How the McLaren Senna LEGO Speed Champions Was Made

In the UK, the brick Senna will sell for £12.99. That’s 1/50,000 of the cost of the full-size version, says McLaren after punching in the numbers.

So, what does one get for that price?

219 pieces that come together to form a 15 cm-long a brick toy model complete with “a minifigure cockpit, removable windshield, wheels with rubber tires and interchangeable rims, rear spoiler, translucent light-style elements, McLaren and Senna logo stickers, and authentic design details.”

As a bonus, LEGO will throw in a buildable wind tunnel with a rotating fan, a racing driver’s helmet, and a spanner.

But how do the guys over at LEGO came up with their version of the Senna, especially considering the fact that the flowing lines of the car are nearly impossible to replicate using boxy, square bricks?

To answer this question, McLaren published this week a short video showing how the company’s principal designer, Esteban Palazzo, drew the real-life Senna and how LEGO’s Speed Champions designer Cristopher Leslie Stamp adapted the lines of the car to the requirements of the brick-toy.

To replicate the headlights of the toy Senna, for instance, LEGO used a brick that otherwise is used as an ax for another mini-figure. But that’s LEGO for you, you can use a brick designed to do one thing to create an entirely different one.

LEGO’s Speed Champions line was born in 2015 after the Danish toy maker signed deals with automobile manufacturers Ferrari, McLaren and Porsche to license their vehicles. Initially, there were seven different Lego models offered in this line, as well as four sets of stand-alone vehicles.

For McLaren, the line included two other cars, the P1 and the 720S.