The LEGO Group has announced the new sets it will produce for the 2023 Speed Champions range, revealing the McLaren Vision Gran Turismo-inspired Solus among the five sets on offer.
Speed Champions is a range of LEGO models based on some of the fastest and most recognizable cars in the world, from real brands that include Bugatti, Ferrari, Koenigsegg, Lamborghini, and Porsche. First introduced in 2015 as small, 6-stud wide models, the cars enlarged to 8-stud width in 2020 to allow for more detailed models.
McLaren has been part of the Speed Champions range since the beginning, with the P1 and McLaren-Mercedes MP4-29 “Pit Stop” sets available in March 2015. Since then other McLaren models have become part of the range every other year, with the 720S in 2017, Senna in 2019, and Elva in 2021.
As well as getting its own set, the Senna also became the hero car for Forza Horizon 4’s LEGO Speed Champions expansion, which added a LEGO environment map and five, driveable Speed Champions vehicles.
The Solus is McLaren’s newest maximum performance model, one-upping the Senna by reducing the cabin space to just a single occupant. Its form draws heavily from the McLaren Ultimate Vision Gran Turismo, designed for Gran Turismo Sport in 2017, though there are some internal changes.
While the VGT driver sits in a prone position, the Solus has a more regular seating arrangement — albeit accessed by a Batmobile-style (the good, Keaton one) forward-sliding canopy.
There’s also a major change in powertrain, with the VGT’s hybrid, four-liter V8 swapped for a naturally aspirated, 5.2-liter V10. That means the real car is down to “just” 828hp from the VGT’s 1,134hp, but as it only comes in at under a metric ton that should be plenty.
All 25 of the real-world Solus cars were sold even before the public reveal, at an estimated $3m apiece. The LEGO version will be easier to pick up, as part of a $34.99 two-car set with the McLaren F1 LM, when it becomes available this March.
See more articles on Lego, McLaren, and Vision Gran Turismo.
