Lego, that Denmark-based company famous for its toy bricks, has built a “first of its kind” life-size Bugatti Chiron. And, guess what? It actually drives.
It took 16 designers from Lego’s Technic team plus engineers from the firm’s Kladno factory in Czech Republic some 13 000 hours to build this one-million-piece 1:1 scale model.
So, what powers the life-size machine? At the heart of it, 2 304 Lego Power Function Motors work together to produce an estimated 92 N.m of torque, giving it a “theoretical” top speed of around 31 km/h.
For stability, its body is underpinned by a light steel frame (one of the few none-Lego designed parts) and placed on four original Bugatti wheels. To ensure the scale model looks like the real deal, it’s equipped with a fully functional speedometer, steering wheel, brake pedal and rear spoiler (not that you’ll need the downforce), all assembled from Technic bits and pieces … without any glue to keep it together.
When development was complete, the Technic Chiron was ready for testing. And, rather fittingly, Lego decided to test its 1 500 kg Chiron at the Ehra Lessien track outside Wolfsburg in Germany – the same track on which the original Chiron was tested.
And who better than Bugatti’s official test driver and former Le Mans winner, Andy Wallace, to put the Lego-built Chiron to through its paces? After reaching a speed of 20 km/h (check out the video below), Wallace described the test as a “great experience” which he “thoroughly enjoyed”.
According to Lena Dixen, senior vice president of product and marketing at the Lego Group, the toy manufacturer wanted to “push the boundaries” of its imagination.
Lego fans can, of course, get their hands on a far smaller (1:8 scale) model released earlier in 2018. Comprising 3 600 pieces and featuring a W16 engine with moving pistons, an eight-speed gearbox with movable paddle-shifters and even a Lego version of Bugatti’s “top speed key” to adjust the wing at back, the smaller Chiron model retails for about R6 000.
Author: Marius Boonzaier
