Following the release of a 60-centimeter (24-inch) scale replica of the McLaren P1 earlier this year, the LEGO Group and McLaren Automotive decided to build a full-size replica of the McLaren P1 hypercar from more than 342,817 Technic parts, equipped with hundreds of LEGO electric motors.
Image source: LEGO
The assembled car dwarfs the 1:8 scale LEGO McLaren P1 model, which uses 3,893 parts. LEGO notes that the full-scale version uses 393 types of Technic components, including 11 specially manufactured for the project. On the one hand, this eliminates the possibility of independently assembling a similar replica. But it would take a huge amount of time to independently assemble such a constructor. LEGO says the work took a total of 8,433 hours: 6,134 hours for planning and design, and another 2,210 hours for assembling the hypercar from the kit.
LEGO chose to use Technic components instead of standard bricks because it allowed the company’s designers to recreate the curves of the hypercar and add some flexibility to the body of the P1 replica, mimicking the characteristics of the carbon fiber used to create the body of the real car. The dimensions of the model are similar to the real hypercar: length 4980 mm, width 2101 mm and height 1133 mm.
The P1 replica is not entirely made of LEGO. Under its body there is a steel frame. The car is equipped with the same wheels and tires as a real hypercar, so the full-size model is strong enough to support the weight of a human driver. The car also features a battery pack that powers a total of 768 LEGO electric motors, divided into eight motor blocks to emulate the V8 engine found in the original P1 hypercar.
All of these engines work together to propel the 2,690 lb (1,220 kg) McLaren P1 replica to a top speed of about 40 mph (about 64 km/h). The LEGO McLaren P1 isn’t intended to set any speed records, but McLaren F1 team driver Lando Norris took the wheel and successfully completed a full lap of the Silverstone circuit where he raced during the British Grand Prix.
This is not the first time LEGO has assembled full-size replicas of supercars from its construction sets. For example, in 2018 the company created a full-scale replica of the Bugatti Chiron. Although it weighed nearly 1,400 pounds (635 kg) less than the real Chiron, the LEGO version could only reach a top speed of just over 12 mph (19 km/h) and there was no steering capability, limiting its movement.