A few weeks ago a crack team of The Lego Car Blog Elves were dispatched over the perimeter wall of The LEGO Company’s HQ by way of the office catapult. Tasked with uncovering LEGO’s new-for-2019 sets, those that made it back to TLCB Towers would be revered as heroes, whilst their fallen comrades would be mourned for around 15 minutes, before we all moved on with our lives.

Today the lucky survivors able to out-run a Danish alsatian see the fruits of their courageous mission revealed to you, our readers – and what tasty fruits they are! So without any further pointless preamble, here are the brand new 2019 LEGO Speed Champions sets!

LEGO’s partnerships with real-world car manufacturers is (and we may be a bit biased give the title of this website), one of their best ever decisions. The sets resulting from the tie-ups to date have been almost universally excellent, so it’s little wonder that LEGO and other manufacturers are looking to partner. Dodge become a new addition to LEGO universe for 2019, joining the likes of Mercedes-Benz, Aston Martin, Porsche, Volkswagen, Ford, Volvo, Ferrari and others.

Their first set is 75893 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon & Dodge Charger RT, a wonderful duel car homage to Dodges fastest products. A brilliant classic 1970 Charger (complete with a huge drag-racing supercharger) competes against the brand’s latest 2018 SRT Demon at a drag strip, with three mini-figures and the drag racing ‘christmas tree’ lights included. Each car looks faithfully accurate – although some of that accuracy is admittedly due to stickers, and with just under 500 pieces 75893 looks to be an excellent addition to the expanding officially-licensed Speed Champions line-up.

Next we have a vehicle from one of the first manufacturers to partner with LEGO – it wouldn’t be Speed Champions without Ferrari! With 198 pieces the new 75890 Ferrari F40 Competizione set marks the entry point to the 2019 Speed Champions range, and brings one of the most famous supercars ever made back into LEGO form after its last appearance as the 1,158-piece 10248 Creator F40 set from 2015.

Although considerably smaller than it’s predecessor, 75890 is nevertheless a brilliantly accurate little set. This version of the F40 is the Competizione, or racing car to you and me, and thus it features a mini-figure racing driver, an all-important spanner, and switchable parts to covert the F40 from race to road. 75890 will reach stores in early 2019 and will be a roaring success.

LEGO’s third new Speed Champions set brings another previous partner back into the range; McLaren, with their mind-bending track-only Senna. With 219 pieces the 75892 McLaren Senna set is slightly more complicated than the Ferrari above, as is required by the fantastically intricate design of the real car. It’s an aesthetic that doesn’t seem to translate too well to LEGO in our opinion, and – despite what appear to be a few new pieces to help replicate the real Senna’s shape – 75892 looks to our eyes a bit of mess. Nevertheless for McLaren / supercar fans it’s sure to be a winner when it arrives alongside the other Speed Champions sets in January of next year.

Chevrolet first joined the Speed Champions range a few years ago and they return to the line-up for 2019 with the 75891 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Race Car set*. Another single-car set, 75891 brings Speed Champions into the world of NASCAR, although for licensing reasons you won’t find that link anywhere on the box. What you will find are 198 pieces, some of which are uniquely printed, a mini-figure complete with fuel-refill tank and the ubiquitous spanner, and a wealth of stickers to help recreate the ZL1 in LEGO form.

We’ve bemoaned the over-use of stickers rather than bricks to recreate real-world replicas in the past and the same is true here, but LEGO know their market, and also the most cost-effective way to hit the spot aesthetically. 75891 should be hit – especially amongst NASCAR fans!

*Plus an exciting new addition to the 2019 Technic range… but more on that another time!

The fifth and final Speed Champions set new for 2019 brings another old favourite back onto shelves; Mini, with a pairing of the iconic 1960s Cooper-S and a 2018 John Cooper Works Buggy. A tricky thing to make from rectangular bricks, LEGO seem have done a superb job recreating the original Mini in mini-figure scale, and whilst there are stickers present they’re not used to create the shape of the car – bravo LEGO! The classic Cooper comes in rally car spec, complete with quad spot-lights and a roof-rack, and includes a mini-figure rally driver.

The John Cooper Works Buggy isn’t quite as successful, looking not all that much like the real thing. But we’re guessing that if you’re reading this and you’re eight, that won’t matter one bit! Featuring big rubber tyres, a workshop complete with tools, and some cool stickers, if we were eight we’d absolutely love it!

75894 Mini Cooper-S Rally and MINI John Cooper Works Buggy is the largest set in the 2019 range at 481 pieces including four mini-figures and will join the rest of the line-up in stores from January.

Which set is your favourite? We’ll take the classic Dodge Charger and recreate the train-jump scene from the first Fast and the Furious movie, although we’d really need a Speed Champions Toyota Supra to do it properly. Over to you LEGO…

Hot on the heels of our 2019 Speed Champions line-up preview and the awesome looking Technic 42096 Porsche 911 RSR set scooped here last month, it’s time to reveal the rest of what our Elves found during their traditional Christmastime sneak around The LEGO Company’s HQ. Yup, today we can share the complete H1 2019 LEGO Technic range!

42088 Inspection Lift

The entry point to the Technic range for 2019, 42088 is aimed at builders aged just 7+, with 155 pieces and a sub-£10 price tag. As has become the norm for Technic sets even at this scale, 42088 features a bit more visual detail than the range has historically used, but pleasingly it still features a lovely crane boom mechanism that utilises a worm gear to provide elevation. A tow truck B-model deploys the parts to achieve the same function and we think either build is a fine way to kick-off Technic for a younger builder.

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42091 Police Pursuit & 42090 Getaway Truck

Unlike these two…

42091 and 42090 are the usual two pull-back motor powered sets that join the Technic range each year. Like past years they feature absolutely nothing beyond their pull-back motorisation and, like past years, they are somewhat aesthetically challenged, despite the inclusion of a wealth of colourful stickers. Each set contains around 120 pieces and the two models can be combined to create something even more hideous should you feel the need to. 42091 and 42090 will sell very well we suspect, but if you’re going to buy a child an entry point into Technic, you could do so much better…

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42089 Power Boat

For less money than either of the two monstrosities above you could have this; a rather excellent looking power boat, complete with a working single cylinder engine that spins the propellor as the boat is pushed along. 174 pieces, some neat stickers, and a hydroplane B-model complete the reasons why 42089 is vastly better than the Getaway Truck and whatever that police thing is supposed to be, and it’ll reach stores in January.

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42092 Rescue Helicopter

Arriving just in time to rescue countless amateur snowboarders this ski season comes 42092, the only aircraft in the 2019 Technic line-up. With just over 300 pieces, 42092 increases the number of working functions whilst retaining an 8+ target age, with working main and tail rotors, a functioning winch, opening side and tail doors, and featuring the usual colourful stickers. 42092 is also sort-of-mini-figure-scale, and includes a stretcher piece originally found in the Town range with which to evacuate broken snowboarders. A slightly odd jet plane B-model can also be built, but that can’t rescue anyone. Get your hands on 42092 when it lands in January.

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42093 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1

Continuing LEGO’s genius decision to partner with real-world auto-makers comes 42093, a 579-piece Technic version of Chevrolet’s mighty Corvette ZR1. Working steering and a miniature V8 engine make appearances, and 42093 uses bricks to replicate the Corvette’s shape rather than just stickers (although these are present) which we rather like too. A hot rod forms the B-model and we expect 42093 to cost around £35/$40 when it reaches stores next year.

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42095 RC Stunt Racer

Dropping two-hundred pieces but adding Power Functions motors, an IR receiver, and a controller is 42095, a very weird (but probably very fun) ‘Stunt Racer’. Each of the two large motors separately powers one of 42095’s tracks, giving the model skid-steering and likely excellent cat/Elf chasing ability. A B-model so similar we wonder why LEGO bothered can also be built, and you’ll be able to terrorise your pets for around £75/$80 from January 2019.

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42094 Tracked Loader

And now for our favourite; 42094 Tracked Loader. With 827 pieces but no motors, 42094 should be good value at around £65/$70 and it includes the most technical sophistication of the H1 2019 line-up. Linear actuators are driven via hand-powered wheels mounted at the rear of the loader, controlling the boom elevation and grabby claw up front. 42094 also includes suspended tracks, a rear winch, a rotating cabin, and a B-model that looks very nearly as good as the main vehicle. 42094 looks to be great addition to the 2019 Technic line-up and may even give that Porsche 911 RSR a run for our money.

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Which is your favourite new Technic set of 2019? Let us know in the comments, and you can read our reviews of dozens of LEGO’s past Technic sets via the Set Review Library here.

Normally amongst the most mundane vehicles on the roads, vans don’t often appear here at The Lego Car Blog. Today though, we have two, and they’re strange ones at that.

First up is an admittedly boring 1980s Chevrolet G-Series panel van, although it has been wonderfully recreated in 6-wide mini-figure scale. However it’s a van which stars in the Netflix sci-fi series ‘Stranger Things’ and it really does do something strange. Click the link to find out what, and you can see more of the superb model pictured above courtesy of Andrea Lattanzio (aka Norton74) by clicking here.

Today’s second van doesn’t do anything out of the ordinary but it was, for America at least, a strange vehicle. This mid-’60s Chevrolet ‘forward control’ van mounted the driver and controls right at the front of the chassis, leaving more space in the back for carrying things. Common in Europe and Asia, this design never really took off in the ‘states, which is a shame as we think Chevrolet’s 1960s efforts looked pretty cool. This one comes from Tim Henderson of Flickr, it’s also built in 6-wide mini-figure scale, and there’s more of it to see at Tim’s photostream by clicking here.

Yup, LEGO have done it again! The latest in a series of life-size replicas (which included a fully drivable Bugatti Chiron don’t forget!), LEGO have added Chevrolet to their list of real-world vehicles built from bricks.

This is the new 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 ‘Trail Boss’ pick-up truck. Well, the one on the left is. The one on the right that looks slightly lower-res is in fact a 334,000 piece full-size LEGO replica of Chevy’s new mid-size truck.

Built by a team of eighteen Master Builders the LEGO Chevy took over 2,000 hours to assemble, measures 20 feet long, 8 feet wide and 6 feet high (exactly the same as the real Silverado), and weighs over 1.5 tons.

Commissioned as part of Chevrolet’s tie-up with Warner Brothers Pictures (the guys behind the upcoming The LEGO Movie 2), the brick-built Silverado is currently on display at the Detroit North American Auto Show alongside its more metallic counterparts.

Readers in Detroit (or visiting the Auto Show from further afield) will be able to see the life-size LEGO pick-up at the Chevrolet stand until January 27th, where there’s also a truck-load of LEGO bricks available to play with. For the rest of us not near Detroit but wondering how a 334,000-brick pick-up truck is built, take a look at the video below…

YouTube Video

Here in TLCB’s home nation police cars all look pretty much the same, so a coffee-coloured police car really would be a strange sight. Not so in the Unites States though, where police livery varies widely from state to state. That makes this 1980 Chevrolet Blazer K5 police car not strange at all, but it is a starring vehicle in the TV show ‘Stranger Things’, being driven by Police Chief Jim Hopper, and that can be very strange indeed.

This ‘Stranger Things’ Chevrolet Blazer was suggested to us by a reader and comes from TLCB Master MOCer Andrea Lattanzio aka Norton74, who has recreated both it and Hopper’s cabin beautifully in Lego form. Click here to head over to Andrea’s photostream for all the strange goings on.

From one of America’s worst 1960s vehicles to one of its best. The Chevrolet Corvette Stingray was something of a revolution for US sports cars when it arrived in 1963. This is the C3 iteration that launched a few years later, with about 58 different V8 engine options (seriously, just look at this list!), the same slightly dodgy handling, and ridiculously good looks. This lovely Speed Champions-esque version of the iconic American sports car comes from previous bloggee ZetoVince who designed it for the ‘How to Build Dream Cars with LEGO Bricks‘ book reviewed here last year. Head to ZetoVince’s photostream via the link above for more details, and you can read our review of the book in which it features by clicking the final link in the text.

The retina-searing slice of lime is a 1969 Chevrolet Chevelle SS and it comes from serial bloggee Simon Przepiorka, who is probably going to need his own shelf in TLCB Archives at the rate he’s going. With an opening hood, detailed engine, and some very cunningly applied stickers, Simon’s Chevy is about as accurate as 1:24 scale gets. Head over to Simon’s photostream via the link above for more photos of the Chevelle and his incredible back-catalogue of small-scale cars.

Andy might look like a bearded hipster but there are no plant-based all-natural ethical peace crisps in the back of his van. This lovely classic Chevrolet comes from TLCB favourite (and Master MOCer) Andrea Lattanzio aka Norton74 and it’s part of a much larger and utterly wonderful hamburger restaurant scene.

Head to Andrea’s Flickr album for more of Andy’s Van and his Burger Joint and make ours a double beef with bacon!

The ’50s Chevrolet Bel Air is a regular here at TLCB. A favourite in the classic car scene it’s become an icon of its era, more than the sum of its parts and possibly a bit over-hyped. Not that car fans ever do that (cough Toyota Supra A80 cough). However it’s not the only great-looking Chevy from the period, as the Bel Air had a smaller, slightly more affordable brother.

Always in the Bel Air’s shadow the Chevrolet 210 was just as pretty if slightly less glamorous, and it too could be had with the same ‘Blue Flame’ I6 and V8 powerplants. And a two-speed automatic transmission, Seriously, two. Shortage of gears aside we rather like the 210. It was comprehensively outsold by its larger Bel Air sibling too, so it’s more of a rarity these days.

This 1:18 Model Team recreation of the ’57 Chevrolet 210 4-Door Hardtop comes from TLCB debutant Tenderlok who has done an excellent job of replicating the classic Chevy in Lego form, helped by the application of a lot of custom chrome. Head to Eurobricks via the link above for more images of Tenderlok’s build and a full description.

Flickr’s Jonathan Elliott has appeared here numerous times over the years with his excellent small-scale vehicles. Fellow builder JohnniD has too, but has since departed Flickr for pastures new. To pay homage to his old building buddy Jonathan has reworked one of Johnni’s classic designs, this lovely ’49 Chevrolet Pick-Up, and re-published the results. Clever techniques and superbly recognisable design cues are visible in abundance and there’s more to see on Flickr via the link above.

Here at The Lego Car Blog we’re not usually fans of American pick-up trucks. This is because they are, by and large, complete crap. However – and we appreciate there is little logic to this whatsoever – old American pick-up trucks, even though they’re still complete crap, are somehow becoming rather cool. This is one such ageing pick-up, the Chevrolet Silverado K30, in dually crew cab specification.

Perhaps it’s because as vehicles get older we’re willing to overlook their shortcomings, but we really want this truck. The Elves do too, seeing as it’s a giant tasteless 4×4. Fortunately for one of them, it did get its grubby little claws on this, as it found this rather impressive Technic recreation of the classic(?) Silverado K30 crew cab by previous bloggee filswagood on Flickr.

A few of the other Elves in TLCB Towers soon got to experience it too, but not in the way they hoped, as it ran them down in the corridor. Power Functions remote control drive and steering combined with bouncy suspension enabled filsawgood’s Chevy to comfortably squash a couple of our little workers before we took the controls away to take a look for ourselves.

And look we did, because filsawgood’s Silverado is a brilliantly-engineered build, not only featuring the aforementioned (and excellent) remote control drivetrain, but also opening doors, hood (under which is a detailed engine), tailgate, and toolbox (battery compartment), plus the model includes LED lights and a detailed interior too.

There’s much more of filsawgood’s superb Chevrolet Silverado K30 crew cab to see at his Flickr album by clicking here, and you can check out filsawgood’s other Technic 4x4s to appear here at The Lego Car Blog by clicking this bonus link.

Little red Corvette
Baby you’re much to fast
Little red Corvette
You need to find a love that’s gonna last
Little red Corvette
Honey you got to slow down (Got to slow down)
Little red Corvette
‘Cause if you don’t you gonna run your
Little red Corvette right in the ground

It wasn’t much of a leap to today’s title song. This little red Corvette comes from Ben of Flickr, who has captured the ’67 Sting Ray superbly in Speed Champions form. See more via the link, and you can watch Prince’s title song here.

It’s summertime here in TLCB’s home nation. Driving is now windows-down, tunes up, and the risk of distraction by mini-skirted pedestrians. Capturing the vibe perfectly is Andrea Lattanzio (aka Norton74) who returns to TLCB with this lovely mini-figure beach scene, with a with a classic van, a Paradisa windsurfer, a bearded hipster (complete with ubiquitous retro camera and guitar accessories), and a little bit of non-LEGO sand. Put your windows down, tunes up, and hit the beach with Andrea via the link above.

The Chevrolet Corvette is due a bit of change in 2020. Now just about able to compete with European supercars thanks to someone showing Chevrolet something known as a ‘Corner’, the current Corvette is actually quite good. Not resting in their laurels, Chevrolet are about to knock it up a notch and move the engine to the middle of the car, making the C8 Corvette the first mid-engined GM product since the 1988 Pontiac Fiero.

This Lego version of the new Corvette comes from Flickr’s Lasse Deleuran who has built his recreation of the of C8 long before the real car has even been released, basing his model on the pre-production prototype shown at a media event this year. Whether buyers will like the new mid-engined layout or not will probably depend on whether they can embrace change, progress and handling balance, or whether they’re from Texas, but whichever camp you’re part of you can see more of Lasse’s excellent Miniland-scale C8 Corvette via the link above.

*Today’s ace title song.

After posting definitely Not a Car yesterday, here’s over a dozen! Ralph Savelsberg‘s brilliant expanding classic car garage includes some wonderful pieces of beautiful, historic and iconic American metal. And a Buick Roadmaster.

Many of the cars have featured here at The Lego Car Blog over the years and you can see more of Ralph’s scene at the Great Western Lego Show in the UK later this year, or on Flickr via the link above, which is probably more convenient.

Benny has made a few modifications to his 1970 Chevrolet C10 pick-up truck…

Well, actually it’s only one modification, but if you look closely at the image above you might be able to spot it. That plasmawarpdrive9000* is sure to keep Benny smiling at the traffic light grand prix! The Chevy’s load capacity has been compromised somewhat though.

Flickr’s Pasq67 owns the mind behind this and there’s more to see at his SpaceTruck album via the link!

*Probably.

Not all American pick-up trucks are pointlessly-enormous, over-engined yet under-engineered projections of machismo. This is the Chevrolet C10, a compact and utilitarian vehicle for actually picking stuff up and moving it about. Which is probably why Chevrolet don’t make it anymore. No matter, Simon Przepiorka has remembered the C10, and he’s added a few tasteful mods too. See more of his excellent 8-wide recreation of the 1970s Chevy on Flickr via the link.

Nothing to see here, just an ordinary pizza van, picking up dough and delivering pizzas. On an entirely unrelated note, is there any way we could assist you in speeding up this large government tender? Perhaps there is an ‘additional fee’ we could pay you?…

Flickr’s Tim Henderson has created the perfect vehicle* for uncovering secrets – there’s literally nothing that gives its true purpose away! Head to Tim’s photostream via the link above to listen in to mob secrets, corrupt officials, or President Trump making a long distance phone call…

*Although there is the oversize novelty hat option.

It’s an American double here at The Lego Car Blog! After today’s other post here’s one celebrating the best of what the USA has to offer; the C8 Corvette**. For most of its history the Corvette has been… er, Not Very Good, but the latest version is a properly good sports GT, with the ability to go around a corner and everything.

Pleased with this not insignificant step, Chevrolet were on the verge of taking on the big league of European sports cars, but their Corvette still lacked one key ingredient; its engine is in the wrong place.

Cue the brand new 2020 C8 Corvette, which – for the first time in the Corvette’s history (and pretty much America’s for that matter***) – has the engine in the middle. This could be a proper Porsche beater.

Following his brilliant Chevrolet Corvette C8 coupe featured here last year, Flickr’s Lasse Deleuran has now built the convertible version, and it looks fantastic! A beautifully replicated interior and a sort-of-working roof are our highlights, and there’s more to see of his 2020 Corvette C8 convertible at both the Eurobricks forum and his Flickr photostream – click the links to take a look!

*Today’s title song. Again.

**And the swivel chair of course.

***Before someone comments; the Ford GT40 was British. The Pontiac Fiero was American however, but it was crap.

We’re pretty sure that whatever you first car was, it probably came inside a box like this. This is Rolling Bricks‘ Matchbox 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air, a wonderful homage to the famous toy maker’s 1980s vehicles (and packaging), recreated beautifully in Lego form.

Stacked red, yellow, white and blue plates replicate Matchbox’s iconic classic livery beautifully, and he’s even built the hole thingy that enabled the boxes to hang from those weird metal poles in the toy store, so you could slide them all out to find the one you wanted.

There’s much more to see of Rolling Bricks’ glorious Matchbox Chevy at his Flickr album, where you can also find building instructions should you wish to recreate the cars of your youth yourself. Click the link above to head to the toy store.