Peugeot’s 9X8 gets Lego Technic treatment

And here’s the latest piece of modern-day race machinery to be reborn made from Denmark’s best export behind only bacon and beer. It’s the Peugeot 9X8 Le Mans Hypercar, recreated faithfully in 1:10 scale and revealed on the weekend of the 2023 6 Hours of Portimao round of this year’s FIA World Endurance Championship. 

The new Lego Technic kit will go on sale from 1 May, containing 1,775 pieces. Put them together in the right order, and the end result is a Lego sculpture just over five inches high, nine inches wide and half a metre in length. 

And within that somewhat impressive scale are intricate details faithful to the real racer that Peugeot Sport hopes can deliver its first Le Mans victory since 2009, with the 908 HDi FAP driven by David Brabham, Marc Gene, and Alexander Wurz. 

The technology underpinning the most successful sportscar racers has changed dramatically since then. Peugeot’s 2009 victory came at a time when high-capacity, turbocharged diesel engines were dominating Le Mans, whereas today, smaller petrol engines that are turbocharged to high heaven and boosted with torque-rich electrification are powering the most victorious machines. 

The 9X8’s combination of a 2.6-litre twin-turbocharged, mid-engined V6 is recreated alongside the power electronics and seven-speed sequential gearbox. Other details include functional suspension, glow-in-the-dark elements to the livery, and the 9X8’s doors. 

With Le Mans 2023 set to kick off on 10 June, do you reckon you could finish the model before the Tricolour drops?