Kentucky Serendipity

Lego 1:1 Model Bugatti Charon 22 September 2018

In my younger days I enjoyed building things with Legos. By “younger days” I don’t mean childhood, for Legos were my pastime during college, graduate school, and my first years as a healthcare chief information officer (CIO). It was an excellent way to take a break between class assignments or to wind down after a busy day. In addition to helping one relax, Legos have been shown to boost creativity when used with proper methods.

Legos can be great demonstration tools. One day a fellow college student asked me how a transmission works. I talked him through it and explained gearing. That evening it struck me that I could build a transmission with Legos. A few hours later I had a chassis with a two-speed transmission and a clutch. (I could have made it with more gears but I ran out of needed parts.) Later that week I showed my friend the working model and demonstrated shifting the gears using the clutch. My friend’s understanding of a transmission increased as the working model was far superior to a verbal description. I’ve often thought that with enough Lego elements one could build pretty much anything. And the folks at Lego seem to agree.

Earlier this year Lego released Technics kit 42083 which is a 1:8 scale model of the Bugatti Chiron sports car. This is highly detailed, complex kit with 3,599 pieces. It includes a W16 engine with moving pistons, highly detailed interior, rear spoiler which can be raised and lowered, and working eight-speed transmission (which can be shifted using paddles on the driver’s side). This is a large model: at 1:8 scale, the completed car is over a foot long. To top it off, each kit comes with a unique serial number. Car enthusiasts as well as Lego fans love the kit.

After completing the 1:8 scale Chiron, the Lego design team had an idea. Like me they thought that with enough Lego elements one could build most anything, so … how about a 1:1 scale Bugatti Chiron? Yes, a life size supercar built from Lego elements. They set themselves to the task and after much work, they were able to pull it off. The completed car:

• contains more than 1,000,000 LEGO Technic elements in total;
• uses 339 types of LEGO Technic elements;
• was assembled using no glue;
• weighs over 1.5 tons;
• has a functional speedometer built entirely from LEGO Technic elements; and
• has a functional rear spoiler (using both LEGO Power Functions and pneumatics).

The full-size model has a functional engine comprised of:

• 2,304 LEGO Power Functions motors;
• 4,032 LEGO Technic gear wheels; and
• 2,016 LEGO Technic cross axles.

The engine has a theoretical output of 5.3 HP and an estimated 92 Nm of torque. The top speed is 18 mph which is somewhat less than the actual Chiron’s top speed of 261 mph.

They took the completed life-size model to the test track and made a video of the event:

The team also produced a video on the design and building of the model:

Both videos are interesting but I wish they were longer with more information — inquiring Lego builders want to know more! This project shows that one can do amazing things with Legos if one has an idea and persistence. And enough Lego elements.