Lego’s built a full-size Technic McLaren P1 and you can even drive it…
Lego's McLaren collab continues with a full-size, drivable version of its Technic P1 supercar set
The more you learn about the complexities of Lego’s new Technic P1 kit, the likelier it is that you’ll be weighing up how to afford the £390 asking price. But, given how well the Technic P1 recreates the real McLaren Ultimate Series car’s looks and mechanics, how much would you be prepared to shell out if Lego made a full-size version of its miniaturised version of the full-size car?
Before you go selling any organs, Lego’s so-called ‘Ultimate Challenge’ is not for sale, but it’s certainly spectacular – as we can confirm having been invited to the Silverstone race circuit for the launch of this full-size Technic McLaren P1 that actually functions as a moving, driveable car.
The until-now-secret project was yet another collaboration between the boffins at Lego Group and the mechanical whizzes at McLaren Automotive. It’s not simply a scaled up version of the model anyone can walk into a Lego store and buy; despite using as many as 343,000 standard Lego Technic pieces and looking very similar at a distance, the full-size and miniature Lego P1s actually feature vastly different constructions.
Model Build Team member and Design Specialist, Lubor Zelinka, explained how “there are 2,000 interconnected little triangles that make up the car’s ‘skin’. Impressively, this mesh approach to bodywork was adopted instead of the large curved pieces seen in the smaller model, as simulations from McLaren’s supercomputers found that they would not be able to withstand higher speeds.
Speaking of which, yes the Ultimate Challenge P1 can, in fact, be driven, and not just at a crawl. Lego won’t give us any horsepower or performance figures but did say the car is capable of speeds of up to 31mph, and that it has already completed a lap of the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit, piloted by none other than McLaren F1 driver, Lando Norris.
While we don’t expect the Ultimate Challenge to be setting any lap records, the fact it can move at any speed at all is thanks to the Lego Technic electric motors under the metal – or should we say plastic. Yes, you read that right; the Ultimate Challenge is powered entirely by Lego Technic motors, albeit quite a few of them. This is impressive when despite weighing less than a real McLaren P1, the Ultimate Challenge still weighs in at around 1,200kg – a lot of this weight coming from the steel subframe that holds it all together.
Zelinka was actually the first person to get behind the wheel of the Ultimate Challenge and described the experience as “otherworldly”. He explained how “Your eyes are telling you you’re in a car, but everything around you is made of Lego.”
“The engine sound is completely different,” he continued. “It uses lots of Lego gears, [so] the closest thing to it is like a swarm of angry bees. Then of course, there’s a rush of wind because, like the smaller model, it doesn’t have a windscreen.”
Unlike the ‘standard’ McLaren P1 which was built in the British brand’s facility in Woking, the Ultimate Challenge was instead assembled in Denmark – the home of Lego. The finishing touches were provided by McLaren itself which bestowed upon the Ultimate Challenge genuine P1 wheels, a steering wheel and badges.
Despite not being for sale, one can hazard a guess that the driveable Lego supercar is probably just as valuable as the real thing and, being a one-of-one, it almost makes the P1 (of which 375 were made) look common.
One thing evident is the sheer enthusiasm not only from the team at Lego Group, but also from those at McLaren; Jonathan Beaumont is the Senior Vehicle Engineering Manager at McLaren and said working on the project was a dream: “For me to evolve a childhood passion of playing with Lego with my adult passion of automotive engineering has really been a once in a lifetime opportunity.”
What’s heartwarmingly curious is how, while so many children who sit at home building with Lego dream of making McLarens, those actually building the real McLarens appreciate building with Lego so much. Beaumont, who also once happened to be the line manager for McLaren’s Ultimate Series cars which include the likes of the P1, as well as the Senna and Speedtail, explained how Lego and McLaren share “a mutual appreciation for all things engineering, so it helps both businesses to merge together seamlessly.”
Fundamentally, the Lego Ultimate Challenge feels like one that’s been drawn up by a bunch of hardcore fans, rather than a cold board of company executives. It’s simply a question of “what if” and it’s great to see that, even in 2024, passion projects such as this can still make their way out of the corporate woodwork.
That said, we still aren’t quite sure about the technical learnings, nor the financial benefits of a campaign such as this, but if Lego wants us to open our minds further, we’d love to get behind the wheel of the Ultimate Challenge P1 and discover them for ourselves – purely for serious journalistic purposes, of course…
Lego Technic McLaren P1 kit
We also took the time at Lego’s Silverstone event, to chat about the more attainable (we use that word loosely) option, namely the new 1:8 scale Lego Technic McLaren P1 kit. It’s a 3,900-piece behemoth which even its designer, Kasper René Hansen, says takes him over eight hours to build – about the time most of us would spend fumbling around looking for seemingly missing pieces. (Although to be fair, aficionados will know Technic kits are assembled one module at a time, using multiple well-labelled bags, each containing a manageable number of pieces, from an extraordinarily detailed set of pictorial instructions).
Developed using computer design models provided straight from McLaren itself, Lego took several years to develop its Technic P1 model, working closely with the manufacturer and endeavouring to highlight several of the engineering marvels of the real car.
“The biggest challenge was replicating the doors”, Hansen explained. In order for these to stay open, the Lego Technic team developed an ingenious solution in which they integrated a hidden spring-loaded shock absorber within the rear haunches of the car.
Even more impressive is that the P1 is also the first Lego Technic model to boast a ‘working’ seven-speed gearbox; follow the instructions correctly and the paddles behind the 1:8-scale steering wheel actually change between the seven gear ratios. Another neat detail is that a button can actually ‘turn off’ the V8 engine at the rear with its moving pistons, instead allowing only the recreated electric motor to move whilst the wheels of the model spin.
One of the rather amazing things about Lego, is that almost all of the parts used by the Technic McLaren P1 are shared or compatible with other Lego models, meaning they could, in theory, be used at a later date to build something else; the only real exclusives to this particular set are the wheels which are connected to the steering rack and sit in front of a working wishbone suspension set-up.
“This was a big challenge,” Hansen admitted. “I was going to work every day and there was always a new challenge. However, when we started to come up with solutions like the door[s] and gearbox and McLaren really liked what we did, it was an amazing feeling to be on the right track.”
What's your favourite car-based Lego set? Let us know in the comments section...
