Lando Norris Takes on Silverstone Circuit in a Life-Size LEGO® Technic™ McLaren P1™
- The LEGO Group and McLaren Automotive have embarked on the ultimate challenge: creating a life-size, driveable LEGO® Technic™ version of the iconic McLaren P1™ supercar
- McLaren Formula 1 Team driver Lando Norris puts the one-of-a-kind car to the ultimate test, completing a lap around the iconic Silverstone Circuit, a track holding many memories of historic moments for McLaren
- The life-size car features an incredible 342,817 LEGO Technic elements and an electric motor; it is the first big build the LEGO Group has ever made, that’s capable of steering and driving an entire lap of a racetrack
- The 1:8 scale LEGO Technic McLaren P1™ set is now available at www.LEGO.com/McLaren
Silverstone, England, 12 September 2024: The LEGO Group and McLaren Automotive have embarked on the toughest LEGO Technic challenge to date, recreating a one-of-a-kind, fully drivable McLaren P1™ made from LEGO Technic elements. And if that wasn’t enough, McLaren F1™ driver, Lando Norris has been enlisted for the ultimate challenge, to complete a lap of the iconic British racetrack, Silverstone, in the 1:1 scale LEGO Technic McLaren P1.
This life-size replica of the McLaren P1™ is made from 342,817 LEGO Technic elements, weighing approximately 1220kg, with some truly remarkable displays of engineering. The car has fully functional steering, making it the first LEGO big build ever capable of steering and taking on tricky racetrack corners. The build features an electric motor consisting of LEGO Technic Function batteries and an electric car battery, allowing it to travel further than any other LEGO model before it.
The big build process came to life with 23 specialists from design, engineering and building from the LEGO group and McLaren Automotive, with 8,344 hours of development and construction and requiring 393 different types of LEGO Technic elements.
With the car assembled, all that was left to do was to embark on the ultimate challenge, and with it being a McLaren supercar replica, who better to get behind the wheel than McLaren F1™ Driver, Lando Norris. The British driver was more than up to the task, taking on the twist and turns of the 5.891km (3.66 miles) track and completing the lap around the Silverstone Circuit. With the enormity of this challenge, Silverstone was the perfect setting given McLaren’s rich history with the home of British racing.
Fans can see the full video of Lando Norris completing the Ultimate Challenge in the life-size LEGO Technic McLaren P1™ below.
“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. 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.” Ben Gulliver, Test & Development Director, McLaren Automotive.
“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.” Lukáš Horák, Senior Project Manager in Model Production, LEGO Group.
The LEGO Technic McLaren P1™ 1:8 set is available at www.LEGO.com/McLaren and LEGO Stores priced at £389.99 / €449.99 / $449.99.
Notes to Editors
For more information about the LEGO Group, please contact media@lego.com
Life-sized LEGO® Technic™ P1™ – Facts and Figures
Following the unveiling of the newest addition to the LEGO Technic Ultimate Car Concept Series; the 1:8 scale LEGO Technic McLaren P1™ at the McLaren Technology Centre in July, this latest challenge looks to take the mantra ‘Build for Real’ to a whole new level, bringing to life fans’ dream supercar in a unique way.
- Over 342,817 LEGO® Technic™ pieces used in total
- 393 different types of LEGO Technic elements used, including 11 that were moulded specifically for this model
- Total weight: 1220Kg
- 8,344 hours spent on development and construction
- 6,134 hours of development time
- 2,210 hours of production
- Created by 23 specialists from design, engineering and building from the LEGO group and McLaren Automotive
- The build’s dimensions are like the real-life model: 4,980 mm long, 2,101mm wide and 1,133mm high
- The build features an electric motor consisting of LEGO Technic Function batteries and an electric car battery, allowing it to travel further than any other LEGO model before it.
- The LEGO Technic engine consists of 8 motor packs, each consisting of 96 LEGO Power function motors, which means the car features a total of 768 LEGO motors. The 8 motor packs imitate the V8 seen in the original McLaren P1™.
The most epic challenge to date
Here’s our first-time achievements to honour our partnership with McLaren:
- First time a LEGO scale build has been created able to drive around corners
- First time a LEGO scale build has been created able to complete a lap of a racetrack
- First time a Formula One racing driver has driven a LEGO scale build
Product information:
The LEGO® Technic™ McLaren P1™ set (42172)
- With a 7-speed gearbox with a dual clutch transmission, suspension, V8 piston engine, adjustable rear wing, and opening dihedral doors with advanced mechanisms – offering detail that makes it a ‘must-have’ for all supercar enthusiasts and McLaren fans.
- Age: 18+
- Price: €449.99 / £389.99 / $449.99
- Pieces: 3,893
- Product No.: 42172
- Dimensions: Measuring over 5.5 in. (14 cm) high, 23 in. (59 cm) long and 9.5 in. (25 cm) wide
- The all-new 1:8 scale LEGO Technic version consists of 3,893 elements and each car features a unique serial number which unlocks special behind-the-scenes content.
- Available: The LEGO Technic McLaren P1 set is available via LEGO Stores, www.LEGO.com and retailers around the world.
About the LEGO Technic Ultimate Car Concept Series
The LEGO Technic Ultimate Car Concept Series launched in 2016 and every other year the concept brings a special vehicle to life, where both the set itself as well as packaging has been meticulously designed. Going on the design journey of creating the next Ultimate car challenges the team to design spectacular 1:8 scale sports car models and push the limits of what’s possible. The team aims to continuously prove that with LEGO Technic it’s possible to ‘Build for Real’
About the LEGO Group
The LEGO Group’s mission is to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow through the power of play. The LEGO System in Play, with its foundation in LEGO bricks, allows children and fans to build and rebuild anything they can imagine.
The LEGO Group was founded in Billund, Denmark in 1932 by Ole Kirk Kristiansen, its name derived from the two Danish words Leg Godt, which mean “Play Well”.
Today, the LEGO Group remains a family-owned company headquartered in Billund. Its products are now sold in more than 120 countries worldwide. For more information: www.LEGO.com
Previous cars in the LEGO Technic Ultimate Car Concept Series:
- 2016: Porsche 911 GT3 RS (SKU No. 42056)
- 2018: Bugatti Chiron (SKU No. 42083)
- 2020: Lamborghini Sián FKP 37 (SKU No. 42115)
- 2022: Ferrari Daytona SP3 (SKU No. 42143)
- 2024: McLaren P1™ (SKU No. 42172)
A selection of high resolution images accompanying this release is available to download from the McLaren Automotive media site – cars.mclaren.press
About McLaren Automotive:
McLaren Automotive is a producer of ultra high-performance, lightweight supercars. Launched in 2010, the company is now the largest part of the McLaren Group.
Headquartered at the McLaren Technology Centre (MTC) in Woking, Surrey, England, McLaren Automotive is driven by the challenge of creating the world’s most exhilarating, engaging and benchmark setting vehicles. Leveraging the McLaren name’s 60-year history of authentic, racing performance, it has delivered some of the most spectacular supercars ever made.
The company’s product portfolio of GTS, supercar, Motorsport and Ultimate models are retailed in over 40 markets around the world. Its cars are assembled by hand at the McLaren Production Centre (MPC), based on the same campus as MTC in Woking.
McLaren is a pioneer that continuously pushes the boundaries. In 1981, it introduced lightweight and strong carbon fibre chassis technology into Formula 1 with the McLaren MP4/1.
Then in 1993 it designed and built the legendary McLaren F1 road car. Built around a carbon fibre chassis, it established McLaren’s supercar DNA, realised for the 21st century in 2011 with the introduction of the McLaren 12C – McLaren Automotive’s first production car.
McLaren was the first to deliver a hybrid hypercar, the McLaren P1™, in 2013. Launching the Ultimate Series of vehicles, P1™ was followed by the McLaren Senna in 2018 and its track-only GTR derivative followed a year later. 2019 also saw the introduction of the Speedtail hybrid hyper-GT. Its most recent Ultimate model, Elva, is the lightest McLaren road car ever.
McLaren’s LT models represent the ultimate expression of track performance in series production supercars. The name stems from the ‘Longtail’ version of the F1 GTR, introduced in 1997, and was incorporated into McLaren Automotive nomenclature in 2015 with the arrival of the McLaren 650S-based 675LT coupe and Spider. In 2018, the LT legend continued with the McLaren 570S-based 600LT. The latest chapter in the LT story was written in 2020 and 2021, with the introduction of the 765LT coupe and Spider.
Also in 2021, the company unveiled its all-new high-performance hybrid supercar, the McLaren Artura. The Artura is the first McLaren to benefit from the McLaren Carbon Lightweight Architecture (MCLA). The MCLA is designed, developed and manufactured at the McLaren Composites Technology Centre in the Sheffield region of England using world-first processes and will spearhead the brand’s electrified future.
2022 saw McLaren announce the Solus GT, a single-seat, closed-cockpit track car which brought to life a futuristic concept that was originally created for virtual gaming.
In 2023, McLaren unveiled its lightest and most powerful series-production supercar, the 750S – a thorough development of the award-winning 720S supercar. McLaren also introduced the new GTS, replacing the McLaren GT.
The McLaren Artura Spider was revealed in early 2024 as the brand’s first high-performance hybrid convertible. Its introduction was part of a major model year uplift for the Artura nameplate, and meant McLaren’s series-production line-up of GTS, new Artura and 750S had been introduced within 12 months of each other.
McLaren Automotive also chooses to partner with like-minded, world-leading companies and organisations who push the boundaries in their respective fields. These include Ashurst, Bowers & Wilkins, Dynisma, Gulf, Monroe, Pirelli, Plan International, Richard Mille and Tumi.
About McLaren Group:
The McLaren Group is a global leader in high-performance supercar production and elite motorsports.
Founded in 1963 by racer, engineer and entrepreneur Bruce McLaren, the Group is formed of McLaren Automotive, which hand-builds lightweight supercars and races them in global series, including the World Endurance Championship; and a majority stake in McLaren Racing which competes in the Formula 1 World Championship, INDYCAR series, Formula E, Extreme E and F1 Academy.
The Group is globally headquartered at the iconic McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England.
With a reputation for innovation and technological excellence, McLaren is one of the UK’s largest independent companies.