Behold The Life-Size Lego McLaren Senna

Forget about the Lego McLaren 720S of a couple of years ago: the wizards at the iconic Danish toy firm have secretly built something even better.

This staggering and fully life-size replica of the Senna was put together in shifts by 42 Lego builders in teams of up to 10 at once. It’s made up of 467,854 individual pieces; almost 200,000 more than went into the 720S.

It took 4935 hours to complete: that’s over 205 days at 24 hours per day – and that’s for experts. Don’t think this is something you could knock up in your front room in an evening. In fact, it took nine times longer to build than an actual Senna, which is likewise built by hand.

It’s finished in Victory Grey, a Senna colour, with contrasting orange detailing. Lego sells a £12.99 miniature Senna model in the same hues.

Tipping the scales at a flabby 1700kg it’s around 500kg heavier than the real Senna, and probably far less safe in a crash. Fortunately it can’t move under its own steam. It does incorporate real McLaren parts for the first time, though; namely the seat, steering wheel and pedals from the real Senna parts bin. That means it allows people to climb in past functional dihedral doors (removed when on display to stop anyone breaking them) and enjoy an interactive Senna experience.

‘Drivers’ can sit behind the wheel, push the roof-mounted start button and hear speakers blast out the Ultimate Series hypercar’s real start-up soundtrack. The model has working lights and a proper infotainment system to play with, too. The wheels are real items, as are the Pirelli tyres and the McLaren badges, but the brake calipers and discs are Lego.

McLaren and Lego will be taking it on a world tour of special events. We don’t know where, yet, but keep an eye on their respective social media accounts. A UK event is all-but guaranteed.