Meet LEGO Technic McLaren P1 Supercar, Which Took 8,344 Hours On Development And Construction

From a small carpenter’s workshop back in 1932 to one of the world’s largest manufacturers of toys, LEGO has always fascinated millions of people from all around the world.

The famous LEGO brick was invented 66 years ago by Godtfred Kirk Christiansen and was designed in such a way that it could be attached to others in countless combinations. Some of the most complex LEGO sets were designed exclusively for grown-ups and one of the latest ones was definitely a masterpiece when the LEGO Group and McLaren Automotive teamed up to create a fully drivable replica of the McLaren P1 supercar.

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The LEGO Technic Ultimate Car Concept Series was launched in 2016 and every other year, the concept has brought a special vehicle to life, yet this time, the LEGO Group and McLaren Automotive came up with a truly groundbreaking and probably the toughest LEGO Technic challenge to date.

With 8,344 hours of development and construction, 23 specialists from design, engineering and building created the one-of-a-kind, fully drivable McLaren P1. This life-size replica was made from 393 different types of LEGO Technic elements, including 11 that were molded specifically for this model. The car weighed almost 1220 kg and had some remarkable displays of engineering.

For those wondering, this is not a bunch of LEGO glued to a car, as it might look at first sight, staring at the photos. Actually, only very few parts of the full-scale car were not made of LEGO: the aforementioned electric battery (the rest of the engine was made of LEGO motor packs, to build the P1’s real-life V8), the tires, seatbelt, steering wheel, and brakes, alongside LEGO ones.

"Having worked on the original P1 programme for McLaren, it’s amazing to see so many of the elements from the original McLaren P1 brought to life so realistically by the LEGO Technic team for the full-scale model," shared Ben Gulliver, Test & Development Director at McLaren Automotive.

"The car was an icon of its time. I hope that through this collaboration with the LEGO Group, we are able to inspire the next generation of designers and engineers to push the boundaries of automotive innovation," he added.

Impressively enough, this one-of-a-kind car's engine had 8 motor packs, imitating the V8 seen in the original McLaren P1. Each of the packs consisted of 96 LEGO Power function motors, which means the car had a total of 768 LEGO motors that could propel it to 40 mph.

It was the first time a LEGO Technic model had been created with a suspension chassis. There was no carbon fiber; therefore, the team had to find a suitable texture using LEGO Technic elements.

“We wanted the skin to be flexible so that we can replicate all the curvature that’s on the real car," explained LEGO design manager Lubor Zelinka. “When you see something that you only imagined a few months ago come to life, it’s worth every stress along the way,” he added.

When everything was finally assembled, the only thing left to do was to see if the car could be really driven. This ultimate challenge was entrusted to 24-year-old Lando Norris, who's the youngest ever British Formula 1 driver and who currently races for McLaren.

"It was incredibly cool to see McLaren F1 driver Lando Norris driving the car we created," said Lukáš Horák, Senior Project Manager in Model Production for the LEGO Group. "McLaren's automotive and engineering expertise has been invaluable in helping us produce a model as authentic to the original McLaren P1 as possible, allowing us to turn a dream into a reality."

Lando took a ride around the Silverstone Circuit track on September 12th, 2024 and this way marked the first time a LEGO scale build has been able to drive around corners and complete a lap of a race track.

"It felt like a car,” shared Lando after his lap of Silverstone. “The steering I felt was pretty good. Copse, I did it flat.”

You can find the video about how Lando Norris completed this ultimate challenge in the life-size LEGO Technic McLaren P1 here.

Founded in 1963 by racer, engineer and entrepreneur Bruce McLaren, the McLaren Group is known as a global leader in high-performance supercar production and elite motorsports.

Their partnership with LEGO started back in 2015 with the McLaren P1 LEGO Speed Champions set. United by the same obsession with innovative engineering and pioneering design, both companies have collaborated on exciting sets during recent years, yet none of them could compare with a life-size LEGO Technic McLaren P1.

"Everything you can imagine is real," Pablo Picasso once said and it seems that the LEGO engineers and McLaren team know this better than anyone else. They not only managed to achieve something truly remarkable, yet also broke their own limits of building for real.