- Lego is displaying its 1:1 scale Ferrari F1 race car at this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix.
- Built by Brickvision, the replica is made exclusively from Lego bricks, including the logos and wheels.
- You can get your own Lego F1 car in a more portable size.
The last patents on Lego’s interlocking bricks finally ran out back in 2011, but that didn’t throw a chicane in the company’s growth curve. Faced with the challenge of differentiating itself from would-be imitators, Lego leveraged brand tie-ins to become the juggernaut of the toy-brick world, forming partnerships with intellectual properties such as Star Wars, Marvel, Disney, and Formula 1.
As part of that last team-up, Lego is displaying a full-sized model of the Ferrari SF-24 that competed in last year’s F1 series at the Miami Grand Prix this weekend. Even if you’re a certified Lego maniac, building something this intricate should give you pause. It’s comprised of more than half a million bricks and took 1200 hours to build.
The Lego-F1 partnership is a smart move for both brands. It gives Lego access to a host of fans who will eagerly snap up sets of their favorite team, and it provides a pit-lane on-ramp for a new generation of F1 fans. And also, never mind the brand synergies, it’s just fun. Look! The tiny minifig Max Verstappen is yelling at everyone again.
The 1:1-scale SF-24 was designed by Lego expert Riccardo Zangelmi, an Italian whose back catalogue includes building a full-size Ducati Panigale V4 R. While the Ducati had real wheels and tires, the Ferrari F1 car is entirely made of tiny bricks, something that must have required incredible patience. However, the version that appeared in Miami was outfitted with real wheels and tires.
If you want your own Lego SF-24, then the good news is it’s also available in a more bookshelf-friendly size. The highly detailed 1:8 scale model intended for older Lego fans is wonderfully detailed, with a rotating V-6 engine and a gearbox that works (albeit with just two gears). Or you can bag a minifig-scale S-24 from the Speed Champions series, which happens to feature all 10 teams running in F1 this year.
Even if the price of a ticket for the Miami GP is out of reach, the cost of a Lego Ferrari for zooming around your desk is just under $27. That’s not much for something that makes you feel like you won both the driver’s and the constructor’s championship.
Brendan McAleer is a freelance writer and photographer based in North Vancouver, B.C., Canada. He grew up splitting his knuckles on British automobiles, came of age in the golden era of Japanese sport-compact performance, and began writing about cars and people in 2008. His particular interest is the intersection between humanity and machinery, whether it is the racing career of Walter Cronkite or Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki’s half-century obsession with the Citroën 2CV. He has taught both of his young daughters how to shift a manual transmission and is grateful for the excuse they provide to be perpetually buying Hot Wheels.
Source: Motor - aranddriver.com
