LEGO® Technic set review: 42172 McLaren P1™

After taking a look at the new elements LEGO® Technic set 42142 McLaren P1, it's now time to let the final model take the spotlight. In this review we'll examine the packaging, construction and functions of the LEGO P1 before giving our verdict on whether you should consider buying the final model. 

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

The box

We at New Elementary don't typically pay too much attention to boxes, as it's the yummy elements inside that we and most of our audience crave. 

Almost all my empty boxes find themselves in the recycle bin, ever since LEGO stopped including those nice alternate build suggestions on the back all those years ago. But the P1, like the LEGO Technic 1:8 supercars that precede it, comes in a very special box that deserves attention.

One could, at first glance, not realise that this is a box for a LEGO set. Not only because the famous red square with four white letters gets demoted from the top-left corner to a small portion of the bottom, but also because the main illustration just shows the rear of the car. And this rear is of the real car, not the LEGO version. The blue with some orange illuminated by the red lights makes for a nice contrast.

The back (or is it the front?) has a more traditional LEGO box design, continuing the blue/orange colour scheme. Interestingly, while this is an 18+ set, the banner along the footer isn't made of coloured LEGO parts, going instead for a carbon fibre texture.

 

Opening the box, you find three smaller boxes, side by side. The ones at the ends have large flaps that, as they're opened, transition the top view of the car beautifully from the real thing to the LEGO version.

Instructions 

The instructions are divided into two chonky bois, with 804 pages in total. These two books, when put side by side, form a side view of the real car, again with the blue/orange contrast.

A considerable number of the first book's initial pages is dedicated to a history of McLaren, its cars (especially the P1 as you'd expect), and the process of recreating a 1395 kg (3075 lb) machine with lots of small LEGO parts.

 

A LEGO set, from concept to store shelf, is never the work of a single person, and I'm glad to see that the beginning of the introduction credits people responsible for this section. Ideally more of the people involved in the set would also have been credited for their hard work, but this is a step in the right direction.

The build

As can be expected from a LEGO Technic 1:8 car comprised of 3893 parts, the build is a daunting task, split between 23 numbered paper-based bags and a few pure plastic ones.

By the end of bag 5, we have completed this portion of the gearbox. I'm highlighting this specific stage of the build because it's my favourite: there are dozens of visible gears in many sizes, colours and positions, and when turning one, all the others turn as well at different speeds and directions. It's really satisfying to see this move in the hand like clockwork.

 

This is what the first box contains after assembly: mainly the floor, the rear axle and suspension, the V8 engine, and the massive 7-speed (plus neutral) gearbox.

 

We also have in their respective places the seats, the paddles to shift those gears, and the lever that selects the drive mode. The front suspension is notoriously absent, but that'll be soon taken care of.
 

The second box adds the rest of the front, including the steering, suspension, and front boot (I vastly prefer the term "froot" over its American equivalent "frunk"). With the introduction of the "Escher beam" (5429) in this set, the vehicle's A-pillars are extremely rigid when compared to previous cars, which allows the roof to be strong without requiring additional structural support from the rear.

During building, I lost a lot of time because of this. The #7 and #8 panels you're supposed to use in this step are the printed versions, but due to the parts' silver-on-black nature and the low contrast of the printed page I didn't notice this detail and unknowingly used instead the regular, unprinted panels. Then, near the end of the building process, I found myself in the possession of two extra printed panels and was missing two unprinted ones. This meant the joyous pleasure of having to go back, page by page, trying to find where I had used the wrong variant of panel; fortunately, the parts to swap were in an easy-to-access location. Hopefully, unlike me who opened all the parts bags at once to take photos, you'll open each bag one by one as suggested and will find the correct type of part at the correct time.

 

The third box completes the model: the doors, the rear body, the spoiler, the wheels and the accessories.

The finished model

Now that this large and heavy thing is complete, it's time to look at it and see what it does. 

The first thing that grabs attention is the colour scheme of black and bright light orange. 

I'm not a fan of uncommon LEGO colours because it's hard to find enough parts to create models with. Hence my dislike for 42039 24 Hours Race Car and 42069 Extreme Adventure, despite their technical niceties. Bright light orange is uncommon but, in this case, I'll give it a pass thanks to the sheer quantity and variety of elements that the set contains, as you can see detailed in my review of the LEGO McLaren's parts. And, to be honest, the car looks gorgeous in this colour scheme. Regular yellow or orange would look infinitely worse.

 

The LEGO representation of the front is perhaps the car's feature that draws the most criticism from the fanbase, design-wise.

 

This is what the real car looks like, according to the instruction book. Indeed, it's not that much of a close match, but to me an approximation of the subject matter is good enough, as long as the model looks good overall and is rich in functionality.

This kind of set is top-tier in terms of budget for new moulds, recolours and prints, but every budget is still finite. I suspect this is why the Technic Axle and Pin Connectors Toggle Joint Smooth, holding the two long thin triangular panels, are in light bluish grey (4211575 | 32126), as introducing them in bright light orange like the elements around them would presumably go over that budget. I don't think it's a big issue, as you probably won't notice it unless you're looking for it.

Something much less forgivable is the element translucency. This is a recurrent problem that has been plaguing many LEGO colours for some time, in which the plastic is not opaque enough. When a darker element, such as a stud or a pin, is inserted inside the affected part, the darker colour shows through. The photo above shows that bright light orange is affected by the issue, in the elements connected together with black pins. This problem has been happening already for many years, and is inexcusable in a brand perceived of as having such quality.

 

The rear is dominated by the lights, whose complex shaping is achieved using multiple red elements and the large diffuser. This is also the location of the model's only hand-of-god control: the 12T black gear that raises and lowers the spoiler with a satisfying motion. Because of all the black greebling around it, it's actually well-hidden when viewed from most angles.

 

This is the view most despised by "colour vomit" haters. Some of the colourful gearbox is discernible, but the effect of changing gears is still hard to see. The front suspension wishbones are also visible, as well as the electric motor, represented by three grey weapon barrels (98585) in the middle.

 

The car's top view avoids yellow dullness thanks to the large black roof and dashboard. Part of the V8 engine detail is also visible here. But what if you want to see more of that engine?

 

Well, by removing two orange pins and the spoiler, the whole back of the body can be detached. This lets you see more details, such as the golden elements that represent the real car's optional gold foil for heat protection, and the two orange drums responsible for shifting gears.

The model features independent suspension on all four wheels. The new elements, namely the 7x7 wishbone (4423) and the stiff shock absorber (79717c04), give the suspension the right amount of hardness, not being too soft or stiff.

 

Speaking of suspension, the real McLaren P1 has variable ride height, but the LEGO model doesn't. This is my biggest disappointment with the set, as this is a missed opportunity for technical evolution from previous LEGO Technic 1:8 cars; yet, I can't help being amused by the explanation LEGO gave in the instructions book. I'm crossing my fingers for the next Technic supercar to finally include this feature.

 

The doors are of the butterfly type, reproducing a characteristic of the real car. Thanks to a bistable spring-loaded mechanism, they hold their position well when open or closed. However, the complex linkages required for the unusual angles of motion make them wobble quite a bit when opening or closing, which has to be done manually.

 

The cockpit features a working steering wheel and two paddles beside it, which you can use to shift the 7 gears up and down. Some of the elements involved in shifting appeared in 42159 Yamaha MT 10 SP, and this set marks their debut in the LEGO Technic 1:8 supercar line. While each pull of a paddle requires quite a bit of force, I didn't experience any jams – raspberry or otherwise.

 

Between the seats, there's the drive mode lever. Push it forward for hybrid mode (read: combustion engine and electric motor connected to the gearbox), pull it back for electric mode (read: only electric motor connected to the gearbox), or leave it centred for neutral. It's neat to see a new feature in a LEGO Technic supercar but, as this set lacks ride height adjustment, it is the only new feature.

 

If I were to sit in the passenger seat, the distance between my thigh and the teeth of this menacing-looking gear would constantly have my sincere and undivided attention.

Finally, going back to the front: the froot can be manually opened, and there's a prop to keep it open. This is where the included case (which, judging by its construction, feels an afterthought) is stored.

 

The set's other accessory besides the case is the plaque. It's printed with a top-down greyscale view of the real car and some specs.

Closing thoughts

The choice of a McLaren P1 as the newest member of the LEGO Technic 1:8 supercar family is somewhat odd, as this model isn't the latest and greatest in the McLaren lineup; in fact, it was discontinued way back in 2016. 

Nevertheless, that doesn't bother me as, to me, a car doesn't have to be brand new to be interesting aesthetically and mechanically, and the LEGO Technic P1 is both. Plus, it opens the precedent for older vehicles being depicted as future LEGO Technic supercars... Countach and/or F-40, hmm I wonder? Come to think of it, technically they wouldn't bring new stuff to the line and so, for looks alone, I guess they're better where they are: in the LEGO Icons line. 

What disappoints me the most is the lack of new features compared to the previous supercars: while the electric/hybrid selector is nice, I was hoping to also see variable ride height.

If you don't care about MOC feedstock, be it for the bright light orange colour or the transmission/suspension material, and instead want a display piece with functionality, you can pick between this set, 42143 Ferrari Daytona SP3 and 42115 Lamborghini Sián FKP 37. As of writing this, all are available for the same price at LEGO.com, so it's just a matter of personal taste.

If, on the other hand, you're considering set 42172 for its elements, its treasure trove of bright light orange elements may be worth the steep price tag of €449.99 / $449.99 / £389.99: you're unlikely to see this much plastic in this colour in future LEGO Technic sets. 

Conversely, if you only care about the mechanical elements and nothing else, note that they've already begun trickling down to smaller and cheaper sets such as 42177 Mercedes-Benz G 500 PROFESSIONAL Line, so you'll have to look carefully at the rest of this set's inventory to decide if the investment is worth it or if it's better to wait for them to appear in a cheaper set or in loose element marketplaces. 

42172 McLaren P1™
US$449.99/ £389.99/ 449.99€/ AU$699.99
3893 parts

• 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

What, you're saying that there are two cats and one car in this photo? That's preposterous! All I see is bright light orange and black in the middle, surrounded by bright light orange and black, so that obviously means there's just two McLaren P1s in the photo. Surely you must be seeing things. And no, I'm not calling you Shirley. 

READ MORE: LEGO® Technic parts review: 42172 McLaren P1™

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