Bojan Vrbnjak
We've seen life-sized Lego cars before. Sometimes we even saw them moving. But a 1:1 scale Lego McLaren P1 driving around Silverstone under its own power? This is a novelty. And it wasn't an extremely slow round.
Before you click on the video, check out some surprising statistics. It is made up of 342.817 individual Lego Technic parts, using 393 different larger pieces, including 11 pieces that were made specifically for this build. The exterior is made up of flexible parts that give the P1 a rounded shape and also help keep it from flying apart before the first turn. It is powered by as many as 768 Lego motors grouped into eight motor packs. They spin with Lego Technic batteries, but it's not quite a Lego thing. A car battery is also used to have enough range for one round.
McLaren isn't revealing details about the chassis, but the video shows that everything except the wheels, dashboard and steering wheel is actually Lego. McLaren F1 team driver Lando Norris admits he was nervous from the moment he got into the car, but after settling into his lego seat, he put on his helmet and headed out to the track.
In some places, the video is clearly sped up, but this car is not crawling around the track. Norris says it actually rides pretty well and even goes up on the curb in one of the corners. The wing mirrors shake in the wind, but at the end of the lap the P1 seems to be fine. We don't know the lap time or top speed, but considering that this 1.350 kilogram car is powered by Lego motors, it's an impressive feat indeed.
"Having been involved in the original P1 program for McLaren, it's amazing that the Lego Technic team have brought many elements from the original McLaren P1 to life so realistically when building a full-scale model," said Ben Gulliver, McLaren's director of testing and development. "The car was an icon of its time. I hope that through this collaboration with the LEGO Group, we will inspire the next generation of designers and engineers to push the boundaries of automotive innovation.”
Of course, you can't buy this life-size Lego McLaren P1 model. However, there is a 1:1 scale McLaren P8 Technic kit for Lego fans to make their Lego supercar dreams come true.
