Collecting cars
requires millions of
rands. To most of us, a
garage full of desirable
metal will always
remain a pipe dream
but a shelf crammed
with plastic bricks is
easily within reach.
76 SEPTEMBER 2019 leisurewheels.co.za
GEARGEAR Lego sets
LAYING
BRICKS
D
ID you know Lego
manufactures more
tyres than any other
company in the
world? It produces
just over 300 million tyres per
year, which is around 50%
more than Bridgestone,
Goodyear and Michelin.
It is an unfair comparison,
since most of the tyres Lego
produces end up on those small
generic cars you can buy at any
retail outlet for a few hundred
rand.
Then there’s the high-end stuff,
which is what we’re interested in.
The R1 000+ sets that you can’t
help but admire while doingsome light window shopping.
Lego’s more sophisticated sets
have become somewhat desirable
and collectable in recent years.
Manufacturers of highly exclusive
machines are more than happy to
have the Danish firm recreate its
most famous creations in plastic
brick, making it possible for us
mere mortals to possibly save up
for a Ferrari F40.
It still won’t be cheap, but it’s
nowhere near as much as an
F40 goes for these days. In case
you were wondering, a decent
example of the real thing is
valued at more than R20 million
and will likely only increase as
time passes.- BUGATTI CHIRON
For a company that sells cars
only to the most elite group of
people on the planet, Bugatti
was extremely forthcoming
during the development of this
set. It actually sent a few of its
engineers over to Lego to ensure
they did it properly.
The result is a 3 599-piece set
with an attention to detail that
is truly astonishing.
Naturally, as with the other
cars on this list you get all the
basic elements. But this set takes
it to another level. The pistons
in the W16 engine actually
move. If that’s not enough
detail, how does
a working eight-speed
gearbox sound?
Our favourite part of this
build is the high-speed key,
which works in exactly the
same way as it does on the
real car. Insert the key and
the Chiron will assume its
top-speed position.
It retails for R6 249 but
you do get “luxurious box
packaging” and a collector’s
booklet with comprehensive
building instructions.
http://www.greatyellowbrick.co.za2
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Text: Gerhard Horn