2024 has been a record year for LEGO Speed Champions, but how has that impacted the theme’s individual sets and overall output? Join us as we sift through 12 months of sets in this ever-growing garage.
A total of 12 different LEGO Speed Champions cars raced on to shelves in 2024 across nine different sets, both of which are record numbers for this theme (and that’s not even counting polybags). These three waves of sets include a mix of brand new racers, eight-wide remakes of previous six-wide sets and a couple of Formula 1 cars, foreshadowing what’s right around the corner for Speed Champions in 2025.
As we gear up for a new record year ahead (with a starting wave of 10 new cars all in one go in March), we’re taking a moment to look back over all that LEGO Speed Champions had to offer in 2024 as part of our wider retrospective on the past 12 months. Shift through each set one by one below, then keep reading for a deeper analysis on what it all means for LEGO Speed Champions this year and in the years ahead.
76919 2023 McLaren Formula 1 Race Car
Price: £20.99 / $26.99 / €26.99 Pieces: 245 Release date: March 1, 2024
LEGO Speed Champions and Formula 1 were already familiar bedfellows at the start of 2024, but 76919 2023 McLaren Formula 1 Race Car was the first time we’d seen such a car recreated so intricately, intelligently and accurately at this scale – and as a standalone set. It’s arguably the stand-out Speed Champions set of the year (and has earned a spot in our Top 20 LEGO sets list), or at least it was when it first raced on to shelves.
With the benefit of hindsight, there was still room for improvement – and that’s exactly what we’re going to get from March’s Formula 1 wave, which includes what looks to be a better version of this set in 77251 McLaren MCL38 F1 Team Race Car. The wider rear tyres are the major selling point, but other, smaller refinements also mean you’re probably better off skipping this one now, which is a strange thing to say about such a great set.
76920 Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Price: £20.99 / $26.99 / €26.99 Pieces: 344 Release date: March 1, 2024
We’ve seen plenty of American muscle cars under the Speed Champions banner before, and even a couple of Mustangs, most recently in 2018’s 75884 1968 Ford Mustang Fastback. The LEGO Group cycled back to the present day for the first eight-wide version, 76920 Ford Mustang Dark Horse, which features a much chunkier and more aggressive body.
Sandwiched between two more eye-catching sets, this road car doesn’t quite have the immediate visual impact of its contemporaries – not least because it’s dressed in dark blue and grey, so some of the finer lines and details are swallowed up in the wrong light. But like the best Speed Champions sets there’s still an interesting build to discover here, and one that’s pleasingly sticker-light.
76921 Audi S1 e-tron quattro
Price: £20.99 / $26.99 / €26.99 Pieces: 274 Release date: March 1, 2024
The other contender for the best LEGO Speed Champions set of 2024 (it ranked among our nominees for the best sets of the year overall), 76921 Audi S1 e-tron quattro combines punchy aesthetics with an engaging build for perhaps the most arresting (and interesting) car this year. Some of those details are overly reliant on stickers, sure, but there are prints too – and even after staring at this thing for nine months it’s hard to look away.
Consider how the front of the car sits lower than the back; how the rear upper body is constructed from far more elements than you’d expect; and how the quattro simultaneously plays out like a greatest hits of eight-wide Speed Champions techniques while incorporating much that’s new. There’s so much going on here for only £21 that you really shouldn’t overlook it.
76922 BMW M4 GT3 & BMW M Hybrid V8
Price: £44.99 / $49.99 / €49.99 Pieces: 676 Release date: March 1, 2024
Already infamous for its all-too-liberal use of stickers,
And this set is nothing if not ambitious, seeking new ways to capture intricate details like the GT3’s front bumper – even if they don’t necessarily come off, you can’t help but admire the attempt. If there’s one LEGO Speed Champions 2024 set to skip, though, it is ultimately this one.
76923 Lamborghini Lambo V12 Vision Gran Turismo
Price: £20.99 / $26.99 / €26.99 Pieces: 230 Release date: June 1, 2024
76923 Lamborghini Lambo V12 Vision Gran Turismo, on the other hand, is definitely one not to pass up – even if first impressions are that this is quite a weird car. And it is, because it’s a concept car from a video game, which means nobody is actually going to be driving it around a real track. The end result is something that looks wildly off-kilter – but it’s those cars that often make for the best LEGO Speed Champions sets.
And so it is with the V12 Vision, which required the design team to come up with ever more elaborate ways to capture its complex angles and curves. It’s fair to say, with one eye on the rest of the year now, that this is 2024’s best LEGO Speed Champions building experience. Don’t let looks fool you…
76924 Mercedes-AMG G 63 & Mercedes-AMG SL 63
Price: £44.99 / $49.99 / €49.99 Pieces: 808 Release date: June 1, 2024
The LEGO Group released not one, not two, but three different LEGO Speed Champions two-packs in 2024 – the second of which was
It didn’t land with everyone – both cars perhaps expose the frailties of this scale with more recognisable or relatable vehicles, because they’re very chunky – but the sharply contrasting colour scheme and style makes for a nice pairing in the one box. In terms of offering something a little different, this one does the job.
76925 Aston Martin Vantage Safety Car & AMR23
Price: £44.99 / $49.99 / €49.99 Pieces: 564 Release date: June 1, 2024
‘Something a little different’ is not what you’re going to get with the final two-pack of 2024, though.
Some of us have also taken issue with the colour choice (green over teal), though one Brick Fanatics commenter reports (from a LEGO designer on the LEGO Inside Tour) that the decision was ultimately Aston Martin’s to make rather than the LEGO Group’s, so it’s perhaps no surprise to see that colour return in 2025’s 77245 Aston Martin Aramco F1 AMR24 Race Car. Oh, yeah – this set is about to become even more redundant…
76934 Ferrari F40
Price: £20.99 / $26.99 / €26.99 Pieces: 318 Release date: August 1, 2024
While the Aston Martin double-pack revisits all-too-recent LEGO Speed Champions cars, a bonus third wave of sets in August instead turned back the clock to 2019, and the last of the vehicles released when the theme was still operating at six studs wide. It means 76934 Ferrari F40 feels much fresher as a concept by comparison, and hopefully signals the start of more remakes to come in 2025, 2026 and beyond.
That’s because there are plenty of cars worth revisiting with an extra couple of studs to play with, and the F40 is a fine – if not perfect – starting point. There are perhaps one too many compromises around the sides of the car, especially with the height of the windows (thanks to the choice of windscreen element), and the front headlights and rear window won’t be to everyone’s tastes. But it’s immediately identifiable, and offers another bold colour in the wider 2024 assortment.
76935 NASCAR Next Gen Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Price: £20.99 / $26.99 / €26.99 Pieces: 328 Release date: August 1, 2024
Where the F40 idles alongside its six-wide predecessor from a concept perspective, 76935 NASCAR Next Gen Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 shifts into a higher gear to race off and carve out its own path. We’ve seen a ZL1 at six studs wide, but this eight-wide variant reimagines it as a NASCAR prospect and gives it a livery so unique that not only does it not exist in the real world, but we’ve never really seen anything like it in Speed Champions either.
It makes sense to go bold in a year with a record number of cars otherwise on shelves, though, not least because it helps the 12th car in the pack stand out from the rest. But like the Lambo, this is another one that risks being overlooked for its divisive aesthetics – and you’ll do so only at your own peril, because there’s another excellent and engaging build hiding underneath those garish colours…
LEGO Speed Champions 2024 in review
So, where does that leave us? Across a record number of cars in a single calendar year, it’s fair to say that LEGO Speed Champions has indeed achieved the same variety you’d expect and hope for within a smaller line-up, sustaining its aims even as the theme expands. There’s a healthy mix of vehicle types, styles, colours, building techniques and so on, so that even if you’re collecting the entire theme you’re never going to feel fatigue putting all these together.
That’s with the sole exception of the Aston Martins, which are arguably the only sore spot in the entire line-up – and ultimately the slight wobble in an otherwise carefully-balanced equation of quality and quantity in 2024. If that’s the only LEGO Speed Champions set you buy this year, you won’t be disappointed, because the two cars included are both enjoyable builds. But in the wider context of Speed Champions this year and in years previous, they don’t quite bring enough newness to the table.
It's there where the negative consequences of the theme’s increased output are felt most, but there are positive consequences too: the ability to revisit six-wide cars without cannibalising spots in the regular portfolio for something completely new, for example. And it also allows the designers to get a bit weirder and wackier, with sets like the Lambo V12 Vision and NASCAR ZL1, and it’s often in those sets where LEGO Speed Champions can surprise you most.
On balance it’s hard to deny that the greater number of sets has been a boon for LEGO Speed Champions collectors (as long as you can keep up with current prices too, of course) – but here’s hoping the 2025 range has a secret third wave up its sleeve that’s not yet rumoured, because it would be great to see not only this quantity of cars continue but also this variety.
We’re already confirmed to be getting 10 new LEGO Speed Champions cars in March, with a further four rumoured for the summer (likely June, based on this year’s release timeline), so it looks like 2025 will break this year’s new record instantly. But when those first 10 cars are all variations on a Formula 1 theme, that record isn’t necessarily going to be broken for the right reasons.
Fingers crossed there’s more to come, then, because that second wave already sounds pretty interesting and it would be fun to see the LEGO Speed Champions team further diversify and expand the portfolio in the second half of the year – whether through more remakes of six-wide cars, new additions to the small subtheme of movie-inspired vehicles or something else entirely.
But regardless of what’s around the corner for LEGO Speed Champions, what is arguably the LEGO Group’s best theme for delivering engaging and complex builds at relatively affordable prices has had another outstanding year in 2024. All of these sets are available now at LEGO.com and through third-party retailers, while next year’s Formula 1 sets are already available to pre-order.
These sets were provided by the LEGO Group for review purposes.
Check out more of our look back over 2024 in LEGO, from a deep dive into which LEGO DLC worked best this year to our favourite sets and minifigures of the past 12 months. Alternatively, head here for a first look at what to expect from LEGO Speed Champions in 2025.
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