Super cars

Super cars have always occupied a prime spot in the Technic lineup (see our history coverage: part I, part II, part III) No wonder there are many custom creations on the web in this category.

Francisco Hartley has built this excellent Lamborghini Aventador. I was not able to find a video about it but the images speak for themselves. In my opinion it is one of the best LEGO Lamborghini builds yet. There are many functions too: 12 cylinders, gearbox, and suspension and others. I am sure we are going to hear more from Francisco in the future. (via The Lego Car blog)

Nico71 has build a classic rallye car. This one does not follow the classic super car recipe very strictly: it is slightly smaller and does not contain any cylinders or gearbox. It does contain a suspension and a full drivetrain though, driven by PF motors. Everything can be controlled from the remote, making it one of the smallest remote-controllable Technic cars. (via SETechnic)

Last but not least a very unique creation from Egor Karshiev: The BOSS. As it can be seen on the video this is a trial track with serious climbing capabilities. Like the rallye car above it can be fully remote controlled too. 

But the real special thing about it is that you will be able to buy one too: this is the winning contestant of the LEGO Design Challenge. As TechnicBRICKs posted, production has already begun! There is no word on the price yet, but we are looking forward to it.

Breaking news: First photo of the 8070 Super Car for 2011

The Old Lady is ready

I have finally completed it! Not only I have managed to assemble my Christmas present completely, I also have taken photos so there is nothing that stops me blogging about it.

So what is it? The most aged member of the Big Car series, the "Auto Chassis" from 1977. It was missing some parts but the seller was so kind that he sent all of them to me. By the way I am very happy with it. It feels like new, I did not find any broken or yellowish parts. My old Technic playing sets from the 80s are in a much worse shape by now.

After putting it all together I found comparison against the other Big Cars natural. Some numbers to start with:

• this is the oldest of all, sold from 1979
• this has the fewest pieces, 610

This is also the one to contain the fewest special parts. For example the front suspension is made of bricks and rotating plates. There are no springs but there are nonetheless interesting details. For example the suspension has a hole in the middle to accommodate the power train from above. The gear rack moves only sideways, not back and forth with steering. Unlike most other Technic models from the age it has an intermediate arm that makes this possible. Another interesting property of the steering is that it is impossible to fit the gears together such a way that the steering wheel is completely horizontal when the wheels are parallel to the chassis.

The power train makes a very massive impression, the four big cylinders after each other would be enough to drive a boat. The gearbox has two gears, in first gear the pistons literally "fly" - I am not sure that this lasts long under heavy playing. In the rear there is no differential. Instead, there is an universal joint keeping the two sides together. I think this can be really easily broken by the torque of the large wheels.

Besides the relatively simple basics there are a couple of interesting details. The first seats can be adjusted forward or rearward with a rack mechanism. The middle part of the rear seat can act as an arm support or can be hidden.

Until I saw it from photos only I did not realize that the engine is shifted one stud right from the centerline - I believe this gave more room to the exhaust and the gearbox. The proportions of the car are also somewhat surprising, it is not wide but very long, probably longer than any of the sportier subsequent models.

One more thing: the assembly instructions come on both sides of a single foldable sheet in 10 main and 27 secondary steps. For comparison, the instructions for the 8448 have more than 150 steps (and pages).



Now if only I would get an 8860... More photos in the album as usual.

Youngtimer from Santa

Car fans call a car "youngtimer" if it passes the check for veteran cars but it is not old enough to be a real oldtimer. I think "Car Chassis" no. 853 from the beginning of the Big Technic Car history fits this description since it was first sold in 1977.

As I have blogged before, I have set myself as a long term goal to get all the cars from the Big Car series. (Well, the first five at least.) It looks like Santa listens to my wishes well since the postman has brought me this set yesterday. At the first glance it is in an excellent shape as a real youngtimer should. Of course I will not build it until Christmas.

Now if only I could get a 8860 - well, I need some goals for the New Year too :)

8872 and co.

I wanted to write this post a long time ago. It was before the summer when I decided to take some risks to buy the latest piece of my "Big Car" series, the 8865. Already before the purchase it was clear that the pile contains a lot of extra parts. Luckily I found everything for the big car in a good condition. This is where the riddle started, I wanted to find out the rest. I started from here:

First question: what are all these wheels? There are eight small ones, then six more of the same with larger tires, then the one in which the axle rotates, and then I did not speak about the larger off road ones yet. They seem to come from different sets, but still... Which set contains so many wheels?

After a short search I have found the first suspect, the 8872 Forklift Transporter from 1993:

It was clear in the beginning that I do not have all the parts for the forklift: the chain was missing and many other parts too. But I though the truck could be there:

Still many pieces left, let's try the trailer:

Well, that is something. I abandoned the forklift, six small and six larger wheels are crossed out. But what about the other wheels? This wing piece helped to solve part of the puzzle quickly. It was included in two Lego sets ever in yellow, only one of them Technic: the 8840 Desert Racer from 1991:

Of course the driver is nowhere, pistons neither, so this list has many missing items too. Maybe once I will try to fill the parts from my other sets, until then there is this photo. The four large offroad wheels are also crossed out, but I still have eight small ones. This part was the key to the last missing set:

So I got a 8808 Mini F1 Racer for free, year 1994. I have found almost all pieces for this one:

As a conclusion, for the already good price of the 8865 I got two thrids of an 8872, an 8808, a lot of yellow spare parts and an interesting riddle:

Finally the link to the album and a video - if there is no forklift then let us transport a racer:

8865 video

I have managed to upload the video about the 8865:

8865 Test Car

The risky purchase project has finished successfully. I admit that this was my biggest gamble evere, I only hoped that it has all the pieces. Although the set has many fragile parts all of them are in excellent shape: nothing is broken or sunburnt, they have not even been covered in dust. From the traces I suspect that the previous owner has built it together once or twice and then all the pieces ended up in a bag, for my luck. This is the oldest set I have bought so far and the one in the best condition - I will make a comparison of all my purchases sometime.


Like its age suggest, the car is built almost entirely from bricks and only a few special parts. The chassis and the bodywork is made of bricks and so is the rear suspension (excluding the springs and some links). Only the front suspension makes heavy use of special parts.


Interestingly, this car is almost a perfect representation of the developments that have happened in the car industry in the last 20 years. This car feels much more raw than its predecessors. It only has 4 pistons but they are brutally large - the block itself is bigger than a later V10. It runs very smoothly though. The gearbox has 3 gears and no synchronization at all. It happens frequently that it does not take a gear because the cogs are not in position. It also happens that the gearbox drops out of a previously selected gear. It is not very sophisticated and makes the owner feel the technology behind it unlike its successors. (Ok, the 8880 is at least hard to push forward but the 8448 is really very soft.)

I am very happy that I have bought it, it was well worth the 47 Euros it cost (about $85). Even more so if we count the remaining pieces (I will write about it later).

Let the images tell the rest of the story. And here comes the video:

Lego 8448 Super Car II.

The supercar project reached its first stage of completion - it is complete. The replacement for the missing parts has not arrived yet, so I have built the convertible.

Instead of telling more let us look at the pictures:



And the video:


More pictures in the album.

Lego 8448 Super Car I.

Let's take a look at the super car from 1999 as promised. As usual, I have bought the set second hand on the net for CHF 89 (approx. $80). It came assembled and was a little bit dusty. A bit disappointing that contrary to the description some parts were missing like the damped springs. I took it apart completely just to be able to build it and clean it. (I normally use an old toothbrush to do this.)

Most Lego models come with instructions to build two or three different models, but this one is different. There is only one chassis only but we get instructions to built 6 different shells: it can be a sports car with gullwing doors, a coupe-convertible, a concept car, a racer, a hot rod or a buggy.

This model resembles a real car the most from all the super cars I have seen so far. It has exactly the same mechanical features as a real car: differential, gearbox, engine, suspension and steering. The 8880 is more complex but also makes a less credible impression. The four wheel drive is still ok, but the four wheel steering has not really gained adoption amongst real cars. Unlike the 8880 this car is exactly like a real one: engine in the front, rear wheel drive and a drivetrain between. No overcomplicated chain drives, in exchange easy to push and easy to steer.

Another specialty is that each main piece is built separately to be assembled later, like the suspensions and the engine.

Let's see a video about how it is built:



As usual, images in the album. To be continued!

Risky purchase

You probably know that I like Technic cars, especially if they are big and have a lot of parts that can be move. I already have an 8880 but somewhere in a distance I see a goal to have all the earlier sets of the big car series. Take the 8865 for example. It was sold between 1988 and 1994 and one can find many for sale on EBay or Bricklink.

On the other hand I would like make a bargain and willing to take some risks like buying the missing parts on the net. So I bought this one for EUR 30 (+17 for the delivery):

It takes some courage, I admit it. Based on the photo it is not sure that it has four wheels, for example. It is sure though that it has many extra parts like the yellow wings that were not part of 8865. I still have to wait a couple of weeks before I can actually grab it with my hands. I will keep you posted.

History of the big Technic cars, Part III.

In the final part (Part I, II) we take a look at models after 2004. This period was heavily influenced by Ferrari and the emphasis on the looks of the models got even stronger, especially with the ones running as part of the "Racers" series.
The era of Racers was started by model no. 8653 "Enzo Ferrari 1:10" in 2005. The car is a replica of a real Ferrari Enzo. Just like the 8435 introduced in the previous part it consists entirely of studless bricks. A first in the history of Technic cars, it sports a V12 engine but this brings us almost to the end of the list. Unlike the previous models there is no gearbox or suspension. Steering, upwards opening doors and the differential represent all the features. This list is too short for many Technic enthusiasts especially considering that the set contains 1360 parts.


The next set is also a Racer, the 8674 "Ferrari F1 Racer 1:8" appeared in 2006. Its features are very similar to the earlier Silver Champion (8458) and Williams F1 Racer (8461) but the car was completely redesigned. Like on the previous Ferrari we do not find any studded elements here either. The engine is V8 because of F1 rule changes, the rest is the same: suspension on all four wheels, differential, steering and the engine hood opened with a damped spring of course.

The last Ferrari is the 8145 "Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano 1:10". This is the first set in the series that can be found in the shops today - of course others may appear occassionally from earlier stocks. The 8145 is the successor of Enzo with the same working features (and the same missing) and of course with the doors opened upwards.


Now let us see what has happened in the Technic line. The models still try to pack many features, but there are no supercars at the top of the range any more. Instead, we can find a crane (8421 from 2005), a powered bulldozer (8275 from 2007) and a harvester (8274, also 2007). While the 8285 "Tow Truck" is not exactly a supercar either, this is the most car-shaped of all of the above. The set contains a V6 engine, steering and differential, plus there are many ways to control the towing part, including pneumatics and various control wheels.

With this we have arrived to the last set in our series, the 8297 "Off Roader". It arrived in stores late 2008. It is similar to its off terrain predecessor 8466: suspensions on all wheels, rear wheel drive and a differential provide the foundations. It introduces many new concepts as well: as the first set in our history series it includes power functions by default and this can be used to adjust the height of the suspension. For more details, take a look at our post about 8297.

The selection has changed a lot since the introduction of the first supercars. The cars can do more and more and contain more special parts as well. But the most important change is the massive increase in choice: instead of the old cars sitting on the throne alone one get real variety today. The 8297 is a worthy contender here with many interesting solutions. We can only hope that there remain new things for the future as well.

8458 variation

We did not covered the 8458 Silver Champion race car on the blog yet. Nevertheless, one of our faithful readers, gzurti pointed me to this model built by Nathanel Kuipers using only parts available in 8458.

It was admittedly inspired by 8448 Super Street Sensation and while it does not seem to be as professional as factory sets it is nice enough so that I feel tempted to build it :)

Nathanel was so thorough that he provided full building instructions so it can be built by anyone havin a 8458 (or a blue-white 8461).

History of the big Technic cars, Part II.

(previous part, next part)

I owed you the next part of the Big Technic Car story for a long time. Here it comes.

The line of flagships was simple and logical from the beginning (1977) right until 1999: a single flagship, the throne was always taken by one of the the four cars introduced in the previous part. They were the largest Technic models and since they followed one after another there was no competition amongst them.


1999 marked the start of changes with the introduction of 8448 "Super Street Sensation". This set broke the tradition in several ways. For the first time the bodywork was made of studless bricks, with the chassis was made of old-style bricks but well hidden. The two types of Lego bricks divide Technic fans since then. The car also started a new trend by focusing on the looks and not only packing features. Unlike the all-wheel drive in its predecessor its V8 engine "drove" the rear wheels only. This was also the first car since the original 956 carrying its engine in the front. The number of gears in the gearbox has increased to 5+1, making it a match for most road cars.

Another first, it was possible to build multiple bodyworks onto the same chassis. As a sports car, it could be built with "gullwing" doors opening upwards or as a "coupe-convertible" with folding roof. As an alternative it could also have an American style hot rod chassis. The doors were opened with pneumatically damped springs.


The lineup has changed fundamentally when a secondflagship, the 8458 "Silver Champion" race car was added. The Silver Champion is in fact a McLaren Mercedes Formula-1 car but it did not carry an official badge at that time. The car emphasises the break with traditions even more: it has less moving parts but a more realistic bodywork including front and rear spoilers. Like all Formula-1 cars at that time, it has a V10 engine and double wishbone suspension on all 4 wheels. It has a differential and steering but no gearbox - its technical content is below the level of the 8865 introduced more than 10 years earlier (not counting the number of cylinders and the bodywork that can be opened).

The diversity was increased even more with the introduction of the 8466 "4x4 Off Roader" set in 2001. If two flagships were not enough now there was a third one. Its size was no match for the other models but in working features it was: besides a V8 engine and the gearbox from 8448 it had an all wheel drive and doors opening upwards. Like the "Street Sensation" the chassis is made of bricks and the exterior from studless elements.

The next set in 8461 "Williams F1 Racer" from 2002. It is basically the rebranded version of 8458: along a blue-white livery and some new parts the biggest change happened in the name: it was an official "Formula-1" licensed product and ran as part of the "Racers" series. The building instructions had about 80% commonality with its predecessor.

The last set is not really a super car, the 8435 "4WD" introduced in 2004. It is nevertheless worthwhile to mention because it sports many working features that would had made it a super car several years earlier. Contrary to its name it had a rear wheel drive with a V6 engine in the front and working differential in the rear. The front wheels had a functional steering as well as an independent suspension. The rear did not have springs at all but the bridge could be bent relative to the body so it made a real off-road impression. This is the first model that did not have any studded bricks at all, consisting of 763 parts altogether. For comparison, the flagship from 1977 contained 590 parts!

Stay tuned for the next episode!

8880 Super Car

Meanwhile I got a 8880 car in my possession too. I was thinking for a long time which one to get from the many super cars. Although I like the others too, the 8880 is special because it is still made of studded bricks and it has many working parts. Finally I have managed to get one.

The car has so many interesting details that I rather do not spend much time on how it was built. As a short summary, Grandma was here and played with the kids so that I can devote my day to it. At the end I succeeded.


How does it work? First, it has double wishbone suspension on front and rear. On the image above the blue items are the front wishbones. All wheels are driven, universal joints carry the rotation between the wheels and the differentials. The car has three of those - above you can see the front one but there is one in the rear and one in the middle too. In contrast to real all-wheel-drive cars there is no self locking feature, wheels can spin easily. But an owner of a Lego car can live with that.

The above picture also shows the gears of the gearbox. It is more sophisticated than
classic Lego gearboxes: there are freely rotating gears on two axes and moving the lever will attach them to the axles through special transmission rings. This set has 4 forward gears and no reverse but it has a fully functional neutral state. The lever can be operated the same way as on real cars. On the picture below shows the lever in fourth gear.


The car sports all-wheel steering as well: rear wheels steer in the opposite direction and less than the front wheels. It requires a good amount of force, there is no power steering :)


At the end of the drive chain there is a V8 engine driven by a real chain. The amount of moving parts can be felt when we try to push the car - it is much harder than with the 8458 racer. Engine brake is also realistic - the selected gear influences it a lot besides the speed of the pistons.

If you are interested in more visit the album too.

History of the big Technic cars

Throughout the history of Technic there have been always one or more "big cars". These cars represent the top of the range with the most working parts including pistons, gears and others. They are the most wanted sets. Let's have a closer look!


The story started in 1977 with the set no. 956 (sometimes 853) named "Car Chassis". As the "Technic" brand did not exist yet it ran as part of the brand new "Expert Builder" series. The car introduced many of the Technic parts known today: bricks with holes, connectors, rods, gears. It also had a number of special elements like the pistons (the old 2x2 type). The size made it possible to have a 4-cylinder engine, working steering and gearbox with 2 gears. Four adjustable seats made the set complete. As the name suggests it did not have a chassis and no working suspension either.


This set was replaced by the 8860 in 1980. The car became much sportier and was "driven" by a rear-mounted flat-4 engine. Just like its predecessor, it did not have a chassis, but it got a rear differential, a rear suspension and the number of gears has increased to 3. More features took more space as well so it had 2 seats only, but this is perfectly in line with the sporty character. Some models the shock absorber was made of an axle, bushes and connectors. Later models had proper shock absorbers.


From 1984 the series is called "Technic" officially but the new set 8865 "Test Car" came only in 1988. Unlike the previous sets this one had a Technic-style chassis: edges of the bodywork, the roof and the doors are marked by red bricks. The four-cylinder engine came in a V configuration this time. The newly introduced suspension and steering parts allowed a proper front suspension as well. Apart from that the car was built from the usual studded bricks.


The next set in the line is the 8880 "Super Car" introduced in 1994 that represents the top of traditional Technic building. This is the last car made of mostly studded bricks. It contains new bricks like the V8 engine or the chain in the engine drive. Apart from that it continued the traditions of its ancestors and sports more working features than any of them (and any of its successors). It had a complete four wheel drive with three differentials, plus it included a four wheel steering that is not quite typical on road cars either even today. Of course it did not miss any of the usual ingredients like front and rear suspension and the gearbox with 4 gears.

This set is the last in the row that emphasises technical content, for its successors cool looks are more important. It is also the last big car to occupy the top alone, newer models have brothers. Let us talk about them in the next part.

Many thanks for the images to koyan@gmx.net, more images here.