McLaren is bringing a life-size Lego Senna to FOS

Its presence at the FOS promises to be a jaw-dropping moment for fans of both the McLaren Senna and the iconic Danish building blocks. This isn’t just a museum piece, something to look at from a distance: it’s a Lego model festival visitors will be able to get inside, hang on to the steering wheel, fire up the “engine”, blip the throttle and flash the lights. A kids’ must-see or what?

467,854 individual Lego bricks were needed to clothe a steel frame and create what is an incredibly smooth and seamless interpretation of McLaren’s most track-focused road car. That’s 200,000 more bricks than went into the 1:1 Lego model of the 720S that wowed FOS visitors in 2017.

That many bricks don’t assemble themselves and it took teams of 10 model-makers working shifts around the clock at a secret location in the Czech Republic to put it all together. In all, 42 people were involved in building it over 4,935 hours. In the same amount of time McLaren could have hand-assembled nine real Sennas. 

McLaren Senna parts used in the model include the carbon driver’s seat, steering wheel, pedals, infotainment system, wheel and tyres, and the push button engine start in the roof. But there is no engine here; the sound of the 800PS twin-turbo V8 is simulated through speakers.

With a steel frame underneath and the bricks – which are all glued together rather than just clicked –­ weighing in at 1,000kg, this is one McLaren that doesn’t worry about its weight. At 1,700kg the Lego model is half a tonne heavier than the real Senna.

It doesn’t worry about downforce so much either. The Senna’s signature massive rear wing – which Lego people say was one of the most difficult things to re-create – has been designed to withstand the weight of an errant child climbing on it rather than the 800kg of downward pressure the real wing can withstand.

Finished in Victory Grey with orange highlights, the 1:1 model is a dead ringer for the £12.99 Lego Speed Champions McLaren Senna toy model that went on sale earlier this year. With 219 Lego pieces, the toy goes together rather more easily…

The 1:1 model was unveiled at McLaren HQ in Woking this week, prior to its appearance at FOS and other events. First in the queue to try it for size? That was Bruno Senna, after whose World Champion uncle, Ayrton, the 208mph machine is named.

So delighted was Bruno with the life-size toy that McLaren could barely get him out of it… expect the same wide-eyed wonderment when the brick-built Senna graces McLaren’s exhibition at FOS this year.