Set Review ➟ LEGO^® Speed Champions 76924 Mercedes-AMG G63 & SL63

2024-05-27 | Adrian Barbour
June 1st | 808pcs | US$44.99

Formula 1 racers and Lamborghini hypercars are great and all, but our Lego streets are also in need of a few more conventional vehicles. To fill that gap, the second twin pack in 2024’s June wave presents the Mercedes-AMG SL63 roadster and G63 4x4. This classy pair of luxury vehicles comes in at the same price point as the Aston Martin set while including an extra 244 pieces. Let's see how the builds compare.

Box & Contents

While the front of the box shows both vehicles together, the rear box art (with front and rear views of each build plus real car images for comparison) gives a much more accurate impression of how much the Lego G-Wagon dwarfs the roadster in size. The box itself is also much deeper than the Aston Martin set. Inside we have two bags for the roadster and four for the G63. Also included are two instruction booklets, a pair of modest sticker sheets, and a chassis element for the roadster.

MERCEDES-AMG SL63 ROADSTER

Build Process

The interior involves fitting hinged seats around a stickered central console, in front of a single centered rear seat. The folding front seats are simple but very effective with 1x1 half-round headrests. At the rear, nicely angled quad exhausts are fitted either side of a SNOT-mounted diffuser. Tail-lights are provided with excellent prints on 3x3 curved bricks (#65617).

A pair of 2x3 bricks fill in space between the dashboard and the engine area, but any hopes of a brick-built engine are dashed as a stickered 2x2 tile is used instead. A nice 1x1 printed console tile is added next to the steering wheel, and the top of the dashboard is also well-detailed. Door panels are added with inverted 2x2 tiles used to maintain the black interior. The front splitter section is attached inverted with the aid of a click-hinge, while the front grille assembly is quite complex and looks very nice. Printed headlights, opening front hood, wheels and windscreen round off the build.

Features & Functions

The interior feels very deluxe, with great folding front seats and space for a third minifigure in the back seat. The opening front hood is a good feature, though the stickered engine detail feels like a missed opportunity. The two raised sections on the hood limit the opening section to being mostly 2-wide, extending to 4-wide only at the very front, which looks a bit odd when opened.

Overall Impression

After a fun and promising build, I found the completed build to be a little underwhelming. The front and rear headlight prints are very nice, but the car does look rather plain and boxy - at least before applying the 1x6 side skirt stickers (which do a lot of work here, and arguably would have been better as prints). As a generic convertible the model looks just fine, but two aspects limit its realism as compared to the real SL63: the headlights are more prominent and angled on the real car, while the curved 3x6 windscreen used (#35299) just isn't at all accurate.

I do like the bright color choice and the subtle forwards rake, but something more such as opening doors or an optional hard-top could have really elevated the build. High points here are the nice interior, well constructed rear exhaust/diffuser section, and the detailed front grille. Weaker areas are the lack of engine detail, the stickered side skirts, and the windscreen. Now for the G-Wagon!

MERCEDES-AMG G63 4X4

Build Process

The first stage uses Technic elements to build an odd-width central chassis connecting two even-width axle sections. This left me wondering whether flex in the chassis was going to be used for simulated suspension, but the build is later reinforced with additional layers of plates. There are a ton of 1x5 plates used (x15 in Black and x10 in Light Bluish Grey), and four metallic silver bar-holder elements (#23443) are used for exhausts. The angular fenders are constructed well using a combination of spoiler elements (#30925) and 2x4 tiles on 1x2 hinge bricks.

Many layered plates build up to the addition of four seats in white, which nicely contrast with the exterior. There is some engine detail included this time, though this is largely covered up with a stickered 2x3 tile, which is only loosely connected with a single stud. The side panels feature a Pearl Dark Grey stripe and AMG prints on the sides of 1x2 plates, with roller skates used as door handles.

The rear sports six of the nine stickers, disappointingly using red stickers on black parts for the tail-lights. The 4x4 round brick used for the rear spare wheel also has poor clutch power and will come off easily. The front of the vehicle features a cleverly built bumper/grille section, though it isn’t very securely attached. Wiggling it around will also dislodge the headlights (which are printed and not stickers). Angled side windows, an opening hood, and a detachable roof section complete the build.

Features & Functions

While the opening hood is a good idea, something more than a sticker to look at underneath would again have been preferable. Plus the hood itself is very flimsy and tends to break off easily when handling the model. The detachable roof is more sturdy and gives good access to an interior that seats four minifigures with further storage space in the back. Despite the size, there are no further opening doors or functions.

Overall Impression

I wanted to like the G-Wagon but I can't say that I'm a fan of this design. It's a huge and dense build that doesn't scale well with either minifigures or the SL63 roadster. Proportionally, it is a bit too big for its wheels, and the front hood is too bulky and exaggerated in slope. The windscreen/greenhouse section also looks too tall and narrow. Despite its size and bulk, the model is also rather flimsy with its poorly connected front section, easily disconnecting front hood and spare wheel, and several parts connected with only a single stud.

My biggest complaint though is the underside which is unnecessarily built up with several layers of plates, leaving barely a single plate's worth of ground clearance - which is quite absurd for a 4x4 vehicle. There are some nice details to be sure, such as the side stripe, prints, and door handles, but the end result feels oversized, oddly proportioned, and far more fragile than an official set should be.

Final Thoughts

Despite the extra 244 parts offered here, I feel the Aston Martin twin pack gives you a far better pair of cars. The SL63 roadster is perfectly fine, and would be a good single car Speed Champions set on its own, but unless you're a hardcore Mercedes fan or are buying the set for its impressive parts selection, I can't really recommend the purchase at full price. To be fair though, it is a very good parts pack.

# We wish to thank LEGO for providing this set for review. The opinions in this review are not supported or endorsed by LEGO.