LEGO Speed Champions 76899 Lamborghini Urus ST-X & Huracán Super Trofeo EVO [Review]
LEGO may have released a batch of new March 2020 LEGO sets yesterday, but there’s still a wealth of sets from January worth taking another look at. One of the biggest changes to happen within a LEGO theme is the change in LEGO Speed Champions models from six studs wide to eight studs wide. While I personally enjoyed 76896 Nissan GT-R NISMO, comments from builders indicated that the GT-R may not showcase the change as well as other models might. 76899 Lamborghini Urus ST-X & Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo EVO (US $49.99 | CAN $69.99 | UK £54.99) includes two models built from 663 pieces that I think both illustrate the benefits of the change.
The packaging & sticker sheet
The parts for the two cars are split across four bags, with an additional bag that includes the race track starting line archway. The two instruction booklets, sticker sheets, and one of the new chassis pieces are all loose in the box.
Two sticker sheets provide the decoration for the cars, with gold accents on the Huracán and predominantly black markings on the Urus. Both also feature green, white, and red striping for the Italian tricolor flag.
The build
The Huracán Super Trofeo EVO is built on the black chassis that’s loose in the box. The wider size allows for a bit more interior detail than on previous Speed Champions cars.
Like all recent Speed Champions cars, the construction is heavily modular, with sub-assemblies attached studs-out from the car’s core.
Complex side panels attach via Technic pins (which don’t rotate — the side panels do not open as doors, and simply slot into the open space).
Top panels built from long curved slopes slot in on either side of a blade piece, attached to 1×3 jumper plates with two studs.
The windshield piece — printed with the logo of Swiss luxury watchmaker Roger Dubuis — is only six studs wide, fitting over the cockpit while still allowing for both a driver and passenger to sit side by side.
The boxy, lime green Urus ST-X follows a similar model, but with more studs-up construction techniques than the sleek Huracán.
Without the windshield and long, curved slopes behind it, the Urus looks like an open-topped box on wheels.
The final bag includes parts for the start line arch.
The finished models
The two Lamborghini vehicles featured in this Speed Champions set couldn’t be more different from each other. The Huracán is the Super Trofeo version of the Huracán supercar used in racing, while the Urus “super SUV” is kitted out in rally racing livery.
The eight-wide wheelbase gives the Huracán a sleek, low stance. Granted, the whole car is much too tall with a minifig standing next to it, but the proportions are much closer to the real thing than were achievable at six studs wide. The wheels that the wrong size to some on the Nissan look perfect here.
The rear details on the Huracán are captured perfectly (oddly, I sometimes find the rear of Speed Champions cars more interesting to build than the angular front), from the spoiler to the twin tail pipes and rear diffuser.
The “super SUV” Urus is, frankly, a ridiculous car — a Lamborghini SUV designed to be driven “every day” while still being capable of offroad racing. I love rally race cars like the 1967 Mini Cooper S and the many other rally racers LEGO has released as Speed Champions, but this lime green Lamborghini just seems a little silly.
Its only play feature is that the roof is removable and you can seat two minifigs inside. This seems like a lost opportunity to have greater engine detail or some other working feature in the otherwise functionally empty front or back.
Nevertheless, look at all that lime green in useful slopes and tiles! If I hadn’t been building this to write this review, I would have held back the stickers and satisfied myself with all the fantastic parts.
The parts are on display in this side view, from corner tiles to triangle tiles to the newer wedge plates. This view also shows the aggressively angled stance of the vehicle.
It’s interesting to compare this Lamborghini SUV with another recent SUV — Police Chief Hopper’s Chevrolet Blazer in LEGO Stranger Things 75810 The Upside Down. Chief Hopper’s Chevy Blazer is built six-wide, and although it’s instantly recognizable, it’s quite narrow and doesn’t fit more than one minifig in the cab. Even though I’m not a fan of the Urus SUV itself (so silly…), I can’t argue that it doesn’t work.
I’ve been arguing for years that the non-vehicle elements of LEGO Speed Champions sets serve only to pad the part count upward to a certain price point. The start line arch in this Lamborghini set certainly feels that way — a basic square affair with minimal decoration.
Sliding the tab on top changes the lights back and forth between red and green.
The two minifig drivers feature identical Lamborghini racing suits with a color scheme that matches the Huracán. (See more photos of the male and female driver minifigs in the gallery at the end of this review.)
Conclusions & recommendation
LEGO Speed Champions 76899 Lamborghini Urus ST-X & Huracán Super Trofeo EVO clocks in at nearly 700 pieces for just two vehicles (including the “filler” start line pieces and minifigs). Lamborghinis certainly aren’t my favorite supercars. And I’m not a huge fan of black vehicles. I can’t say I really like the Urus except as a source for parts. In other words, there’s a lot I could criticize about about this LEGO Speed Champions set.
But I find it hard not to love the Huracán itself — it’s just gorgeous from front splitter to rear diffuser. The black and gold color scheme also works well, with gold highlights accentuating the dark bricks. That said, gold seems to be a hard color for LEGO to create consistently across bricks, stickers, and printing, as evidenced by the gold bricks in the splitter, the stickered line on the door, and the edge of the printed windshield.
Despite its imperfections, this is an incredibly enjoyable Speed Champions set, whether for the cool Huracán supercar, the lime green parts in the Urus, or just to see how the new eight-wide format shows up in a couple different vehicles.
LEGO Speed Champions 76899 Lamborghini Urus ST-X & Huracán Super Trofeo EVO includes 663 pieces with two minifigures and is available now from the LEGO Shop (US $49.99 | CAN $69.99 | UK £54.99), Amazon.com, eBay, and elsewhere.
The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.
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