On the first day of summer, the tiny Danish town of Billund was flooded with media representatives from all over the world – LEGO announced the start of sales of the LEGO Technic, which was created in strict secrecy in conjunction with Bugatti. The Avtoramera correspondent became the only journalist from Russia who managed to get to the presentation at the LEGO House and ask the creators for details that would not be included in the press release.
The Chiron, made up of 3,599 LEGO pieces, has become one of the most secretive collaborations in the company’s history. Designers and engineers have been working on the designer for two years – and during this time no one, except the top managers and direct participants in the project, knew about the upcoming hypercar.
LEGO designers haven’t tested a real Bugatti Chiron
Yes, they did drive a Bugatti, but it was not a Chiron, but a Veyron. The project started back in 2016 when the Chiron was in development – the LEGO designers were present at different stages of the assembly of the first pre-production versions and got acquainted with the design features of the hypercar.
Speaking with the Auto Ambler, LEGO Technic Chief Designer Andy Woodman said that testing the hypercar, even if not the one that was to be embodied in bricks, was one of the most fun and memorable stages in the project. The tests took place in France, and the Bugatti test driver acted as an instructor.
Secret Bugatti Chiron in the basement
Woodman shared the story of how Bugatti provided them with one of five vehicles not assembled for sale. It was hidden in the basement of the LEGO headquarters in Billund, where the project participants thoroughly studied the car and designed its analog from bricks. “When you stand next to a real Bugatti Chiron and hear how it starts up, you absorb its energy – and this is an indescribable feeling!”, – Woodman shared his impressions.
It took six months to design the exterior and the same to create the interior. Another six months was spent putting all the pieces together.
Bugatti designer has special plans for the LEGO Chiron
On the part of the automaker, only a few people took part in the project: one team worked on the design of the car under the leadership of Achim Anscheidt, the second – on the technical “stuffing”. It was headed by engineer Yakhin Schwalbe.
According to Schwalbe, he has not yet had time to assemble the designer, but he expects to be able to do so in the near future. “I would like to plunge into this process again, and at the same time keep in mind everything that we have been working on for the past two years,” he explained. Anscheidt, in turn, admitted that the last time he assembled the designer was more than 40 years ago. According to him, he experienced the transmitted emotions when he saw a ready-made set in front of him and decided to present it to his father. They will put the car together – just like four decades ago.
According to Anscheidt, LEGO provides endless possibilities for creativity: the constructor can be modified, new elements can be added or existing ones can be swapped. “We talked to Andy Woodman about this, and he suggested that, in a couple of months, it is likely that someone will come to us and claim that they installed an electric motor in the Chiron and connected it to the control panel. This is what we call creative.” – concluded the Bugatti designer.
Not only movable elements but also accessories
Like many other constructors of this level of sophistication, the Chiron has moving parts. For example, 16 cylinders in the W16 engine: were made movable thanks to two crankshafts. The design is the same as that of the original car: the engine is mounted with the rear suspension on a separate subframe.
In addition, you can change the position of the active rear wing – there is even a special key for this. Of course, the doors and the engine compartment of the hypercar open, the wheels spin, the shock absorbers work, the mirrors are folded.
Particular attention was paid to detail: behind the discs, you can find brake calipers painted in Bugatti’s signature blue, the steering wheel has a flat lower section typical for supercars and 8-speed gearbox paddles that can be pressed down. Behind the wheel is a tiny dashboard, worked out to the smallest detail. And a branded Bugatti bag is hidden in the luggage compartment of the car.
Each toy “Chiron” is assigned a number – by analogy with real cars, which were released in a limited edition of several hundred copies. It is located under the hood.
Seven hours of assembly in two hands
It will take about seven hours for one adult with a special skill to assemble a car. That is how much time it took for the blogger, who began to collect Chiron right after the end of the presentation and stayed up late into the evening. By the way, all the elements of the car will have to be assembled – including the engine and gearbox.
And a few more numbers
The ratio of a real Bugatti to a toy is 1: 8. The LEGO hypercar is 56 centimeters long, 25 centimeters wide, and 14 centimeters high.
In the “World of Cubes” network, “Autombler” was told that in Russia a set of LEGO Technic Bugatti Chiron costs 29,999 rubles. For comparison, the set costs for Europeans and Americans about the same amount – 380 euros and 350 dollars, respectively.