When it comes to toys for the adult male, cars come to mind. The ballers collect cars in their underground garage but for me, my modest collection consists of model miniatures. But not any old model cars, we're talking about fixing up a racing car so that you gain a better appreciation of the vehicle? For that, we cast our sights toward LEGO Technic.
In a collaboration that spans 15 years, LEGO and Ferrari have been putting out racing cars under the Speed Champions range like the 75889 Ferrari Ultimate Garage and the 75886 Ferrari 488 GT3 “Scuderia Corsa”. But these are for kids. For its third release, we get the 4888 GTE “AF Corse #51” under LEGO's Technic range.
Based on the Ferrari 488, the 4888 GTE is the endurance racing version and is one of the cars used by the Italian auto racing team, AF Corse. This particular model—the AF Corse #51—was driven by Gianmaria Bruni, Giancarlo Fisichella and Toni Vilander and I'm unsure as to why this was the version that LEGO and Ferrari chose to put out.
There are new Technic pieces for this model like the wheel arches and the blue flat panel. You have the intricate inner-workings of that showcase the Technic's functionality: the wheels move when you turn the steering wheel; the suspensions… uh, suspend when pressure it placed on it. It's quite fascinating to see this replicated to this degree. Interestingly, the manual devotes some of its pages to the Ferrari racing team and a comparison shot of the actual car and the LEGO rendition. The final result is a silhouette that is as sleek as the mechanics within are as intricate. The car looks great but some of the details, like the lights, aren't uniform in its approach. The rear lights are those red transparent round bricks but the headlights are just printed on. I mean, what gives?
And we've seen how garish the advertising can be on the tracks but to see these many stickers of brands… good God, there are a lot of stickers. As much as I'm loathed to cave in to the wanton commercialism, the car does look empty without the embellishments. (As an aside, I'd have covered the windshield with stickers just to highlight the ludicrous sponsorships but—surprise, surprise—there is no windshield.)
Measuring 48cm long, this object is made from 1,677 pieces. It's the first LEGO Technic model to be designed with Ferrari and, we suspect that there will be more to come under this imprint.
The LEGO Technic Ferrari 488 GTE “AF Corse #51” retails at SGD279.90 and is available across LEGO Certified Stores, LEGO Official Store on Lazada, Shopee and Amazon, as well as major retailers and department stores in Singapore.
