Every set in the new LEGO Technic Ultimate Car Series

With the release of the LEGO Technic 42143 Ferrari Daytona SP3, a new sub-theme has been created with the LEGO Technic Ultimate Car Series

LEGO Technic fans will have June 1 circled on their calendar as the release date of the new Ferrari Daytona SP3, based on the limited edition, $2.25m supercar from Maranello in Italy. With it’s unveiling, LEGO have also announced the creation of a new sub-theme, the Technic Ultimate Car Series. Here we take a look at the four models that currently make up the range.

Three of the cars in the series were previously ‘just’ Technic sets, albeit large, complex and expensive ones, but now 42056 Porsche 911 GT3 RS, 42083 Bugatti Chiron and 42115 Lamborghini Sián FKP 37 have been retrospectively added to the new theme. All three, plus the new Ferrari, are detailed 1:8 scale models, but progress has definitely been made since the first set was released.

42056 Porsche 911 GT3 RS

The big orange Porsche set the template for the Ultimate Car Series when it was released back in 2016. The 1:8 scale, the inclusion of a working paddle shift operated gearbox and a detailed engine all paved the way for what was to come. The packaging, too, showed the direction that the series would take. The manual was designed to look like a Porsche owners handbook, and the internal packaging was a step up from ‘a box full of bags’. 

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Removing the manual revealed five numbered boxes and the wheels presented in their own cardboard ‘frame’. The box exterior, however, was more akin to a regular LEGO set, with just a simple picture of the car on a black background. A disappointment was the inclusion of a sticker sheet to add detail such as the iconic Porsche badge. The last part of the build involved creating a brick built carry case, branded with the Porsche logo – not the last time we would see this.

42083 Bugatti Chiron

Fast forward two years and summer 2018 saw the release of the next Technic supercar, the Bugatti Chiron, though with 1500bhp and a top speed north of 260mph we should probably be calling this a hypercar. The set followed a similar pattern to the Porsche, with a working gearbox and what was, at the time, the most complex Technic engine ever designed.

The Chiron has the same slightly ‘skeletal’ look that the Porsche had but the distinctive shape is replicated extremely well. A few details are still being added via the dreaded sticker sheet, but the set does benefit from new wheel hub elements which include brake discs for the first time. Like the Porsche, there’s a brick built overnight case.

The packaging has moved on a step – parts come in internal boxes again, but this time they have images of the car on the front and rear, giving a premium look to the contents. The exterior of the box, however, is still just an image of the set on a blue background.

42115 Lamborghini Sián FKP 37

By the time the big green Lambo was released in mid-2020, the packaging department had got their head in the game. Rather than a simple image of the car itself, the box was a lurid/vibrant (depending on your point of view) green, designed to look like the bonnet of the car, with just the company’s Raging bull emblem on the front. The side of the box gives a view of the rear of the car with tail lights and the distinctive hexagonal exhaust pipes while the rear is more conventional, with a picture of the set on a black background.

Inside, the design elements continue, as the six internal boxes, in both green and black, show the rear of the car, with the four central black boxes overlapping to form the engine cover.

The build follows the two previous sets by starting with a complex gearbox and engine build but once on to the bodywork, rather than easing off, things stay complicated. The scissor doors may look straightforward but take concentration to build properly. They’re nothing to the front of the car though, which has an incredibly challenging series of steps to create the triangular headlamps. Gold lacquered wheels, which replicate the real thing, finish the set off, along with the by-now-expected hand luggage. Along with the packaging, another notable step up is that all specialist parts are now printed – not a sticker in sight. 

42143 Ferrari Daytona SP3

Bringing us up to date is the new 42143 Technic Ferrari Daytona SP3 which is released on June 1. The designer has taken all that has come before – with one exception – and built on it. The packaging is worthy of display in its own right, with images of both the real SP3 and its LEGO counterpart, plus the iconic Prancing Horse. Inside, the three boxes illustrate the rear of the car while the manuals come in Rosso Corsa with some understated printing.

The build is similar to its predecessors with the complex internals created first and then a relatively spartan interior that has seats more complex than some smaller Technic sets.  It’s then covered by that curvaceous red bodywork. It’s here that the Ferrari shows progress in the Ultimate Car Series as the shell of the car is one of the most challenging builds you’ll attempt. Once again, all relevant parts are printed rather than using stickers. Asymmetric drum lacquered wheels set the car off, but for some reason there’s no luggage included in this set. Chances are most people who own an SP3 will never drive it but hold it as an investment, so they probably have no need for an overnight bag.

You can read our review of LEGO Technic 42143 Ferrari Daytona SP3 here.

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