

Following the Technic 42056 Porsche 911 GT3 RS, 42083 Bugatti Chiron, and the 42115 Lamborghini we’d never heard of, this is the brand new 42143 Ferrari Daytona SP3, the fourth 1:8 scale officially-licensed Technic Supercar to join LEGO’s already impressive back catalogue.

Constructed from 3,778 pieces (four of which are some beautiful new bespoke wheels), 42143 offers spectacular visual realism for a Technic set, with authentic badging, a highly detailed interior behind spring-loaded opening butterfly doors, and a host of working Technic features.

These include a V12 piston engine (with full-size 2×2 pistons), working suspension via some awesome-looking shocks, functional steering, an eight-speed paddle-shift operated sequential gearbox, and functional ‘air boxes’, although we don’t know what that last one means.

Measuring 59cm / 23in in length, the LEGO 42143 Ferrari Daytona SP3 is geared as much towards being a display piece as a functional model, as evidenced by the ’18+’ age (also known as the “It’s not just a toy, honest!” excuse), presentation display stand, ‘exclusive packaging’, and the rather wanky optional accompanying coffee table book, ‘The Sense of Perfection’, for an additional $80.

The rather splendid looking LEGO Technic 42143 Ferrari Daytona SP3 will be available from the LEGO online store from June, costing a hefty $400 / £350, with other retailers following in August, and you can see more of LEGO’s incredible new Supercar set (and the wanky $80 book) at the dedicated 42143 Ferrari Daytona SP3 page via LEGO.com here.