Is this to-scale electrical McLaren P1 essentially the most advanced Lego construct ever?

Every kid’s toy dream has come true; Lego has built a drivable life-size hypercar.

In the biggest ever build challenge undertaken by Danish company, taking almost 10,000 hours of development, the toy creator and British sports car maker McLaren made a 1:1 scale Lego Technic replica of the brand’s iconic £866,000 (when new) P1.

And its debut track test saw McLaren’s F1 title-chasing driver Lando Norris take the electrified brick-built motor around Silverstone. 

The ambitious project was born out of the latest Lego Technic challenge.

The replica car, which is entirely built to scale, is made from 342,817 Lego elements and weighs approximately 1,220kg.

That’s only a shade lighter than the genuine hypercar produced between 2012 and 2015, which tips the scale at 1,547kg.

Lego Technic has earned a reputation for helping budding young engineers explore the construction details and mechanics that enable cars, planes, motorbikes and construction vehicles to move. 

Kids from six-years-old can learn how gearboxes, wheels and axes are put together.

Ben Gulliver, test and development director at McLaren Automotive, said: ‘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.’ 

While the full-size replica is a one-off build, anyone from 18-and-above can buy and create their own 1:8-scale P1 – luckily, for a fraction of the time and cost. 

The P1 set uses 3,893 pieces, which is some 100 times fewer bricks than the to-scale version.

The toy model in shops is also significantly cheaper – we imagine – with a price tag of £389.99.

‘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’, Gulliver continued.

While the Technic P1 set is a feat of engineering to complete at home, an even more remarkable achievement is the drivable version; the first Lego build ever to be capable of accelerating and steering around a racetrack.

It uses an electric motor made from Lego Technic Function batteries and an EV battery.

Norris, who sits second in the 2024 F1 driver’s standing and who recently celebrated his second win at the Dutch Grand Prix, took the Lego hypercar around the iconic 3.66-mile British circuit.

We imagine there were strict instructions to not mount any of Silverstone’s kerbs, just in case the rumblestrips rattled the bricks clean off. 

The whole build process of the Lego car enlisted the services of 23 specialists from teams employed by the toy maker and McLaren Automotive.

It reportedly took 8,344 hours to develop and complete.

Lukáš Horák, senior project manager in model production for Lego Group, said: ‘This project marks the latest in a long list of collaborations between the Lego Group and McLaren, bringing together McLaren engineers and the Lego Model Production team from conception all the way to the final build.

‘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.

‘It was incredibly cool to see McLaren F1 driver, Lando Norris driving the car we created.’