BEST LEGO CAR SETS
1
You’ll never get an off-roading or LEGO-building experience quite like this one!
The Land Rover Defender comes with a working steering wheel, AWD with three differentials, 4-speed gearbox, independent suspension, a 6-cylinder engine (complete with in-line detailing), and a fully functional winch. The cabin itself is feature-rich, complete with a detailed dashboard, gear shifting lever, and a gear selector. The seats, too, fold down. It’s a truly accurate replica of one of the hardiest off-road vehicles on the planet—and all done in gorgeous LEGO.
This is not an easy car to put together, but once you set it running on those dirt trails or home-made obstacle courses, you’ll know every one of those hours invested were well spent.
Specs:
- Pieces: 2,573
- Completed Weight: 2.2 pounds
- Completed Dimensions: 8 x 16 x 7”
- Age: 11+
2Want to build your own beautiful LEGO racing car but don’t have endless hours to dedicate to painstaking assembly? Then you need this gorgeous Chevy Corvette. It’s not just one of the greatest of the modern muscle cars; it’s also a truly builder-friendly LEGO set.
You’d think a set with fewer than 600 pieces would be compact and overly simple. Not so with this sleek beauty. Using LEGO Technic pieces, the ‘Vette comes with a beautiful design, excellent engineering, and a high-performance shape that looks and feels identical to the real deal. The V8 engine is built with visible pistons, a rear wing, four tailpipes, and low profile tires on black spoked rims.
And if you’re not already in love, you will be once you find out you can totally rebuild the Corvette in a second Hot Rod—it’s a 2-in-1 design!
Specs:
- Pieces: 579
- Completed Weight: Unspecified
- Completed Dimensions: 13.9 x 7.5 x 3.5”
- Age: 9+
3Hit the race track in style with this sleek, classic Porsche 911, one of the most iconic cars to ever grace the road. The car comes with a complete engine, with six moving cylinders that show the pistons pumping and the engine working. The independent suspension and working differential make this car truly versatile. The cockpit packs all the tech a LEGO driver could want, including working steering, a fire suppression system, and tech screen.
As expected of a Porsche, the design is sleek, aerodynamic, and built with speed in mind. It’s a car as much at home on your race track as in a display case for everyone to gawk at—it’s just that gorgeous.
Specs:
- Pieces: 1,580
- Completed Weight: 6.3 pounds
- Completed Dimensions: 5 x 19 x 7”
- Age: 10+
4
Whenever possible, always be Batman. Especially if you get the drive the Batmobile!
This vehicle is modeled after the Batmobile from the classic 1989 Batman movie, and even comes with the action figures of Michael Keaton’s Batman, Jack Nicholson’s Joker, and Kim Basinger’s Vicki Vale.
In addition to the sleek shape and classic Bat-wing flair, the Batmobile comes with a slide-open cockpit, wraparound windshield, decorative grappling hooks, and twin pop-up machine guns. The cockpit is highly detailed, providing two mini-figure seats and a dashboard as high-tech as the real Batman would use.
And, because you’re definitely going to want to show this off, the vehicle comes with a rotating display stand that makes it easy to see the Batmobile from all sides.
Specs:
- Pieces: 3,306
- Completed Weight: Unspecified
- Completed Dimensions: 4 x 23 x 8”
- Age: 16+
5
If you’re looking for a highly detailed LEGO race car you can put on display, this bright orange Porsche 911 model is exactly what you want. Not only is it extra-large (compared to many other models on our list), but it’s also heavy and feels solid to hold.
But wait until you dive in and realize just how complex it is! With over 2,700 pieces, you assemble a drag car that includes a flat 6-cylinder engine, brake calipers, red suspension springs, beautifully detailed bodywork, and fully opening rear lid, doors, and hood. Thanks to its low profile tires and stunning rims, it’s a vehicle that drives as well as it looks.
The cockpit includes detailed racing seats, a working gearbox, dashboard, steering wheel, and gearshift paddles. There’s even a unique serial number stamped on the inside of every glovebox. Get ready to build your dream car now!
Specs:
- Pieces: 2,704
- Completed Weight: 10.6 pounds
- Completed Dimensions: 6 x 22 x 9”
- Age: 16+
6Bugatti is one of the most iconic sports cars, both on the road and now in full, stunning LEGO design. From the sleek exterior to the authentic interior, this LEGO set captures the true essence of Bugatti’s excellence in handling, design, and engineering.
The instructions for building the W16 engine mirror the process Bugatti engineers follow to craft their real-life engines, resulting in the most complex and sophisticated engine on any LEGO car. The cockpit features a fully-functioning eight-speed gearbox, operational steering wheel, and tech-rich display dashboard.
One amazing and unique feature of this LEGO set: it includes a “top speed key” that lets you change the active rear wing between “top speed” and “handling” position. At 1:8 scale, it’s as close as you’ll get to feeling the true power of a Bugatti in your home.
Specs:
- Pieces: 3,599
- Completed Weight: 2.2
- Completed Dimensions: 5 x 22 x 9
- Age: 16+
7
This kit lets you choose between two iconic Porsche 911 designs: the classic Turbo and sleek Targa.
In both configurations, the Porsche features genuine details—everything from the iconic bumpers to the angled headlights to the turbocharged Turbo engine or Targa bar and removable roof. The interior features an emergency brake, gearshift, working steering wheel, and fold-forward seats (all in the classy nougat-and-dark-orange color scheme).
The instructions walk you through the process of building both cars from scratch, and you’ll find it’s surprisingly easy to reconstruct and reconfigure this classic work of art into the Porsche of your choice.
Specs:
- Pieces: 1,458
- Completed Weight: 5.79 pounds
- Completed Dimensions: 4 x 13.5 x 6
- Age: 17+
8
The McLaren Senna is one of the most recognizable racing cars in history. Named after and designed for the truly legendary Ayrton Senna, this cutting-edge vehicle takes speed and grace to the next level.
And now you get to build it in LEGO! It comes with all the iconic features: highly detailed V8 engine, moving pistons, dihedral (open “up and out”) doors, and authentic colors and graphics that make the car appear identical to the original.
It’s intended to be used for both play and display, using realistic mechanisms that provide efficient movement while also maximizing durability. It’s a race car adults and kids alike are guaranteed to love.
Specs:
- Pieces: 830
- Completed Weight: 7.1 ounces
- Completed Dimensions: 3 x 12 x 4.6
- Age: 10+
9If you or your kid are 4X4 lovers, the classic tough-mudder Jeep Wrangler is the perfect vehicle for you. The bright yellow paint job shows off just how hard-driving this beast of an SUV really is. With front steering, axle-articulation suspension, built-in winch, spare tire, opening hood/doors, and fold-down rear seats, it’s a car built for play.
But take this bad boy off-road or through any homemade obstacle course, and you’ll find the oversized, ultra-grippy tires are tough enough to handle any terrain. It’s an off-roading icon that will be as much fun to play with as to build.
Specs:
- Pieces: 665
- Completed Weight: 7.1 ounces
- Completed Dimensions: 4.5 x 9.5 x 5”
- Age: 9+
10For fans of the Fast and Furious franchise, this is the LEGO car set for you! You get to build your own miniature LEGO version of Dom Toretto’s signature Dodge Charger, a muscle car as rough and rugged as the badass action star who drives it.
It’s built to be as true-to-life as possible, with realistic details like the iconic V8 engine (accessed via the opening hood), air blower, wishbone suspension, and moving pistons. The trunk comes packed with some nitrous bottles for when you want to kick the speed up a notch—just like in the movies.
Best of all, it comes with a wheelstand bar that lets you display this masterpiece on your shelf or desk top.
Specs:
- Pieces: 1,077
- Completed Weight: 1.82 pounds
- Completed Dimensions: 4 x 15 x 5.5
- Age: 10+
11No truck can ever quite match the workhorse power potential of the F-150 Raptor. Whether you’re building this alone or with family, the 1,300-piece car will be a dream to construct, with clear and easy-to-follow instructions that make the complex assembly process so much easier than expected.
You’ll get all the authentic Raptor details, including all-wheel suspension, the iconic moving-piston V6 engine, and heavy-duty truck bed. The functional steering is a blast for play time, and all four doors open to let you add and remove as many LEGO passengers as you want.
Specs:
- Pieces: 1,379
- Completed Weight: 4.59 pounds
- Completed Dimensions: 6 x 17 x 8”
- Age: 17+
12Who ya gonna call…to help you put this Ghostbusters car together? Everything about this LEGO car is modeled after the signature car from the Ghostbusters film franchise. You get the built-in ghost sniffer, scissor-mechanism to extend the rear seat, siren, rooftop ladder, ghost trap, and, of course, the Ghostbusters logo on the back.
It’s definitely not the easiest kit to assemble—there are a lot of pieces, many of them small—so make sure to follow the instructions manual to the letter. At the end, you, too, won’t be afraid of no ghosts!
Specs:
- Pieces: 2,352
- Completed Weight: 6.5 pounds
- Completed Dimensions: 8 x 18 x 6”
- Age: 18+
13
Hit the streets and get ready for breakneck speeds! This drag racer is built with sleek lines and an aerodynamic body that make it perfectly suited for the race track or road. It’s got the “muscle car” look you love, but plenty of additional features (like oversized rear spoiler) that make it appear like a classic drag racer.
The massive V8 engine is a true work of LEGO art, complete with moving pistons and connected to a working steering wheel. You can actually raise the body nine inches high to get a look at the chassis, functional transmission, and exhaust pipes. It even can be upgrade to pop wheelies, or rebuilt into a “Supercharged Dragster”.
One look at that blue-and-black color scheme, and you’re destined to fall in love with your new favorite toy.
Specs:
- Pieces: 647
- Completed Weight: 2.24 pounds
- Completed Dimensions: 5 x 18 x 6”
- Age: 10+
14
The compact FIAT 500 is one of the most iconic European cars, a classic in automotive design. This model kit will give you the perfect car to display on your shelf or race around your home-built city in style.
Modeled after the legendary Fiat 500F (late 60’s model), the car includes all the details you want: a detailed interior, functioning doors, opening roof, and a luggage rack that comes with a suitcase all packed and ready for the road. Pop the hood, and you’ll find a spare tire inside. Open the trunk, and you’ll see the engine in all its glory. And just to complete the Italian flair, the set comes with an easel set (including palette and paintbrush) and a completed painting of the car in front of the historic Colosseum.
Specs:
- Pieces: 960
- Completed Weight: 2.49 lbs.
- Completed Dimensions: 4.5 x 9.5 x 4.5”
- Age: 16+
15The Batmobile from Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy is one of the best-known and most badass, so of course LEGO turned it into a fully buildable set! With just over 2,000 pieces, it’s a time investment that will be worth every hour spent. At the end, you’ll have a work of comic book art that is perfect for display and play both.
Every detail—from the built-in machine guns to the double tires to the oversized engine—has been painstakingly recreated in blocks. Included in the kit are both Batman and Joker figurines, and you’ll love how detailed the interior and control panel looks when you open the roof. There’s no crime your LEGO Batman can’t stop with this Batmobile!
Specs:
- Pieces: 2,049
- Completed Weight: 8.25 pounds
- Completed Dimensions: 6 x 17 x 9
- Age: 17+
16Get ready to build a racecar like no other! The Ferrari 488 GTE is an absolute classic, one of the fastest and best-performing racecars of its era—not to mention one of the most beautiful. Now, it’s recreated in LEGO, with the vibrant red paint job, sponsor decals, and an extra-large size that makes it perfect for showing off to your friends.
The car’s details are all authentic: V8 engine (complete with moving pistons), front and rear suspension, opening doors, and, of course, a steering wheel any driver will love to get their hands on. Get ready for a solid few hours of assembly, and endless miles of play!
Specs:
- Pieces: 1,677
- Completed Weight: 7.1 ounces
- Completed Dimensions: 5 x 19 x 8.5
- Age: 18+
17Nothing can handle the open road and the great outdoors like the Volkswagen T1 Camper Van! Whether your LEGO characters are roughing it in the wilds, exploring the countryside, or driving through your LEGO city, this van will carry them in style and comfort.
A replica of the classic 1962 VW Camper Van, it includes the classic rounded roof and window frames, pop-up roof, V-shape three-way color split on the front, roof rack, rear side intake vents, and the four-cylinder boxer engine that makes this such a tough and rugged vehicle. On the interior, you get bench seats in the front cabin, an angled dashboard, and a folding dinette table and rear bench seats. There’s even a closet with little goodies to hide inside!
Specs:
- Pieces: 1,334
- Completed Weight: 3.1 pounds
- Completed Dimensions: 5 x 11.8 x 5.5
- Age: 16+
18Prepare for a tour of London like your LEGO characters have never seen before. There’s nothing quite as iconic as riding around and seeing the sights from the back of a red double-decker bus, and this LEGO set is true-to-life down to the tiniest, most charming little detail.
Everything is accurate: the bright red finish, custom-made standard-tread tires, open rear boarding dock (complete with pole!), panoramic windshield, and don’t forget the half-spiral staircase that lets passengers ascend to the upper deck. There are even fun little finishing details, such as the “forgotten” umbrella, discarded chewing gum, and empty can. It’s a throwback to the double-decker buses of the 1950s, with a modern flair you can’t help but love.
Specs:
- Pieces: 1,686
- Completed Weight: 3.96 pounds
- Completed Dimensions: 7 x 13 x 5
- Age: 16+
Buyer’s Guide to LEGO Car Sets
LEGOs long ago stopped being just for kids. Not only are they absolutely adult-appropriate, but now LEGO has been creating more advanced sets specifically for adults. If you’ve loved building a model airplane, boat, or train, you’re going to be over the moon when you build your first adult LEGO set.
You can find just about everything: from an epic-sized Star Wars Death Star to the Colosseum of Rome to the Statue of Liberty! For car lovers, however, nothing will ever compare to an advanced LEGO car set. You have the luxury of bringing your favorite car to life, perfect for playing with or putting it proudly on display.
Below, we’ve put together a comprehensive guide to buying LEGO car sets that will help you choose the perfect car for you!
LEGO Product Lines
LEGO has a number of product lines with varying levels of complexity. When it comes to cars, you have a number of choices:
Speed Champions – Speed Champions is a line of the best-known racecars and drag racers recreated in LEGO. They’re typically smaller (around 200-300 pieces) and easier to assemble. Consider them the “entry point” into LEGO car sets, a good way to start practicing the more complex building process for when you want to scale up.
Technic – Technic is an expert-level line of LEGO sets, typically with upward of 1,000 pieces, and with a high price tag to match. Vehicles usually feature moving-piston engines, independently moving suspensions, complex interiors, and a lot more authentic details that simpler LEGO sets with fewer pieces could never include. Many of these LEGO sets are the product of 20 years of behind-the-scenes design work, and are true works of building-block art.
Creator/Creator Expert – Think of Creator and Creator Expert as sort of the intermediate and advanced levels of LEGO building sets. They’re typically between 750 and 2000 pieces, with enough details to be enjoyably complex but not as demanding as Technic sets. Some feature moving-piston engines and detailed interiors, but their beauty lies mainly on the exterior (the vehicle body) and the interior add-ons that bring the flair of your favorite car to life.
Older Lines – LEGO has a number of older lines (including System, Racers, Hobby Set, and Ideas) that feature car building sets. They’re simpler and with fewer moving parts, but tend to be more affordable than the higher-end Creator/Creator Expert and top-of-line Technic sets.
Factors to Consider Before Buying a LEGO Car Set:
Let’s be honest, it’s hard NOT to fall instantly in love with a truly complex set (I’ve been dying to get my hands on a Millennial Falcon for years now!) the moment you see it. These more advanced, complicated sets fill your head with grand ideas of toiling away building something that you will be proud to display.
But before you dive into the deep end, there are a few factors you should consider first:
Difficulty Level – The more advanced sets can be surprisingly difficult to build! LEGO is known for providing easily legible colored instructions intended to make the building process clear, but those manuals can end up looking like a phone book with literally hundreds of steps to put all the pieces together. And let’s be honest, not everyone has what it takes to build the most complex LEGO sets. Some people will run out of patience, while others will lose interest.
It’s highly recommended (by both LEGO and LEGO-building experts) that you start out with smaller sets (fewer than 1,000 pieces) to get a taste for the slow, often painstaking process of sorting, organizing, and assembling all the pieces. Once you know you enjoy building a LEGO car, then you can graduate to larger and more complicated sets.
Piece Count – Have you ever seen just how many 3,000 LEGO pieces really is? Marvel Comics’ Daily Bugle (3,772 pieces) ends up standing 32 inches tall and 11 inches wide and deep. That takes a lot of pieces to put together!
Think about how much time it’s going to take to sort through all the pieces. You’re talking dozens of individually-bagged pieces, many of which are tiny and easy to lose. It’s not just standard bricks, but a lot of custom pieces that have to be assembled in a very specific step-by-step process.
This isn’t intended to discourage you, just prepare you for the true complexity of putting together a LEGO set with an extra-high piece count. Again, consider starting off with a smaller LEGO car set (fewer than 1,000 pieces) and get a feel for it. You may find you love the painstaking process, or it’s all just a bit too much for you to spend hours organizing and sorting before you can ever start assembling.
Time Invested – Time spent building LEGO sets is rarely wasted (unless your car falls and breaks, a nightmare we wouldn’t wish on anyone!), but there is usually a whole lot of it.
One estimate calculated that putting together one piece every 10 seconds—a pretty fair assumption, given that you have to find the piece, read the instructions, put the piece in place, etc.—a set of around 2,000 pieces will take you between 5 ½ and 6 ½ hours. And that’s not counting breaks to use the bathroom, stretch your muscles, or grab a quick snack.
The more complex the sets are, the longer it will take to assemble. If you don’t see yourself with 6+ hours to spare, you might be better off with a smaller LEGO set with fewer pieces. But if you’ve got a weekend you can dedicate to the build (and the patience for it!), have a blast with 2,000+ piece kits!
Toy vs. Display – This is always a factor you need to carefully consider before buying a LEGO car set.
Kids typically buy LEGO sets to play with them. They’re not as thrilled with the building process, but they’re hugs fans of the playing part.
Adults, on the other hand, don’t spend much time in play. They typically buy a LEGO set for one of two reasons:
- For their child to play with
- To put on display
If you’re buying a LEGO car set for your kid to play with, you probably don’t want one of the more intricate cars. Kids are noticeably rougher with their toys than we adults are, so it’s likely they’ll bang, bump, and “zoom” it around. Pieces are bound to break off and/or go missing.
However, if you intend to display the car set—on your bookshelf, desk, mantelpiece, etc.—then you can definitely opt for a more advanced, complex, and potentially delicate LEGO set. No one’s going to be bumping or banging it around, so there’s little chance of anything going missing or getting broken!
Collector’s Value – LEGO sets can actually be a pretty smart investment! They can be collector’s items that will earn you more at re-sale than you paid for them initially. This may not be your primary reason for buying a LEGO car kit, but it’s something to keep in mind.
There are a few factors that affect the collector’s value of a LEGO set:
- Size. The bigger and harder to assemble they are, the more impressive the finished product is, and thus the more valuable they tend to be.
- Hard to find. If a LEGO set is no longer available—and was only ever made in limited quantity—the value could skyrocket.
- Contain rare pieces. Not just rare LEGO minifigures, but rare LEGO building blocks.
- Branding with other franchises. Sets like the Millennium Falcon (Star Wars) or the Daily Bugle (Marvel Comics) are more valuable because of their appeal to a broader base of collectors.
Consider whether or not the set you’re buying has any collector’s value—or the potential for value in the future.
Price – It’s a given that more pieces will typically mean a higher price. However, licensed sets (made in tandem with franchises like Star Wars, Harry Potter, or Marvel will usually cost around 10-13 cents per piece, compared to the 7-10 cents per piece for non-licensed sets.
To figure out how much it costs per piece, just divide the total price by the number of pieces it contains. If you can find it at a lower cost than the average price per piece, you might very well have a great deal on your hands!
Re-build/Customizability Value – Most LEGO car kits are designed to build one vehicle. However, if you paid close attention to our list above, you may have noticed that some can be re-built or customized into a second vehicle.
For example, the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 42093 can be re-built into a Hot Rod (different from the primary design). The Porsche 911 10295 can be customized into both Targa and Turbo models.
More re-build and customizability value means you get more bang for your buck!
LEGO Car Sets FAQ
Can you build a LEGO set without instructions?
Unless you’re some kind of genius savant that can recreate the full LEGO car just by looking at the picture on the box, the answer is a resounding NO. Even simple LEGO sets with fewer pieces need to be assembled in a very specific step by step process if you want to achieve the proper end result. It’s always best to follow the instructions carefully to make sure you end up with a well-built set!
What do I do if I lost my LEGO instructions?
To begin, DO NOT PANIC! It’s terrifying to think that you’ve got all these pieces but no way to know how to put them together. Thankfully, LEGO has your back.
LEGO’s website offers a complete library with all the instructions manuals you need. You can search using the name of your LEGO set, the set number, even the theme. You can access the manual on your phone, tablet, or computer, or print them out to have them right on hand.
Is it common for LEGO sets to have missing or broken pieces?
It is VERY uncommon for LEGO sets to be shipping with pieces missing or broken. LEGO has historically been excellent in terms of quality control, with carefully packaged items and complete sets.
What should I do if my Lego car set is missing pieces or a piece breaks?
On the extreme off-chance that a LEGO car set arrives with a missing or broken piece, immediately contact customer support and inform them of the problem. LEGO will typically sort out the issue speedily and get you replacement pieces so you can build your set with minimal delay.
If a piece goes missing or breaks in the building process, you can either replace it from another LEGO set or buy a replacement piece.
BrickLink has tens of thousands of LEGO parts and minifigures you can buy as replacements for missing or damaged components. Or, you can go straight to the source, and use LEGO’s Pick a Brick page to search for the exact piece you need in the exact color.
