That makes the 3,893 pieces required for Lego's 1:8 scale McLaren P1 model much larger. The company says the scale version used 393 types of Technic components, including 11 made specifically for the replica. That would make it difficult to build a copy yourself, but you'd also be hard-pressed to find time to do so. Lego says it took 6,134 hours to design and plan the P1, and 2,210 hours to assemble it.
Lego chose to build with Technic components rather than standard bricks because it allowed the company's designers to recreate the curves of the hypercar and make the P1 replica's body a little more flexible, mimicking the performance of the carbon fiber used to build the original.
The P1 replica is not entirely made of Lego. There is a steel frame under the body, and it rolls on the same tires and wheels as the original, making it strong enough to support a human driver. There is also an electric car battery inside, but the P1 is powered by a total of 768 Lego electric motors, divided into eight motor packs to mimic the V8 engine in the original P1.
All of these engines work together to propel the 2,690-pound Lego replica – which is about 385 pounds lighter than the original – to a top speed of around 40 miles per hour, according to Autocar. It won't set any records, but McLaren F1 driver Lando Norris got behind the wheel and successfully completed a full lap of the same Silverstone Circuit he raced at the British Grand Prix.
This isn't the first time Lego has tried to scale up one of its hypercar models. In 2018, the company created a scale replica of the Bugatti Chiron using over a million Lego Technic bricks. Although it weighed almost 635 kilograms less than the real Chiron, Lego's version only reached a top speed of just over 19 km/h and was not steerable, limiting its possible uses.