This weekend will see the legendary Le Mans 24 race take place. The ultimate endurance race is also celebrating its 100th anniversary. It began as a way for car makers to showcase their cars but soon saw them create vehicles solely for the purpose of competing in the annual race. One such vehicle is the 9X8 Hybrid Hypercar from Peugeot. This sleek-looking car has also inspired a brand-new LEGO Technic. So as the real car takes to the track, here’s a closer look and the buildable version you can own without taking part in a 24-hour race competition.
Product Details
Set Name: PEUGEOT 9X8 24H Le Mans Hybrid Hypercar | Set Number: 42156 | Pieces: 1775 | Theme: Technic
RRP: £169.99/$199.99/199.99€ | Number of Bags: Bags x 5 (multiple bags per step) + loose elements | Instructions: 1 x Paper booklets + Builder App | Stickers: Sheet x 2
Availability: LEGO Stores, LEGO Online & General Retail
Although this isn’t a showpiece set similar to the LEGO Technic Ultimate Car series, the instructions still offer a little bit of bonus content. This includes a few pages focused on the set designer and a little history behind PEUGEOT’s involvement in the Le Mans 24-hour endurance race. If you prefer using digital instructions, then the set can be built using the LEGO Builder App, this includes both 3D digital instructions and the ability to build with others using the Build Together function, which splits up the build in unique ways so multiple people can build it can the same time.
On June 9th, the real car which has inspired this set will be taking part in the 24-hour Le Mans. During the event, an upscaled version of this set will also be built, using lager sized versions of Technic elements. After building this set, trying to recreate it using larger elements, which are also built from Technic pieces, is going to be an impressive feat.
It’s been a while since I’ve built a Technic set but one thing remains a constant no matter when I’ve built one, how the heck do the LEGO designers craft these things? Obviously, a Technic set offers a much different build experience compared to System brick-based sets. But the fact that many of the elements used in the set are reliant on the placement of other pieces elsewhere in the build or form part of working mechanisms, always amazes. This can also result in a Technic build being more prone to builder errors, if attention isn’t paid when building.
The set doesn’t include any powered functions but it does have a few working pieces. These include realistic suspension on both the front and back wheels, this is achieved by a shock absorber bar, which has only been used in one other set. The back wheels power a V6 engine. These are normally a little tricky to build, thanks to the piston system they contain but thankfully, I didn’t have an issue building this one. The front wheels can also be turned using a dial on the roof of the car, this also causes the steering wheel to turn. These are all achieved through a connected system of gears and axel rods, although there is a slight complexity to constructing them, I didn’t have points I had to go back and check something because it wasn’t working as intended. I would say, you need to pay close attention to which colour elements are used at certain points as there are a few black and dark grey pieces which can easily be mixed up.
Less a function but more of a unique feature is the car’s headlights. As a car which needs to drive across a 24-hour period, lights are important but that doesn’t mean they can’t also look rather cool. Even in brick form, they are quite interesting. A series of three rods are used to recreate their unique placement and the rods are also glow-in-the-dark. Although the car isn’t covered by masses of sponsor logos, the set does include a fair few stickers. These are to be expected in a Technic set and due to all the unusual pieces used to create the car, stickers are the only sensible way to add these details.
Overall
This is a nice set which sits between smaller Technic builds and the super complex, highly detailed sets. I’d certainly recommend this particular set if you fancy a challenge but you are overly familiar with Technic builds. One of the key things about Technic sets inspired by real-world vehicles is the ability to capture their appearance and functions. This does a decent job on both fronts. The real PEUGEOT 9X8 has a unique shape and I would certainly say the various elements used do a great job of replicating it.
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