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LEGO Technic McLaren Senna GTR Coming Next Year!

LEGO just announced a new set, the #42123 LEGO Technic McLaren Senna GTR. Below is the press-release with all the details.

Today, an exciting new addition sped onto the track and supercar scene. Extreme to the core like its iconic real-life counterpart, the new #42123 LEGO Technic McLaren Senna GTR provides the ultimate thrill for sportscar lovers and motorsport fans alike looking for their next building challenge.

Combining the McLaren’s unrivaled power and sophistication with the LEGO Group’s design precision, the 830-piece model of this track-focused supercar icon makes no compromises when it comes to engineering or style. The model is the first McLaren supercar to be recreated in LEGO Technic form and is designed to provide the ultimate building thrill for those ages 10 and above.

The McLaren Senna GTR is a car unlike any other and this awesome replica is packed with authentic features and design details that make it equally impressive. From the V8 engine with moving pistons, beautiful aerodynamic curves, opening dihedral doors, and a one-of-a-kind blue paint job, this 32cm (12 inch) long model is sure to raise eyebrows and get hearts pumping whether being taken out for a spin or put admiringly on display once built.

“Recreating a car that is so extreme to the core as the McLaren Senna GTR with LEGO Technic gave us an incredibly interesting challenge,” says Uwe Wabra, Senior Designer, LEGO Technic. “This track car is not like any road car I’ve worked on before. It’s got some unique details, like its silhouettes and the awesome rear spoiler, which differentiates the building experience from others. Just like the incredible engineers at McLaren do when designing their supercars, we really pushed things to the max so the resulting model perfectly honors the art form that is the McLaren Senna GTR.”

Robert Melville, Design Director McLaren Automotive, comments: “The team responsible for the design of the McLaren Senna GTR worked incredibly closely with their design counterparts at the LEGO Group to capture the extreme looks, excitement, and essence of such an incredible supercar for LEGO Technic builders. Just like the real thing, the LEGO model is packed full of incredible details from the rear spoiler to the moving pistons in the V8 engine to the dihedral doors – meaning that we’re as proud of the model as we are of the real car.”

The LEGO Technic McLaren Senna GTR is the latest model to be released as part of the long-standing partnership with McLaren Automotive that started in 2015, following the McLaren Senna LEGO Speed Champions set launched in 2019. LEGO builders of all ages have so far been able to create such iconic supercars as the McLaren P1 and the 720S in 2017, and the McLaren Senna in 2019. The two brands are united by a drive for engineering excellence, pioneering design that makes models like this so fun to build individually or as a family.

McLaren is a pioneer that continuously pushes the boundaries. In 1981, it introduced lightweight and strong carbon fiber chassis into Formula 1 with the McLaren MP4/1. Then in 1993, it designed and built the McLaren F1 road car – the company has not built a car without a carbon fiber chassis since. As part of the Ultimate Series, McLaren was the first to deliver a hybrid hypercar, the McLaren P1. 2019 saw McLaren launch the 600LT Spider as well as the new GT, the track-only Senna GTR, and unveiled the 620R and the McLaren Elva. In 2020, McLaren launched the 765LT. In addition, it unveiled the all-new lightweight architecture innovated and manufactured at the £50m McLaren Composites Technology Center opened in the Sheffield region in the North of England that will underpin the next decade of McLaren’s electrified future.

McLaren Automotive is a creator of luxury, high-performance supercars. Every vehicle is hand-assembled at the McLaren Production Center (MPC) in Woking, Surrey, England. Launched in 2010, the company is now the largest part of the McLaren Group. The company’s product portfolio of GT, Supercar, Motorsport, and Ultimate models are retailed through over 85 retailers in 40 markets around the world. To support the development, engineering, and manufacture of its range of innovative sportscars and supercars, McLaren Automotive partners with world-leading companies to provide specialist expertise, technology, and solutions. These include AkzoNobel, Ashurst, Dell Technologies, Pirelli, Richard Mille, and Tumi.

The #42123 LEGO Technic McLaren Senna GTR will be available globally from January 1st, 2021 from the Online LEGO Shop, official LEGO stores and other retailers globally, and McLaren’s worldwide retailer network. Prices are as follows: 49,99€/$49,99 USD/£44.99 GBP/$89.99 AUD/ 69.99 CAD. For more details, visit the LEGO Technic section of the Online LEGO Shop.

I quite like the look of this car. Based on the price and the length mentioned in the press-release, it seems to be the same scale as the #42093 LEGO Technic Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, which is 11 inches long. This means that the Senna should fit on the #42098 LEGO Technic Car Transporter, just like the Corvette does. But don’t quote me on this until we hear about the width as well, which was not included in the press-release. Another feature I like is the rooftop steering option. It makes the vehicle a lot more playable.

I have been very impressed by the Technic sets in the past couple of years. They are functional, esthetically pleasing, and provide a good building challenge. While we wait for the McLaren Senna GTR to be released, you can take a look at the currently available sets at the LEGO Technic section of the Online LEGO Shop.

What do you think? How do you like the LEGO Technic McLaren Senna GTR? Is this a set you would like to get? Do you have any of the other recently released LEGO Technic cars? Which one is your favorite? Feel free to share your thoughts and discuss in the comment section below!

And you might also like to check out the following related posts:

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LEGO Ideas Project: Baby Builds

(Written by Geneva – gid617)

You may remember the first LEGO baby, who showed up in 2016 in the #60134 LEGO City People Pack. When my sister got that set for her birthday, I borrowed the baby for a little vignette. Before long, I bought a dozen or so babies of my own and started building little vehicles and buildings for them to play with.

After giving several baby-scaled builds away to friends of mine, I realized that the concept was perfect for a LEGO Ideas set. That was well over a year ago, but with the help of some free time in quarantine I finished the project and now Baby Builds is in the voting stage on LEGO Ideas! For those unfamiliar with how that works, LEGO Ideas is a platform where builders can post creations, campaign for votes, and have their project reviewed by LEGO for potential production as an official LEGO set once it reaches 10,000 votes.

Behind these four models is a lot of thought and work and a few failed prototypes, so let’s take a closer look!

First of all there’s the castle. This was really where the idea all started; when I borrowed my sister’s baby, I built an 8×8 vignette with it in front of a micro castle. There were several things I didn’t like about the way that turned out—especially the border, which distracts too much from the rest of the creation. Also, the castle is a little small.

As you can see, my first baby castle looks nothing like the one I built for the Baby Builds project! This time, I decided on a scale that would be almost right if the baby were a full sized person. For a LEGO set idea, I needed a substantial build, but it still had to be small enough not to overshadow the baby.

Around back there are a couple of windows and the rest of the moat.

I built the castle itself in a matter of minutes, though it took me hours of thinking it over while working on other things to decide what scale and shape it should be. Afterwards, deciding on the right kind of landscaping and moat took several revisions. At one point, I had green bricks and micro trees all around the moat. That messed with the scale too much though, and also distracted from the castle itself. Several revisions later (some of them digitally in Stud.io), I had a little bit of rocky landscaping, but mostly just the moat.

Next up is the longship! This actually started out as a pirate ship, but unfortunately the recently released #21322 LEGO Ideas Barracuda Bay made a pirate ship an IP clash on LEGO Ideas. That was too bad, because I had this miniature galleon all ready!

When I realized the pirate ship would have to change, I started to brainstorm other kinds of ships. A longship seemed like it would fit nicely into the lineup, and also bring some welcome color. Keeping the same basic hull design from my pirate ship, I had fun changing the six fiddly white sails for one striped one!

The longship was a quick design that didn’t go through many revisions—except the big revision when it stopped being a pirate ship!

Of course I couldn’t claim to have taken the LEGO baby everywhere unless I had a spaceship! Just like with my pirate ship, I faced an IP clash here too; I wanted to do a “normal” space shuttle (complete with opening hatch), but found out that idea was restricted because it had been done already in the #21312 LEGO Ideas Women of NASA set.

So I went back to the drawing board. Naturally, I had already thought of a Classic Space spaceship—blue and light-grey, with transparent-yellow windshields. But I wasn’t quite sure the helmet would look right on the baby. With a little maneuvering, it did! (It tends to slip backwards though.)

Although my original space shuttle took me a long time and went through several revisions, this spaceship turned out to be much easier. The trickiest thing was getting enough details in there without making the spaceship cluttered. In the end, I just tiled whatever I could!

Last of all came the explorer. With two vehicles already, I needed another stationary vignette. Since I had used blue and red on the other baby builds, green vegetation sounded like it would be a good complement. I did try for a small pyramid, but wasn’t able to design one that looked right to me. Instead, I went for a simple pillar and micro-figure statue.

I had to pick between hats too; a cowboy hat would also have looked nice, but the brown was too confusing with the brown dirt and a tan hat would have been even worse.

So that was the journey that led to the Baby Builds LEGO Ideas project! If you like the concept, I would really appreciate your support! Hopefully, the design process has just been the first step on the road to a LEGO set. But even if not, I’ve enjoyed building these and am happy with how far it’s come already!

What do you think? Have you considered doing a LEGO Ideas project? Do my design choices make sense to you? What do you think about a new “baby-scaled” LEGO set? Feel free to share your comments and questions below!

And again, if you’d like to see the Baby Builds as an official LEGO set, give the project your support on LEGO Ideas! Also, if you’d like to see other baby-scale creations I’ve built, check out my Tiny Trailblazers album on Flickr.

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