LEGO has an all-new wave of Speed Champions planned for 2016, bringing some American muscle to a party that has so far been dominated by European supercars like Porsche, Ferrari, and McLaren. European cars are still in the mix for this year, but first off the starting line for the Americans is a 2016 Ford Mustang GT, a killer car in blue with a classic white stripe.
Unsurprisingly, both bumper sections are entirely studs out, and a portion of the front bumper is even studs down. The nose doesn’t look Mustang-like at all until the front 1×4 tile is stickered with the Mustang’s distinct fish-mouth grille. Stickers are in abundance here, with six separate stickers comprising the Mustang’s face, and the end result is passable accuracy, at best. No such problem with the car’s hindquarters, though. Once the stickers are applied for the taillights, the resemblance is uncanny. There’s no question at all that this is a 2010-or-newer Mustang, and you get a little GT emblem. I am, however, very disappointed that all of the stickers are bordered in their respective part’s colors, though. If, for instance, the grille sticker had the silver grille on a transparent sticker (instead of on a blue sticker) it would be easy to construct a red version of this car. As it is, any color rebuilds would have to be done sans most stickers. And speaking of stickers, the rear windscreen is also extremely disappointing. It’s composed of five stickers laid over 4-long slope bricks. I think a vastly superior solution would have been to actually use a rear-facing windscreen, and sticker for the steetmetal, instead of stickering for the windows.
Like all the Speed Champion models, the windscreeen and roof are easily removable for quick access, and a minifig fits comfortably into the sparsely decorated interior. A few bricks are spent in furnishing the cockpit with a white seat, but there’s no instrument cluster—only a steering wheel.
As pictured on the box, you also get a lap-time display board. This is really just a stand for a stickered 2×4 tile, and there’s not much to say about it. It doesn’t add much to the set, but hey, six free pieces.
The minifig is pretty cool, wearing a white quilted jacket. The jacket features a small Ford emblem on the left breast, as well as large emblem across the back. The torso also appears in this year’s Ford F-150 set, but is otherwise unique.
Overall, this car is instantly recognizable as a Mustang. It features solid construction for rugged durability: a must for a car that makes you want to play. All the Speed Champions cars are begging to be raced around your desk no matter your age, and the Mustang is no exception. Aside from LEGO’s heavy reliance on stickers (only the minifig parts are printed), this is a great model, and a great value. It’s good to see American muscle finally making its way into LEGO’s pantheon of licensed cars.