Lego collaborated closely with Ferrari to guarantee that its 3778-piece Daytona SP3 set accurately reflected the automobile on which it is based. features a dozen new elements needed to carry out the outstanding design of the supercar
• The Daytona SP3 is the most recent Ferrari model added to Lego’s Technic range.
• The little Ferrari has functional doors, shift paddles, and a V-12 engine with moving cylinders.
• The 3778-piece set costs $400.
At over two feet long and immersed in a sea of scarlet and rubber, it’s difficult to discern all of the moving pieces of Lego’s Ferrari Daytona SP3. This is not a convenience store die-cast duplicate of the limited-run 829-hp Daytona SP3, but a Lego Technic model. As a result, this small Ferrari must do more than simply look beautiful on a shelf (though it accomplishes that as well); it must also assist its builder in comprehending the engineering that lies behind its plastic-brick shell. Lego has to create a slew of new pieces in order to impart those concepts.
We spoke with Technic designers at the brand’s headquarters in Denmark to discuss the moving elements behind the prancing horse decals in honor of Lego’s 90th anniversary. Lego understood from the outset of the two-year project that the Dayton SP3 set would be one of the most difficult to create. That didn’t take into consideration the COVID-19 epidemic, which made it impossible for Lego’s crew to visit the full-size Daytona SP3 in Maranello, Italy. In reality, Ferrari’s designers were tinkering with the automobile as Lego attempted to replicate it.
“You spend two to three weeks on a minor detail and [Ferrari] says, ‘Yes, it’s excellent,'” Aurelien Rouffiange said. “And then the next week, ‘By the way, we altered it.'” It’s no longer like that,’ and then you have to go back and do something else.”
The model lead and senior designer for the 1:8-scale Daytona SP3 was Rouffiange. He previously worked on Lego’s renditions of the Bugatti Chiron and the Lamborghini Sián FKP 37.
You construct the Lego kit in the same order as Ferrari builds the Daytona. The V-12 engine, eight-speed transmission, and rear suspension come first, followed by the front suspension and steering. Finally, the crimson body panels give the model the organic flow of the actual vehicle, which draws design ideas from the luxurious lines of the Ferraris that won the 1967 Daytona 24-hour race.
Despite depending on a few specially made parts, Lego’s Ferrari Daytona SP3 has some elements with the Danish toymaker’s other models. The tires on the little Ferrari spin, the steering wheel spins, and the bonnet, doors, and trunk open. While the car’s butterfly doors took a little more effort to bring to life, the Daytona SP3’s targa roof was a particularly difficult job, since it jeopardized the model’s structural capabilities.
“Technic is recognized for sturdy models that do not simply come apart,” Rouffiange said. “However, in this case, the roof may be removed, and [the roof] normally helps us provide a lot more solidity.” However, because of the way this model is constructed, you can hold the automobile with one hand from the front or back and it will not bend at all.”
During the creation of the Daytona SP3 Technic kit, Lego generated 12 new pieces. This includes both decorative components, such as the model’s external panels and wheels, and more technical components, such as additional plastic gears meant to enhance the practical feel of the scaled-down Ferrari’s moving parts.
Even something as basic as the wheels proved difficult, since the wheels on the genuine Daytona SP3 are asymmetrical in order to better control airflow. As a result, Lego had to create two copies of the identical wheels (one for the left side and one for the right) to guarantee that its model remained accurate to the genuine automobile.
The Technic automobile, like the genuine Daytona SP3, has paddle shifters located aft of the steering wheel. While such a shifting system is prevalent in the automobile sector, it is less typical in Lego models.
Tapping the paddles advances the model’s eight gears, and each cog impacts the peak speed of Lego’s Ferrari Daytona SP3. Even the mechanical movements of the model’s plastic gears and the up and down motions of its mid-mounted engine’s pistons are visible.
Such realism is not cheap, with the Lego Technic Ferrari Daytona SP3 stickers costing $400. The kit is presently available on the Lego website and in Lego shops, with retail sales slated to begin on August 1.
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