LEGO Speed Champions 76922 BMW M4 GT3 & BMW M Hybrid V8 review

76922 BMW M4 GT3 & BMW M Hybrid V8 puts pedal to the metal for LEGO Speed Champions and doesn’t ease off, stretching the limits of this theme just that little bit too far.

Ask anyone who’s put one of these cars together in the past couple of years and they’ll tell you that LEGO Speed Champions is the LEGO Group’s own dark horse: a theme that continually pumps out banger after banger, with each and every one of its sets providing affordable ways to acquire a taste of complex and intelligent LEGO design.

But every now and then, the designers set their sights on vehicles that are arguably too monumental a task even for them. And while those ambitions are nothing short of admirable, it does mean that – on occasion – this is one theme that, like Icarus, flies too close to the sun. Speaking of which: let’s rev our engines for 76922 BMW M4 GT3 & BMW M Hybrid V8…

--- LEGO Speed Champions 76922 BMW M4 GT3 & BMW M Hybrid V8 set details ---

Theme: Speed Champions Set name: 76922 BMW M4 GT3 & BMW M Hybrid V8 Release date: March 1, 2024

Price: £44.99 / $44.99 / €49.99 Pieces: 676 Minifigures: 1

LEGO: Order now

--- Where to buy LEGO Speed Champions 76922 BMW M4 GT3 & BMW M Hybrid V8 ---

LEGO Speed Champions 76922 BMW M4 GT3 & BMW M Hybrid V8 launched March 1, 2024 and is available now at LEGO.com, in LEGO Stores and through third-party retailers.

--- LEGO Speed Champions 76922 BMW M4 GT3 & BMW M Hybrid V8 build ---

Let’s get this out of the way first: there are 71 stickers in 76922 BMW M4 GT3 & BMW M Hybrid V8. Per car, that’s almost comparable to the March 2024 wave’s other worst offender, 76921 Audi S1 e-tron quattro, which includes 33 stickers. But they feel so much more egregious here not only because you’re doing them all in one go (if you build both cars together), but also for their application across these particular racing cars.

LEGO stickers do not reach the edges of pieces, which is usually fine if you’ve only got two to align: place them as close to one another as possible and you can just about mask the gaps. (GRINGOT TS notwithstanding.) When you have three or more stickers intended to be applied adjacent to one another, though, the effect is lost – and that’s exactly what happens across both of these colourful cars, which mark the introduction of BMW to the LEGO Speed Champions line-up in its 10th year on shelves.

The result is a pair of racers that, while visually distinct from the rest of this wave, are not the most attractive cars the theme has ever put out. And they’re also just not the most entertaining to build, either: you’ll cry foul especially when tackling the M Hybrid V8’s windscreen, which requires finishing off its printed edges with yet more stickers. Why the LEGO Group’s printers couldn’t reach around the entire element is anyone’s guess, but if it was a technical impossibility (and it didn’t seem to be in places for 76916 Porsche 963), it only raises the question of where we should draw the line on compromises in this theme – and where the designers might have been better off choosing different cars altogether.

It's a question you’ll be thinking about throughout this build (that’s both cars, by the way), which in places feels like it’s getting almost too complex for its own good. The front grill of the M4 GT3 feels especially overengineered, for example, twisting studs in all directions and clipping tiny sub-assemblies together (studs? Never heard of them) in the way that only LEGO Speed Champions sets can – but ending up with something that only loosely resembles the real thing.

Total accuracy is not something any LEGO set can strive for, but seeing what the LEGO Speed Champions designers have achieved elsewhere makes the compromises in 76922 BMW M4 GT3 & BMW M Hybrid V8 a little trickier to bear. The good news is that the general shaping of both of these cars is pretty much on point, even if the details – whether brick-built or stickered – leave something to be desired in places.

The M Hybrid V8 is especially successful, building on the fine work on display in 2023’s 76916 Porsche 963 (and having two cars on shelves simultaneously that have actually raced one another in real life is pretty neat). You won’t feel bored even if you’ve built that one recently, though, as the Beemer does things just differently enough to keep the build interesting and engaging – even between relatively similar types of cars, you can never really accuse LEGO Speed Champions of growing stale.

So even if 76922 BMW M4 GT3 & BMW M Hybrid V8 isn’t peak Speed Champions – and can or should every set really try to lay a credible claim to that crown? – it’s still going to offer a fun time for some people. Maybe that’s enough.

--- LEGO Speed Champions 76922 BMW M4 GT3 & BMW M Hybrid V8 characters ---

76922 BMW M4 GT3 & BMW M Hybrid V8 includes two drivers in red and blue racing suits with matching prints, and as a pair they’re pretty groovy. Minifigures will never be a selling point for LEGO Speed Champions, but they also never feel like an afterthought, and that’s credit to the effort that goes into every inch of this theme.

--- LEGO Speed Champions 76922 BMW M4 GT3 & BMW M Hybrid V8 price ---

It’s not only LEGO Speed Champions’ single cars that have received a price bump for 2024: 76922 BMW M4 GT3 & BMW M Hybrid V8 represents a £5 / $10 / €5 increase on last year’s 76918 McLaren Solus GT & McLaren F1 LM. US fans will feel that most steeply, although the set is still comparatively cheaper stateside than in other regions.

That’s especially true in the UK, where 76922 BMW M4 GT3 & BMW M Hybrid V8 costs more than two individual LEGO Speed Champions cars. Given these two are probably the weakest in the entire March 2024 wave, they don’t feel like essential purchases at full price.

--- LEGO Speed Champions 76922 BMW M4 GT3 & BMW M Hybrid V8 pictures ---

--- LEGO Speed Champions 76922 BMW M4 GT3 & BMW M Hybrid V8 pros and cons ---

Nobody can criticise 76922 BMW M4 GT3 & BMW M Hybrid V8 for not giving it a go. But the task at hand here was so monumental that even the storied LEGO Speed Champions team haven’t quite managed to hit all the right notes, in part as a consequence of the very medium of LEGO (and the company’s current approach to stickers).

If you can get past the broken liveries and some questionable details, though, there are pockets of things to enjoy here. They’re probably not going to be top of anyone’s list this March – blame the rest of this otherwise top-tier LEGO Speed Champions wave for that – but you won’t have too many regrets if you do pick up 76922 BMW M4 GT3 & BMW M Hybrid V8.

This set was provided for review by the LEGO Group.

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--- Alternatives to LEGO Speed Champions 76922 BMW M4 GT3 & BMW M Hybrid V8 ---

If you’re after a cheaper and (slightly) less sticker-intensive sports prototype racing car, set your sights on 2023’s 76916 Porsche 963. If all you want is a more satisfying LEGO Speed Champions experience, the world is your oyster: consider checking out any of this year’s smaller single-car sets, including 76919 2023 McLaren Formula 1 Car, 76920 Ford Mustang Dark Horse and especially 76921 Audi S1 e-tron quattro.

--- LEGO Speed Champions 76922 BMW M4 GT3 & BMW M Hybrid V8 FAQs ---