McLaren finds the coolest way to make the new 720S coupe heavier

By Ronan Glon June 29, 2017

McLaren 720S life-size Lego replica — Image used with permission by copyright holder

McLaren is displaying a heavier version of the 720S at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, one of the best-known car enthusiast events in Europe. Adding weight to a sports car sounds completely counter-intuitive, especially if you ask Lotus founder Colin Chapman, but this isn’t your average high-performance machine. It’s made entirely out of Lego bricks.

The British company teamed up with the Speed Champions team at Lego’s headquarters in Bilund, Denmark, to build a life-sized version of its newest model. McLaren gave the toy manufacturer accurate CAD data of every part of the car to make sure the proportions and the design are as close to the real thing as possible.

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The regular 720S relies on advanced materials like aluminum and carbon fiber to shed as much weight as possible. It tips the scale at just 2,800 pounds. Lego doesn’t make bricks out of carbon fiber — at least not yet. No less than 280,000 bricks are needed to build the car, so it’s expected to tip the scale at 3,500 pounds when all is said and done.

It doesn’t weigh 3,500 pounds yet, however. The model shipped to the Goodwood Festival of Speed in England is missing about 12,700 bricks. McLaren is counting on the enthusiasts who visit its stand during the event to finish putting the car back together, and it realistically expects the project will take a few days to complete. Here’s to hoping no one walks off with a commemorative brick in their camera bag.

The weight difference between the real car and the Lego replica is staggering, but the time it takes to build the car is even more eye-opening. A team of six professional builders — which, apparently, is a real job — requires 2,000 hours to put the Lego kit together. That’s 250 non-stop eight-hour work days. In comparison, McLaren factory workers take 12 working days to build a fully functional car.

If you want a 720S, there are several ways to get one. The first, of course, is going to the nearest McLaren dealer and buying one outright. The company’s newest coupe is on sale right now with a base price of about $285,000 before any options are factored in. Alternatively, Lego also offers a much smaller 720S that you can build yourself in less than an hour and conveniently park on your desk.

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Ronan Glon is an American automotive and tech journalist based in southern France. As a long-time contributor to Digital…

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