- Lego celebrates Koenigsegg Sadair spear with life-size model
- It is made up of 327,906 Lego elements
- A slightly less difficult version at 4,104 bricks is available for purchase
Lego’s Technic sets may be pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with a bunch of plastic bricks, but the company isn’t content with simply offering adults realistic models of high-performance cars to painstakingly build over a wet weekend.
This week, the Danish toymaker decided to release a life-size version of its own 4,104-piece Technic Koenigsegg Sadair’s Spear model in 1:8 scale, itself based on the real Koenigsegg that set a record at the famous Goodwood hill climb during last year’s Festival of Speed event.
This is all very meta, but the 1:1 version managed to cruise down arguably one of the most famous residential driveways in the world at a speed of 69 mph with, you guessed it, the same Koenigsegg test driver who set the record last year behind the wheel.
Look on it
While it’s impossible to build a fully drivable car entirely out of (even just) Lego, the teams behind the massive model said the project took 9,400 hours to develop and build, with some 327,906 Lego elements needed to shape the bodywork. This alone weighs 880 pounds (400 kg).
The overall build tips the scales at 3,900 pounds (1,800 kg), but includes real Koenigsegg wheels, an FIA-spec roll cage, and a small electric motor that drives the rear wheels. Sadair’s Spear’s 1,603-hp 5.0-liter twin-turbo V8 probably wasn’t a good fit.
Speaking to Top Gear, Lego head of design Lubor Zelinka said the brief called for a Lego Technic vehicle that could “go very fast” and, as a result, it was “the most complex build in the least amount of time of any Lego Technic car.”
Zelinka also revealed that there were a number of excellent Easter eggs scattered around the build, including the fact that part of the headlight canopies came from Lego Star Wars ships, while sections of the Koenigsegg’s famously complex Triplex suspension system came from a Ninjago set.
Where can you buy one?
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Lego says the Technic Koenigsegg Sadair Spear Megacar set (model number 42232, for brick fans) will be available in July for $449.99 / £399.99 / €449.99, but the 1:1 replica is, unfortunately, for internal use only.
With a speed of 69 mph along the famous Goodwood hillclimb course, it is the fastest Lego Technic Big Build car ever made, knocking the McLaren P1, driven by F1 driver Lando Norris, from first place. This managed a measly 40 mph.
Although not confirmed, it’s highly likely that ticket holders for this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed event in the UK will be able to get up close and personal with the bold build which, when Ghost Mode is activated, will see the doors, bonnet and engine cover open so you can get a good look at the suspension system. Nice touch.
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