The Bugatti Chiron is one of the most technically complex vehicles ever produced and it has some seriously impressive credentials. The engine, for example, has a peak power output of 1,479 horsepower, which is 50% more than the previous (and already mind-blowing) Bugatti Veyron. Then, at speed, that front grille will digest 60,000 litres of air every minute. If you were to line up all the carbon fibre inside one Chiron, it would stretch from Earth to the Moon… Nine times. Oh, and if that hasn’t quite blown your socks off, only 500 were ever built and they cost £2.5 million each. Or should I say, 501?
That’s right, the team at LEGO have spent a frightening amount of man hours putting together an operational and non-glued Bugatti, built entirely from LEGO bricks. 13,000 man hours to be exact, and over 1,000,000 lego blocks, as well as 2,304 LEGO electric motors and 4,032 LEGO gear wheels. Was it all worth it? Absolutely.
Have a look at the official debut of the LEGO Chiron here:
The working model is a like-for-like copy of the Chiron and it is life-size. In fact, it is the first self-propelled life-size LEGO car ever built and the level of detail the guys at LEGO have gone into is simply exceptional. The Chiron’s active air brake spoiler has been copied across to the LEGO model and is functional, as is the speedometer which is made purely from LEGO TECHNIC elements.
So, can this LEGO model go all the way to 261 mph? No. Sadly not. The whole thing weighs 1 and a half tonnes and those 2,304 motors combine to provide only 5 horsepower and 92 Nm of torque. This means that the top speed of this plastic replica is 20 km/h.
Former Daytona and 24H of Le Mans winner, Andy Wallace, who drove the real Chiron during its development was invited to pilot the LEGO Chiron on its premiere, stating: "When I first saw the LEGO Chiron, I was immediately impressed by the accuracy of the model and the minute attention to detail. In fact, from about 20 metres away it’s not obvious that you are looking at a LEGO car. I can only imagine how much time and effort went into making this model."
"Driving the LEGO Chiron was a great experience, which I thoroughly enjoyed. All those years ago I could never have imagined that one day I would actually drive a LEGO car!"
You can watch the full development and building of the LEGO Chiron here: