LEGO

It’s probably not the best time to promote it, but LEGO is doing it, anyway. The line for the 2019 Lego Speed Champions set has been unveiled, and there’s a lot to get excited about if you’re a fan of brick cars and their real-life counterparts. The lineup includes one of the fiercest supercars in the market today, a handful of muscle cars that can throw down against any car on the road, and what is arguably the most iconic Ferrari of all time outside the 250 GTO. The 2019 Lego Speed Champions sets will be available to order in January, or a month after Christmas. Those who are looking to buy one for the holidays will have to hold out for a month, but if patience is a virtue, the wait should be worth it.

Lego’s Speed Champions collection comprises some of the world’s most exotic machinery such as the Le Mans-winning Porsche 919, the Bugatti Chiron or the Ferrari LaFerrari. Now, a new hypercar is poised to join the lineup of the construction toy manufacturer’s collection. It’s McLaren’s ludicrous Senna, and it won’t be released until after Christmas, but McLaren already released the first teaser video.

You know how most manufacturers let some darkened images slip through the cracks showcasing whatever new model they plan on launching at an upcoming moment in time. McLaren has taken the idea to the world of Lego toys and dully made a fun video showing the soon-to-be-released McLaren Senna in Lego guise. It’s proving the point that, if you want, you can build hype for just about anything.

People are building anything from Lego, quite literally. The creation we’re discussing today isn’t as groundbreaking as that full-scale running and driving Bugatti Chiron, but it’s still amazing: a fully-functioning Ford Falcon engine.

This here isn’t just a scale reproduction of the inline-6 4.0-liter engine that powers some Australian Ford Falcons made out of Lego parts. No, this is a recreation that actually works, mated to a Lego ZF 6-speed gearbox.

Keeping kids happily busy since 1949, LEGO has evolved from a company that builds plastic construction toys into one that makes complex models with technical functions through its Technic division. Following a series of scale models based on existing cars, LEGO Technic just launched a life-sized, fully functional Bugatti Chiron.

Man’s fascination with Lego stems from the insatiable need to build things. Whether it’s a small Lego kit or a 3,599-piece Bugatti Chiron, the act and subsequent gratification that comes from building Lego kits is a big reason the toy line remains as successful as it is today. Some people, like Instagram user Replica Motorsport, even make businesses out of the kits they build. Replica Motorsport’s Lego gig involves recreating some of the auto world’s most beloved engines in miniaturized sizes and then selling them to those interested enough in trying to recreate the build. It’s not something casual Lego builders would be interested in, but for the auto-obsessed lot out there, and there are many, these small engine kits are the perfect embodiment of your Lego fandom.

Do you dream of owning a genuine spy car, but can’t seem to find Q’s number laying around? Well, don’t worry, because Lego has you covered. Say hello to the classic Bond car, now in brick form - yep, it’s 007’s very own ’64 Aston Martin DB5, straight out of Goldfinger and complete with all the goodies you need to save the day, including an ejector seat, rotating license plates, wheel-mounted tire slashers, and of course, front-mounted machine guns.

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Lego’s fascination in the world of automobiles is manifesting itself once again in the form of James Bond’s very own Aston Martin DB5. One of the most iconic movie cars of all time is set to become the next car to get the full-on brick treatment, complete with a mini figure of no less than 007 himself. The kit is currently available for pre-order at the Lego store in Budapest, Hungary where it is expected to be released on August 1, a full week ahead of its global release on August 8.

The 1:1 scale LEGO McLaren 720S remains the most incredible automotive LEGO creation we’ve seen, and now, you get the chance to see it up close at the Peterson Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, California. We first saw the incredible creation at the 2017 Goodwood Festival of Speed last June. Now, it’s made the trip to the U.S. where fans helped complete its build.

The new Lego Technic Bugatti Chiron set has arrived with extreme detail, a traditional bi-colored blue paint scheme, and a W-16 engine with moving pistons. Priced at $349.99 in the U.S., it doesn’t come cheap, but the detail is out of this world, including a life-like cabin with a Technic eight-speed transmission, movable paddle shifters, and a Bugatti emblem on the steering wheel. The exterior features all of the aerodynamic enhancements of the real thing, and to top things off, if you insert the top speed key, the wing will transition from the handling position to the top speed position. The engine even has moving pistons and extreme detail like we’ve never seen before on a scale model.

These days automakers and corporations have just as many leaky holes as the U.S. Government. And, we’re not even kidding. How many “leaks” have we seen of cars just days before the debut in the past 12 months? It’s honestly starting to become commonplace. And, that’s why we’re here as just hours after the Lego Technic Buggati Chiron kit was teased. It turns out that someone couldn’t wait to share the kit with us and has decided to leak out an image of the box.

We can’t see the full box, unfortunately, but what we can see gives us insight into the most essential information. First, we know what it looks like. It’ll carry the traditional dual shades of blue and will apparently feature that light tan interior. There are even tiny square Lego pieces to make up the LED headlights up front – now that’s attention to detail. Furthermore, it will carry the set No. 42083 and will come in a total of 3,599 pieces. That’s nearly 900 pieces more than included with the 911 GT3 RS and more than enough to keep you busy for a while.

That 911 GT3 RS Lego kit, by the way, retails for $299, so you can probably expect to shell out even more for the Chiron. We’re guessing it’ll carry a price tag somewhere in the $375 to $400 range, but this is Bugatti we’re talking about so it could even go for more and people would buy it up like it’s going out of style. Speaking of going out of style, Motor1 reports that the GT3 RS Lego kit will be pulled off shelves at the end of 2018 as it heads into its peaceful retirement. That means unopened kits will increase in value and they’ll be harder to get by the turn of the year.

You gotta love a highly detailed Lego kit, especially when the subject matter is one of the most insane, over-the-top four-wheeled machines on the planet. Now, it’s looking like that’s exactly what we’ll get in just a few weeks’ time, as Lego and Bugatti are gearing up to release the new Chiron Technic kit.

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We love a good Lego build as much as anyone, but this latest project from Toyota is pretty dang ambitious. It’s a life-size creation of the new Camry, and it’s got pretty much every detail of the curvaceous four-door perfectly recreated in brick form.

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They say that advertisements have the power to make or break a brand. If that’s the case, Porsche’s new advertisement highlighting LEGO’s new Speed Champions line just made me want to buy the brick versions of the Porsche 911 RSR and the Porsche 911 Turbo 3.0. They’re the latest Porsche models to be immortalized in LEGO and, to commemorate their release, an ad was shot at the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart starring the cars and their respective drivers taking a tour of the museum from the confines of their own race cars.

LEGO’s Speed Champions line of brick cars is getting a new member with the introduction of the LEGO version of Ford’s M-Sport Fiesta WRC rally car, the same racer that won the 2017 World Rally Championship behind the efforts of co-drivers, Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia. Though not as big as the actual rally car, the LEGO version of the M-Sport Fiesta WRC is a great addition to LEGO’s Speed of Champions range. It joins a list of fellow championship race cars, including the Mercedes-AMG Formula One racer, the Ford GT racer, and the Ford GT40 that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans back in 1966.

Looking to get into a new Bugatti Chiron, but don’t quite have the bread to spring for the real thing? Well, you’re in luck, because Lego is gearing up to offer a new kit that’s about as close as you can get to the Molsheim Monster for just a few hundred bucks.

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