LEGO’s recoloured Technic sets could be here to stay – for better or worse

The LEGO Group is rumoured to be ploughing ahead with colour-swapped variants of LEGO Technic sets in summer 2024 – for better or worse.

The prospect of recoloured sets was first floated all the way back in 2021, in a pilot program that ran exclusively in the UK on a handful of LEGO Icons and Creator sets. The results of that trial were clearly positive, as we’ve since seen colour-swapped versions of multiple sets pop up on shelves – including last year’s 31144 Exotic Pink Parrot, an even brighter and bolder take on 31136 Exotic Parrot.

LEGO Technic has also managed to get in on the game with 42162 Bugatti Bolide Agile Blue, a colour-swapped variant of the yellow-trimmed 42151 Bugatti Bolide. Both of those sets arrived on shelves in the same year, only two waves apart. That’s a timeline the LEGO Group is apparently looking to disrupt with this summer’s rumoured LEGO Technic line-up.

Among the longlist of LEGO Technic summer 2024 sets reportedly on the cards (according to Instragram user Itavix, via brick_clicker) are three new cars at that $50 price point – one a direct recolour of a 2023 set, and two different colour variants of a brand new set. Both of those paths to alternative colourways represent firsts for the LEGO Group.

42196 Lamborghini Huracán Tecnica Orange would arrive a full year after the lime green 42161 Lamborghini Huracán Tecnica, while 42173 Koenigsegg Jesko Absolut Grey Hypercar and 42184 Koenigsegg Jesko Absolut White Hypercar would be the first time the LEGO Group has debuted two different colours for the same set simultaneously.

If the LEGO Group is going to continue to pursue this strategy for new LEGO sets, putting all the options on the table at once feels like the preferable way to go about it. If you bought last summer’s lime green Huracán but would rather have it in orange (if that does indeed become an option), your choices now are selling the original version or plumping for both.

Bringing both white and grey Jeskos to shelves at the same time would allow fans to pick their preferred colourway at that initial point of purchase (provided a third colourway doesn’t race on to shelves in the months and years to come). That’s the positive to take away from this new rumour. But it’s not all good news for LEGO Technic fans. Consider this: what else might we have gotten instead of the same car in a different colour?

It’s impossible to say for sure without popping open a portal to the multiverse, but it’s difficult to ignore the thought that each recoloured set that comes along is taking up a slot that might have otherwise gone to something brand new. It’s no secret that the LEGO Group carefully manages its product portfolio to balance the number of sets on shelves at any one time (hello, sets retiring in 2024), and having two Jeskos or two Huracáns available could come at the cost of something more interesting.

That’s an especially grating thought when the colours on the table are only marginally different, too. There’s a much bigger gulf between lime green and orange than white and grey. But who knows? Maybe the $50 Jeskos will prove interesting enough that you’ll be happy to pick up one, or (perhaps as the LEGO Group is hoping) both. We won’t know for sure until the LEGO Group officially reveals the summer 2024 Technic wave.

Until then, take all details on those sets with a grain of salt. The next wave of LEGO Technic sets lands on shelves in March, and takes the theme out into space…

Every LEGO Technic set confirmed and rumoured for 2024

LEGO set	Price	Pieces	Release date
30682 NASA Mars Rover Perseverance	TBC	TBC	2024
42163 Heavy-Duty Bulldozer	£8.99 / $12.99 / €9.99	195	January 1, 2024
42164 Off-Road Race Buggy	£12.99 / $19.99 / €15.99	219	January 1, 2024
42165 Mercedes-AMG F1 W14 E Performance Pull-Back	£20.99 / $26.99 / €26.99	240	March 1, 2024
42166 NEOM McLaren Extreme E Race Car	£20.99 / $26.99 / €26.99	252	January 1, 2024
42167 Mack LR Electric Garbage Truck	£29.99 / $32.99 / €34.99	503	January 1, 2024
42168 John Deere 9700 Forage Harvester	£37.99 / $39.99 / €42.99	559	January 1, 2024
42169 NEOM McLaren Formula E Race Car	£46.99 / $49.99 / €52.99	452	March 1, 2024
42170 Kawasaki Ninja H2R Motorcycle	£69.99 / $84.99 / €79.99	643	March 1, 2024
42171 Mercedes-AMG F1 W14 E Performance	£189.99 / $219.99 / $219.99	1,642	March 1, 2024
42172 McLaren Supercar	$449.99	3,893	August 1, 2024
42173 Koenigsegg Jesko Absolut Grey Hypercar	$49.99	TBC	Summer 2024
42174 18+ Water Vehicle	$119.99	TBC	Summer 2024
42175 Volvo FMX Truck & EC230 Electric Excavator	$199.99	TBC	Summer 2024
42176 Porsche Gt4 E-performance RC Race Car	$169.99	TBC	Summer 2024
42177 18+ 4×4 Vehicle	$249.99	TBC	Summer 2024
42178 Surface Space Loader LT78	£29.99 / $34.99 / €34.99	435	March 1, 2024
42179 Planet Earth and Moon in Orbit	£69.99 / $74.99 / €79.99	526	March 1, 2024
42180 Mars Crew Exploration Rover	£129.99 / $149.99 / €149.99	1,599	March 1, 2024
42181 VTOL Heavy Cargo Spaceship LT81	£89.99 / $109.99 / €99.99	1,365	March 1, 2024
42182 NASA Apollo Lunar Rover	$229.99	TBC	Summer 2024
42184 Koenigsegg Jesko Absolut White Hypercar	$49.99	TBC	Summer 2024
42196 Lamborghini Huracán Tecnica Orange	$49.99	TBC	Summer 2024

Featured image: Koenigsegg

Support the work that Brick Fanatics does by buying your LEGO sets using our affiliate links. Thank you!