LEGO® Technic parts review: 42172 McLaren P1™

The LEGO® Technic Ultimate Car Concept Series, which traces its roots all the way back to 1977 with 853 Car Chassis and whose modern form was codified in 2016 with 42056 Porsche 911 GT3 RS, gets its latest iteration in 2024 courtesy of set 42172 McLaren P1. 

Today, New Elementary will take a look at its most interesting elements. Alternatively, read our examination of the build process and functions of the LEGO Technic McLaren P1.

Products in this article were gifted by The LEGO Group; the author's opinions are their own.
This article contains affiliate links to LEGO.com; we may get a small commission if you purchase.

42172 McLaren P1™
US$449.99/ £389.99/ 449.99€/ AU$699.99
3893 parts
Release Date: 1 August 2024

• Buy set 42172 on LEGO.com
  
• Gift with purchase: 1 to 7 August, LEGO Insiders receive LEGO Technic set McLaren P1 Logo. Read our review of McLaren P1 logo

New moulds

The Ultimate Car Concept Series is a showcase of the top design mechanical prowess of LEGO Technic in automobile form. To that end, many new elements often start their life here and then propagate to other, more "mundane" sets.

LEGO Technic Panel Curved 5 x 13 x 3 Tapered (parts 4443 and 4446)

• 2x Technic Panel Curved 5 x 13 x 3 Tapered, Left in Flame Yellowish Orange / Bright Light Orange (6452861 | 4443)
• 2x Technic Panel Curved 5 x 13 x 3 Tapered, Right in Flame Yellowish Orange / Bright Light Orange (6452862 | 4446)

It feels like each Ultimate Car introduces at least one new kind of panel, and 42172 doesn't buck the trend. These may be mistaken for Technic Panel Curved 5 x 13 x 2 Tapered, Left and Right (67142 and 68196, respectively), and indeed they're almost identical – at least when viewed from above.

The old part is on the left in the above image, while the new one is on the right. Now the difference is more apparent: while both are the same along the area that connects the two pin holes, the new part has a pronounced bend that makes the "sail" portion angle downwards significantly.

Joining the two versions together and propping then up accentuates the difference. While the tip of old part is at the same level as the pin hole area, the tip of the new part is 2 modules lower. 

Is it just me, or do the two kinds of panels joined together – helped by the black of the pin partially visible on both sides – look like a cute yellow ray waving at you?

 

I think it's just a matter of time before we see pairs of these two new panels appear in a transparent colour and be used as canopies in LEGO Technic aircraft, or perhaps in large LEGO® NINJAGO® vehicles.

 

LEGO Technic Panel Car Mudguard Arched 15 x 2 x 6, Arched Top (part 4427)

• 2x Technic Panel Car Mudguard Arched 15 x 2 x 6, Arched Top in Flame Yellowish Orange / Bright Light Orange (6452857 | 4427)

The number of LEGO Technic panel mudguards has exploded in the last few years, and the blast wave continues. This new panel is a variation of Technic Panel Car Mudguard Arched 15 x 2 x 5, Arched Top (67141), the only difference being that the new version is 1 module taller. 

Regrettably, I don't have on hand any of the old part for comparison, so you'll have to make do with Technic Panel Car Mudguard 15 x 2 x 7 (46882) and Technic Panel Car Mudguard Arched 13 x 2 x 5 with Grille Print Model Right Rear Side (42545pr0004).

LEGO Wheel 75 x 41 McLaren P1 (part 5428) 

Befitting its premium nature, each car in the Ultimate Car Concept Series has its own unique set of wheel rims, and 42172 is no exception. 

• 4x Wheel 75 x 41 McLaren P1 in Titanium Metallic / Pearl Dark Gray (6470764 | 5428)

These are quite classy in this gunmetal colour, and have a nice deep dish, allowing them to pivot around their middle, like real car wheels and unlike "normal" LEGO wheels.

They have the same diameter and width as the rims on 42143 Ferrari Daytona SP3 (see more detail in Zach Hill's review of set 42143), and use the same tyres introduced in that set.

 

LEGO Technic Wishbone Suspension Arm 13 x 6 x 3 (part 5429)

• 2x Technic Wishbone Suspension Arm 13 x 6 x 3 in Black (6470766 | 5429)

This part can be described as two 3L beams connected in parallel. 

 

The central beam is one module wide and, as shown above, a half-module thick which allows you to have stacks of these sandwiched between combinations of thin beams and half-bushes, for example.

 

The maths doesn't add up (pun intended) if you try to use it as a long beam with stuff attached at the ends: the central section is a tad shorter than a regular 11L beam.

On the other hand, if you align an end of the suspension arm with the studless grid, everything will fit perfectly: 

Interestingly, these two beams are offset from each other in all axes: X, Y and Z. The space in between its two 1x3 beam ends is 4 x 7 x 1 modules.

The angle the central section makes with each end 1x3 beam is such that you can attach other beams without worry. In the above image, the black suspension arm is comfortably attached to the blue beam, touching both the central part and one of its ends without straining anything.

 

Besides its likely use as a suspension arm, in the P1 this part forms the car's A-pillars. Another potential use is in large trusses, as an alternative to Technic Beam Frame 7 x 15 with 3 Truss Bars (79766).

I only noticed when processing this photo that viewing the assembly from this specific angle makes the two suspension arms appear flat, which kind of turns the image into an illusion of some kind of impossible object.

LEGO Technic Wishbone 7 x 7 (part 4423) 

• 8x Technic Wishbone 7 x 7 in Black (6452854 | 4423)

This is the latest in a considerable variety of LEGO Technic steering arms. It should simplify construction of wishbone suspensions, making them stronger and lighter due to not needing to be built out of multiple parts.

 

It has a slight curvature to it, which makes it a little thicker than 1 module overall. In situations where space is tight, this aspect can become problematic.

 

Despite the part's dimensions, it has rather thin plastic. Considering the forces involved in its primary usage, I fear for its integrity during rough play.

LEGO Gear Shifter with Groove without Letters (part 3584) 

• 2x Gear Shifter with Groove without Letters in Bright Orange / Orange (6434574 | 3584)

Here's another part that, at first sight, is the same as one we've had before; in this case, Gear Shifter with Groove (4158).

 

Looking more closely, you'll perhaps notice that this part replaces the previous version's lettering of A to H on its side with a single, simple arrow. More crucially, while you still can't insert an axle all the way through, the axle holes at the two ends are aligned, and no longer rotated 45º in relation to each other. 

One can only conjecture about this change to a recent part that so far has appeared in only one set, but I suspect that it made building too complicated for younger kids and other people not super-experienced in LEGO Technic. Otherwise, its functioning should be similar to the old version found in 42159 Yamaha MT‑10 SP, which you can learn about in Zach's review of set 42159.

Technic Gear 12 Tooth with Clutch on One Side (part 3590) 

I saved the best for last. 

• 1x Technic Gear 12 Tooth with Clutch on One Side in Dark Green / Green (6434577 | 3590)

Clutch gears are essential to make gearboxes, and fans constantly ask for more sizes of clutch gear to be able to build gearboxes that are more compact. I didn't think a 12T clutch was possible, due to having a smaller diameter than the minimum required to mesh with driving rings, but I'm glad to be proved wrong. The LEGO element designers accomplished this by making the gear thicker than the others, at 2 modules: half of the thickness is for the driving ring, while the other half has the gear teeth.

 

I'm sure you'll agree that this is a beautiful family photo. The clutch gears now come in 12T, 16T, 20T and 24T sizes (plus 20T double bevel, here in blue) for a myriad of possible gear ratios. I wonder if in the future we'll also get an 8T clutch, with a thick design similar to the 12T? That'd be sweet.

Search Pick a Brick for all available clutch gears 

The only disadvantages of the new gear are being able to engage with a driving ring from only one side and, as I mentioned earlier, its double thickness. You'll have to account for this when designing your gearboxes.

New prints

This set is at the top of the LEGO Technic line, with a price tag to match. Which means people expect a higher standard of refinement from it, which in turn means more printed parts and less stickers. In this case, they're all implemented with prints rather than stickers.

All printed parts are so far unique to this set, and, as is usual for Ultimate Cars, one of them is unique to each copy of the set. 

Note: the linked Design IDs below are for the unprinted versions of these parts: as of writing this, DIDs for the prints aren't yet available. 

• 4x Slope Curved 4 x 1 Double with No Studs and Black 'McLaren' Print in Flame Yellowish Orange / Bright Light Orange (6463319 | 93273)
• 1x Technic Panel Fairing #7 3L Very Small Smooth, Side A with Carbon Fiber Print in Black (6463315 | 2387)
• 1x Technic Panel Fairing #8 3L Very Small Smooth, Side B with Carbon Fiber Print in Black (6463316 | 2389)
• 1x Tile 1 x 4 with P1 Symbol, Code print in White (6503810 | 2431)
• 1x Tile Round 2 x 2 with Silver McLaren Logo Print in Black (6463313 | 14769)
• 4x Tile Round 1 x 1 with Silver McLaren Logo Print in Black (6463320 | 98138), plus one spare
• 2x Technic Beam 1 x 2 Thick with Pin Hole and Axle Hole with Silver 'P1' print in Black (6463311 | 60483)
• 1x Technic Panel Fairing 2 x 1 x 1 with Black McLaren Logo Print in Flame Yellowish Orange / Bright Light Orange (6463317 | 89679)
• 1x Tile 2 x 3 with Silver '14:23' and Cut Squares Print in Black (6463312 | 26603)
• 1x Tile 1 x 3 with Coloured Speedometer and Gauges Print in Dark Stone Gray / Dark Bluish Grey (6463314 | 63864)
• 1x Technic Panel Fairing 2 x 3 x 1 with Silver 'McLaren' Print in Black (6463310 | 71682)
• 1x Technic Panel Fairing 2 x 3 x 1 with Silver 'P1' Print in Black (6463318 | 71682)

Unless you're planning to build a McLaren car (preferably in bright light orange), most of the prints will be too specific to be useful in other models, sadly. On the flip side, fortunately all the set's printed elements (mould plus colour) are also available in non-printed versions, so you don't lose MOCability due to having prints instead of stickers.

 

• 1x Tile 8 x 16 with Bottom Tubes and White McLaren Stats Print in Black (6463322 | 90498)

Like the P1's predecessor in the 1:8 scale, 42143 Ferrari Daytona SP3, this set comes with a printed plaque with a top view of the car's outline, along with its specs. While having the tile directly printed avoids the pain of having to align a huge sticker, it means the ugly sprue mark is highly visible, smack in the middle.

Recolours

Bright light orange is a very rare colour in LEGO Technic. So, what happens when they launch a large set with this colour as its primary? Lots and lots of recolours. Unsurprisingly, the overwhelming majority of recolours is in this shade. 

Please don't hold your breath while reading the following list.

• 4x Technic Shock Absorber 9L with Black Spring in Black (6483721 | 79717c04)
• 4x Technic Wishbone Suspension Arm in Medium Stone Gray / Light Bluish Gray (6516863 | 32294)
• 4x Technic Beam 2 x 3 L-Shape with Quarter Ellipse Thick in Bright Light Orange (6476826 | 71708)
• 6x Technic Axle and Pin Connector Angled #2 - 180° in Bright Light Orange (6476812 | 32034)
• 2x Technic Panel 3 x 2 x 5 in Bright Light Orange (6476832 | 80285)
• 2x Technic Panel Round Corner 5 x 3 x 2 Right in Bright Light Orange (6476801 | 2442)
• 2x Technic Panel Round Corner 5 x 3 x 2 Left in Bright Light Orange (6504933 | 2438)
• 9x Technic Panel Fairing 2 x 3 x 1 in Bright Light Orange (6476825 | 71682)
• 1x Technic Panel Triangle 5 x 4 Left in Bright Light Orange (6476830 | 80278)
• 1x Technic Panel Triangle 5 x 4 Right in Bright Light Orange (6476829 | 80274)
• 1x Technic Panel Fairing #14 Large Short Smooth, Side B in Bright Light Orange (6302867 | 64680)
• 1x Technic Panel Fairing #13 Large Short Smooth, Side A in Bright Light Orange (6302868 | 64394)
• 3x Technic Panel Curved and Bent 6 x 3 in Bright Light Orange (6302731 | 24116)
• 5x Technic Beam 1 x 11 Thick in Bright Light Orange (6302748 | 32525)
• 1x Technic Panel Fairing # 4 Small Smooth Long, Side B in Bright Light Orange (6476820 | 64391)
• 1x Technic Panel Fairing # 3 Small Smooth Long, Side A in Flame Yellowish Orange / Bright Light Orange (6476823 | 64683)
• 4x Technic Panel Fairing #21 5L Small Smooth, Side B in Flame Yellowish Orange / Bright Light Orange (6476816 | 11946)
• 20x Technic Beam 1 x 3 Thin in Bright Light Orange (6476824 | 6632)
• 7x Technic Beam 3 x 5 L-Shape Thick in Bright Light Orange (6476805 | 32526)
• 1x Technic Panel Curved 5 x 7 Parallelogram Left in Bright Light Orange (6476827 | 80267)
• 1x Technic Panel Curved 5 x 7 Parallelogram Right in Bright Light Orange (6476828 | 80268)
• 2x Technic Panel 3 x 7 x 1 in Bright Light Orange (6478027 | 71709)
• 1x Technic Panel Curved 5 x 13 x 2 Tapered, Left in Bright Light Orange (6478674 | 67142)
• 1x Technic Panel Curved 5 x 13 x 2 Tapered, Right in Bright Light Orange (6478675 | 68196)
• 1x Technic Beam Frame 11 x 15 in Bright Light Orange (6476806 | 39790)
• 9x Technic Panel Fairing #7 3L Very Small Smooth, Side A in Bright Light Orange (6476796 | 2387)
• 40x Technic Beam 1 x 2 Thin in Bright Light Orange (6476817 | 44862)
• 4x Technic Panel Fairing #22 5L Small Smooth, Side A in Bright Light Orange (6389721 | 11947)
• 9x Technic Panel Fairing #8 3L Very Small Smooth, Side B in Bright Light Orange (6476797 | 2389)
• 4x Technic Panel Fairing #9 Medium Triangle Smooth in Bright Light Orange (6476798 | 2395)
• 4x Technic Panel Fairing #10 Medium Triangle Smooth in Bright Light Orange (6476799 | 2403)
• 30x Technic Axle and Pin Connector Angled #1 in Bright Light Orange (6476810 | 32013)
• 8x Technic Axle and Pin Connector Angled #3 - 157.5° in Bright Light Orange (6476811 | 32016)
• 12x Technic Panel Fairing 2 x 1 x 1 in Bright Light Orange (6476834 | 89679)
• 2x Brick Sloped 1 x 6 x 1 with 1 x 2 x 1 / 3 Cutout in Bright Light Orange (6478029 | 4569)
• 6x Technic Beam 1 x 11.5 Double Bent Thick in Bright Light Orange (6476808 | 41486)
• 3x Technic Panel Fairing #6 Long Smooth, Side B in Bright Light Orange (6476821 | 64393)
• 3x Technic Panel Fairing #5 Long Smooth, Side A in Bright Light Orange (6476822 | 64681)
• 3x Technic Panel Curved 3 x 13 x 2 Tapered, Right in Bright Light Orange (6475352 | 5426)
• 2x Technic Panel Car Mudguard Arched 13 x 2 x 5, Arched Top, Pointed Bottom in Bright Light Orange (6476831 | 80284)
• 1x Technic Panel Curved 3 x 13 in Bright Light Orange (6302746 | 28923)
• 3x Technic Panel Curved 3 x 13 x 2 Tapered, Left in Bright Light Orange (6475351 | 4527)
• 3x Axle Hose, Soft 19L in Bright Light Orange (6476804 | 32235)

Phew! If you wanted to build a model in bright light orange and couldn't due to lack of parts in this colour, your problems (or at least this particular one) are over. Keetongu would be proud.

Rare elements

Although not exclusive to this set, the following elements are uncommon and therefore welcome.

In 1 other set:

• 4x Tyre 87.9 x 44 Low in Black (6362559 | 80279)
• 2x Technic Gear 24 Tooth with Clutch on Both Sides in Bright Red / Red (6408179 | 2471)
• 2x Technic Panel Fairing 2 x 3 x 1 in Medium Stone Grey / Light Bluish Gray (6321713 | 71682)
• 4x Technic Driving Ring 2L, 8 Ridges in Dark Stone Grey / Dark Bluish Gray (6408180 | 2473)
• 2x Technic Steering / CV Ball Joint Female 2L in Medium Stone Grey / Light Bluish Gray (6447240 | 4192)
• 4x Gear Shifter Fork in Bright Orange / Orange (6447082 | 4159)
• 2x Technic Gear Stepper 8 Tooth in Bright Yellow / Yellow (6408181 | 2474)

In 2 other sets:

• 12x Technic Beam 2 x 4 L-Shape Thick in Bright Light Orange (6411444 | 42137)
• 4x Technic Beam 2 x 3 Thick [90° Offset Centre Beam Hole] in Dark Stone Grey / Dark Bluish Gray (6475314 | 3167)
• 6x Technic Beam 1 x 15 Thick with Alternating Holes in Dark Stone Grey / Dark Bluish Gray (6396963 | 71710)
• 1x Technic Panel Curved 3 x 13 x 2 Tapered, Right in Black (6470744 | 5426)
• 1x Technic Panel Curved 3 x 13 x 2 Tapered, Left in Black (6452847 | 4527)

 

In 3 other sets:

• 4x Brake Disc in Dark Stone Grey / Dark Bluish Gray (6219840 | 35189)
• 1x Differential Gear - 22 Tooth Bevel with Round Axle Hole in Bright Yellow / Yellow (6391160 | 69761)
• 5x Technic Beam 1 x 15 Thick in Bright Light Orange (6275898 | 32278)
• 2x Technic Shock Absorber 6.5L with Hard Spring, Tight Coils at End [Complete Assembly] in Bright Red / Red (6378481 | 89954)
• 1x Technic Beam 2 x 5 L-Shape with Quarter Ellipse Thick in Bright Red / Red (6407068 | 80286)
• 5x Technic Pin Connector Hub with 2 Axles in White (6257450 | 27940)
• 1x Technic Knob Wheel 45° Offset in Medium Stone Grey / Light Bluish Gray (6469530 | 5405)

Other elements of interest

These aren't as rare, but still useful and welcome.

• 3x Technic Gear 20 Tooth with Clutch on Both Sides in  (6391159 | 81346)
• 2x Technic Gear 14 Tooth Bevel with Axle Hole in Bright Yellow / Yellow (6391161 | 69762)
• 2x Axle Hose, Soft 7L in Bright Red / Red (6334708 | 32580)
• 4x Technic Panel Fairing 2 x 3 x 1 #3 Angled in Black (6408176 | 2457)
• 2x Technic Pin Connector Hub Perpendicular 3L with 2 Pins in Black (6477712 | 2393)

Closing thoughts

The highlight of this set's inventory is undoubtedly the quantity and variety of parts in bright light orange. Besides that, and more important to fans of other colours, are the new parts with which to enhance gearboxes and fairings.

In the next part of this review you'll be able to learn about the set's other aspect: its build process and the final model. As people said back in the days when TVs required turning a dial to change channels: stay tuned!

42172 McLaren P1™
US$449.99/ £389.99/ 449.99€/ AU$699.99
3893 parts
Release Date: 1 August 2024

• Buy set 42172 on LEGO.com
• Gift with purchase: 1 to 7 August, LEGO Insiders receive LEGO Technic set McLaren P1 Logo

 

READ MORE: LEGO Insiders Gift with Purchase with this set from 1 to 7 August 2024: McLaren P1 logo

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