Set Review ➟ LEGO® Speed Champions 76908 Lamborghini Countach
Welcome to the first of a series of articles reviewing the 2022 range of Speed Champions sets. The Countach is probably the most highly anticipated and long awaited car for many SC fans, but before getting into this set, let me first outline where I’m coming from with these reviews.
I am a huge fan of LEGO cars but was never satisfied with the early waves of 6-wide SC cars, which were consistently mis-proportioned by being too long and tall for their width. I would have liked to see these 6-wide models simply made lower and shorter, but instead LEGO made the decision to go wider, thereby allowing for more detail, albeit at the cost of being oversized for most city sets and roads. These 8-wide models have been increasing in complexity of building techniques, yet were initially oversized for their wheels, and then continued to be limited by an over reliance on stickers. As a result, I haven’t been able to really get into any of the previously released 8-wide sets.
Yet LEGO designers have been listening to fan feedback, and the pre-release images of 2022 SC sets suggest another significant step forwards. So three questions will be guiding my approach to these reviews: Are the builds fun and interesting for adult collectors? Do they still look good without the addition of stickers? And do the proportions work to justify the 8-wide scale?
Box and Contents
The set contains two numbered bags, an instruction book, and a clear-backed sticker sheet (great if you want to use them on a recoloured Countach). Parts of interest include the printed white 2x2 round tile rim inserts, pointy 2x4 wedge plates in white, and the modified Technic 1x2 brick-with-1x2-plate (73109).
Build Process
All 2022 cars follow the same overall build order, with Bag 1 building the driver, chassis, and rear bodywork, then Bag 2 building the door panels, front end, spoiler and roof. The driver here sports a black zippered jacket with Lamborghini crest over dark blue pants. All figures in this wave include both a helmet and an alternate hairpiece, which is a welcome addition. A useful addition to the instruction booklet is a progress bar at the bottom of each double-page showing at a glance how far through the build you are.
It quickly becomes obvious that there will be no room for an engine here, as the rear angled sections are hinged from the centerline, with a mass of brackets behind that for attaching the tail section. This rear assembly, with taillights and exhaust, is very well designed, and my only gripe is that some red 33909 plates are left exposed and are better swapped out to black. The angled engine intakes are very satisfying to rotate into position.
Moving into Bag 2, the door panels are securely attached, making good use of the new 1x1-1x2 brackets, and we get a light bluish grey microphone (plus spare) for the gearshift. The front splitter plate section is attached at a half-stud forward offset, cleverly using 1x1 round plate-with-bar (32828) and 1x1 plate-with-light-attachment (4081). We get a nice red interior, with a hint of foot-space under the dashboard, and I like the black outline in front of the dash.
The hinged front bonnet is very satisfying to attach. Spoiler, windscreen, and wheels are then added and the model is complete. The final assembly image in the instructions is highlighted with exploding stars in the style of fireworks to let you know you’re done, and the final build really does warrant the excitement.
Features and Functions
The model rolls well on its wheels, and the detachable windscreen/roof provides excellent driver access. The driver fits comfortably, and the model is very sturdy, although the angled rear intakes can be easily bumped upwards out of position. The printed 2x2 round tile rims are very nice, but I do feel an opportunity was missed here to throw in an extra bag of standard rim inserts as an alternative. It is unfortunate that no engine detail is included, though this is forgivable given the complex mechanism used to attach the angled rear intakes which really help to nail the iconic look of the Countach.
Overall Impressions
I am pleased to report that this is a very faithful and impressive rendition of the much-loved Lamborghini Countach. In fact, this is the first SC car to really sell me on the 8-wide scale. I like the colour choice, and the finished model looks just fine without any stickers applied. However, and this is my one serious complaint for the set, the “white” print on the cockpit piece does not match the white of the plastic bricks at all. It’s not even close, and is instead somewhere between light bluish grey and the creamy white that it should be. This is very noticeable, and mars an otherwise fantastic set. The unprinted and studded 1x2 space on top also stands out rather badly.
The indicator stickers placed underneath the headlights is a clever idea, but I found that just adding trans-orange 1x1 plates into the headlights works equally well. I also had some fun adding side skirts (as depicted on the rear box art real-car photo) plus a roof intake. It would have been nice if the set had included (in addition to a bag of rims) the few extra parts needed to add these body-kit options. One further alteration I’d recommend is adjusting the rear wing half a stud rearwards, and this can easily be done without any additional parts. I will leave you now with one final image of my modernized Countach with body-kit and alternate rims, but be sure to check out my reviews of the other 2022 SC sets—will there be any that outperform the Countach?
Modified set. Some additional parts used.
We wish to thank LEGO for providing this set for review. The opinions in this review are not supported or endorsed by LEGO.
33511
