Lego Speed Champions (stylized as LEGO Speed Champions) is an auto racing-inspired theme of Lego building sets first released in 2015.[2] It features classic and modern styles from well-known car brands.[3]
The Lego Speed Champions product line focuses on classic and modern styles from well-known car brands. The series featured Ferrari, McLaren, Porsche, and unofficially Iveco models in its initial release.[4][5] Each set was designed by Lego Design Manager Chris Stamp.
In 2022, The Lego Group stated that the theme is designed with adults in mind, although it does not carry the 18+ label.[8]
In April 2022, The Lego Group built a life-size replica of the 1970 Ferrari 512 M containing 78,496 Lego pieces.[9] The Lego Group also built a life-size replica of the Ferrari F40 containing 358,000 Lego pieces and placed in front of Legoland California.[10]
Initially launched in 2015 at a 6 wide scale, LEGO Speed Champions was focused on reaching older LEGO builders, bringing real cars into the hands of kids and fans. "There are a lot of car geeks working at LEGO, and there were lots of cars within various existing lines, but we thought that something was missing. We wanted to create something authentic, that would work for ‘older’ LEGO builders. The primary focus is always on what works for kids, but there’s a bigger story to tell sometimes, too. The line was “Designed for children, but with grown-ups fans in mind too, we know these models will be closely scrutinized for authenticity.” [11]
The line later switched to a larger scale allowing more detail and complexity in line with an older target audience.[12]
The Lego Speed Champions theme was launched on 1 March 2015. The Lego Group announced a partnership with Ferrari, McLaren, and Porsche. As part of the marketing campaign, The Lego Group released six sets based on racing cars. Each set featured different racing cars such as Ferrari F14 T, McLaren P1 , and Porsche 918. The sets were designed primarily for children 7 to 14 years old.[13][14][15]
In 2015, The Lego Group released seven sets in the new Speed Champions line: the LaFerrari, McLaren P1, Porsche 918 Spyder, Ferrari 458 Italia GT2, F14 T & Scuderia Ferrari Truck, Porsche 911 GT Finish Line, and the McLaren Mercedes Pit Stop. In total, there are nine vehicles in these sets, including the Ferrari transport truck and the two Porsche 911 GTs in the Finish Line set.
In 2016, the theme was about muscle cars, with the Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Corvette, and Chevy Camaro. It also included a Ford Model A Hot Rod and F-150 Raptor, as well as LMP race cars from Audi and Porsche.[16][17][18][19]
In 2017, The Lego Speed Champions theme returned to Formula 1 cars from Ferrari and the championship-winning Mercedes AMG Petronas team.[20]
More Ferrari and Porsche Race car sets were released in 2018, including the Nurburgring Lap Record holding car, the Porsche 919 Hybrid. The line also included a 1967 Ford Mustang. However, no new brands were added.[21][22]
For 2019, the theme introduced new brands into the line: Dodge and Mini.[23]
The 2020 sets include a Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo and Nissan GTR Nismo as well as introduced electric vehicles with Formula E and Jaguar.[24][25][26][27] Prices also increased with the shift in scale.[28][29]
In January 2020, a polybag set was released of the Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo.[30] Two more sets followed in early 2021, McLaren Elva[31] and Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR Pro.[32]
In June 2021, six Lego Speed Champions sets were delayed until summer, causing speculation amongst fans that the theme had been canceled. These sets were a 1970 Dodge Challenger T/A, Top Fuel Dragster, Toyota Supra, Corvette C8.R, and Koenigsegg Jesko.[33][34][35]
In March 2022, five new sets, Ferrari 512 M, Lotus Evija, Lamborghini Countach, Mercedes-AMG F1 W12 E Performance, Mercedes-AMG Project One, Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR Pro, and Aston Martin Vantage GT3 were released.[36][37][38][39][40]
In June 2022, two new sets, James Bond's Aston Martin DB5, based on the James Bond franchise, and Dominic Toretto’s 1970 Dodge Charger R/T, based on the Fast & Furious franchise, were announced. They were released on 1 August 2022.[41][42] James Bond's Aston Martin DB5 set consists of 298 pieces and one minifigure of James Bond.[43] Also included were multiple license plates to swap.[44][45][46][47] Gadgets were not included in the Aston Martin DB5 set.
In January 2023, one new set, Brian O'Conner's 2 Fast 2 Furious Nissan Skyline GTR (R34), based on the film 2 Fast 2 Furious, was released.[54][55][56] The set consists of 319 pieces and one minifigure of Brian O'Conner.[57][58]
In January 2023, four new sets, Ferrari 812 Competizione, Pagani Utopia, Porsche 963 and McLaren Solus GT & McLaren F1 LM were announced. They were released on 1 March 2023.[59][60]
At the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix, it was announced that Lego would be launching ten new Formula One car sets under the Speed Champions brand in 2025, one for each team that participated in the 2024 Formula One season.[61][62]
In January 2026, a Lightning McQueen set was released to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Pixar's Cars franchise. The set consists of 270 pieces.[63]
The product line was accompanied by a series of animated short films that were released on YouTube.
It was announced at E3 2019 that The Lego Group and Playground Games had partnered together to add a new expansion pack to Forza Horizon 4 featuring several cars from the line and a new location made out of Lego bricks. The expansion pack was released on June 13, 2019.[70][71][72]
Announced June 2023, 2K Games unveiled a downloadable content pack, Drive Pass Season 1 for Lego 2K Drive was released on 28 June 2023. It adds the 1970 Dodge Charger R/T and the Nissan Skyline GT-R as playable. It includes Bricklandia's Fast Crew, sisters Rita and Lita Malachi, pilot Doug and resident techie Ronnie (aka CoNfL8t).[73][74]
In 2020, The Lego Group reported that the Lego Technic, Lego Star Wars, Lego Classic, Lego Disney, Lego Harry Potter, and Lego Speed Champions themes had helped to push revenue for the first half of 2020 grew 7% to DKK 15.7 billion compared with the same period in 2019.[75]
