A full-size McLaren P1 that can drive was built from LEGO bricks (7 photos + 1 video)

Following the release of a 60cm scale replica of the McLaren P1 earlier this year, the LEGO Group and McLaren Automotive have decided to build a full-scale replica of the McLaren P1 hypercar using over 342,817 Technic pieces, outfitting it with hundreds of LEGO electric motors.





The completed car dwarfs the 1:8 scale LEGO McLaren P1 model, which uses 3,893 pieces. LEGO notes that the full-scale version uses 393 types of Technic components, including 11 specially made for this project. On the one hand, this rules out the possibility of building a similar replica yourself. But even assembling the set yourself would have taken a huge amount of time. LEGO says it took 8,433 hours in total: 6,134 hours of planning and design, and another 2,210 hours of building the hypercar from the set.

LEGO chose to use Technic bricks instead of standard bricks because it allowed the company's designers to recreate the curves of the hypercar and add a bit of flexibility to the body of the P1 replica, mimicking the characteristics of the carbon fiber used to create the body of the real car. The dimensions of the model are similar to the real hypercar: 4980 mm long, 2101 mm wide and 1133 mm high.

The P1 replica is not entirely made of LEGO. Underneath its body is a steel frame. The car is equipped with the same wheels and tires as the real hypercar, so the full-size model is strong enough to withstand the weight of a human driver. The car also features a battery pack that powers a total of 768 LEGO electric motors, divided into eight motor blocks to mimic the V8 engine in the original P1 hypercar.