LEGO Technic fans have eagerly awaited the latest additions to the line, and many will rejoice with the introduction of a new, affordable supercar! LEGO Technic 42154 2022 Ford GT is surely exciting upon first glance, particularly because it won’t destroy your wallet in the same way the Lamborghini Sián or Bugatti Chiron would. But let’s see if it holds any weight against the other guys. Join us in the passenger seat as we take a test drive of this 1466-piece, 1:12 scale model, which will be available March 1st and retail for US $119.99 | CAN $149.99 | UK £104.99.
The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.
Unboxing the parts, instructions, and sticker sheet
The box is on the smaller side – at least in comparison to the top-dollar sets. While it seems a little small, this is sure to be one of those sets that feels bigger built. The back has a nice inlay of the real car at the same angle.
One thing that we don’t always mention is the unique branding that comes with these licensed products. As far as I can recollect, all sets featuring branded vehicles have special licensed stickers on them. The Technic sets in particular have holographic stickers. The QR code leads to a 3rd party authentication website where you can validate and register your copy. Apparently this also affords you the chance to win a prize, although you have to share your location to do so, which I opted against.
Inside the box are 11 bags numbered 1-5, an unnumbered bag, and 4 free-floating tires.
Sadly, this set apparently doesn’t meet the mark to provide the stickers and instructions in their own cardboard sleeve, and my copy came with both in less than perfect condition. The sticker sheet almost had one sticker completely removed due to crumpling.
As usual, the first several pages include a history of the real vehicle and the process to make the set.
The build
Jumping into the build, we waste no time in getting to the moving parts. The back differential is up first. This assembly also features a new element: a 5L two-sided steering CV joint.
Between the friction pins and the new joints, the linkages are smooth, yet solid.
Next we switch to the good old V6 engine block. While this is a very common assembly, one never gets tired of playing with it.
Combining those two together gives us the inner-workings of the back end of the vehicle. Then we add a little structure to give us future attachment points.
Although the following GIF shows them moving together, we’ll find that once the springs are attached, all wheels have independent suspension.
Next we add the large bottom frame (11×15) as well as the framework for the rear spoiler.
Another new element in this set is long-awaited by some serious Technic builders. The 3L Technic connector with two pins is half the bulk of its common cousin (which has 4 pins), and highly useful.
But it serves its purpose and quickly gets buried in the thick of the front suspension. This assembly is built differently than the back in order to accommodate the steering.
Speaking of which, we now have another fun thing to play with…
And, like the back end, we find ourselves with solid, independent vertical movement and suspension.
It’s at this point that we join the front and back ends together at the middle. Interestingly, at this point the connection is very minimal, consisting of a single axle and central pin.
From here we build a pair of bucket seats to fill that midsection.
We also build a dashboard complete with branded steering wheel. Many Technic sets have the steering wheel actually connected to the steering, but that is not the case here. While it does turn, it’s mostly just for show. The gap between the top of the dash and the display is a little odd, but it actually does look kind of like the real thing.
Finally, a red lever in the center console allows you to raise and lower the rear spoiler. Interestingly, a glow-in-the-dark bar is used here to help hold it together. I’m not entirely sure why they chose to go with this color, but I’m not complaining!
Next we start some body-work on the back end. Here, just below the spoiler, we have a 1×1 round tile with a printed GT logo. This is one of only a few printed elements in the set.
The back end utilizes a series of smaller curved panels, the smallest of which are new this year. Their orientation looks a little odd at first, until you put it on the vehicle.
Some of them are shorter to accommodate the spoiler lift mechanism.
After that’s squared away, we add the roof and several more panels for body-shaping. Many of these are new or rare in dark blue. We also slap a few stickers on some standard system bricks for the rear grille and license plate.
Continuing with the theme of new part variants, more panels are added that are new in dark blue. Particularly noteworthy are the wheel arch panels. The front and back use different arch elements to mimic the unique body shape of the GT.
In fact, the front ones were designed specifically with this set in mind. We’ll revisit this in a moment, but you can already tell that the designer, Milan Reindl, did a lovely job of finding ways to recreate the iconic look.
One of the best elements – well, two, actually – are the headlights. As the only other printed elements in the set, they certainly don’t disappoint. Mounting a sticker to these guys would’ve been rough, so it’s a major relief. Plus, it looks great on the new curved panels.
Perhaps I haven’t done enough sets, but I don’t recall coming across many times where the stud of a system element was attached directly to a Technic hole. In this instance medium blue 1×1 brackets allow wedge slopes to fill the gap between the headlights and the rest of the body.
The result is about as smooth as you can get with Technic builds.
With the addition of the front grille, the hood, and some other body pieces, we have a nearly-complete vehicle.
Now for possibly my favorite part: the butterfly doors. By themselves they look a little funky and awkwardly shaped. They have to be built at odd offset angles to give them the right look on the exterior.
The internal mechanism is simple yet clever. A ball-joint linkage connected to pivoting L beams allow the doors to swing out at the awesome angle. The effect is lovely, although I have a minor complaints we’ll revisit in a moment.
It’s at this point that we add the wheels and we’re ready to rock ‘n roll!
The completed model
Indeed, the end result is pretty slick. The deep-cut lines and hollows within the body of the vehicle really make this noticeable as the Ford GT. Sitting at about 15 inches long, it’s not the behemoth that some of the other supercars are (sitting at least a few inches bigger in both width and length). However, it’s arguably just as detailed and packed with features.
The butterfly doors will make any Technic fan smile. But as I said, I do have a small complaint: the way they’re attached makes them feel fairly loose when closed. When they are open, they stay open. They don’t simply fall closed, so that’s great. But when they’re closed, you can easily shake them open a bit. It really is a small complaint though, because the tradeoff is worth it. Others have commented about the doors sticking a bit, but I haven’t had that issue.
As a bonus, both the front and back open to show the internals. Unfortunately, there’s not a whole lot to see in the front, so it falls a little lackluster.
As for the back, you pretty much see everything there is to see without opening it up (just by peaking through the “window”). This is something that you actually can’t do/see in the real vehicle, so that may be bothersome to a few people. On the other hand, many Technic builders want to be able to see more of the internal mechanisms, and this might seem like it’s not enough. At the end of the day, I suppose a “happy medium” was in order.
The lever for the spoiler being inside the vehicle makes it just a tad difficult to manipulate, but I certainly would rather have it there than awkwardly displayed on the exterior. Plus, this is one of those things that you probably wouldn’t mess with a whole lot.
The final result of our suspension work is pretty standard fare – typical of this kind of vehicle. But that’s not to say it’s boring or anything. It’s a very welcome and appreciated feature that shows just how much can be packed into the model.
Finally, we can’t forget to mention the steering. The internal mechanism is connected to a gear on top acting as a turning knob. The radius isn’t exactly phenomenal, but it’s definitely not garbage. It only takes a couple “back-and-forths” to make 90° in a rather small space, and I’m assuming it’s actually comparable to the real thing.
Conclusions and recommendations
Okay! So the big question is, “Is this model worthy of a lighter wallet?”
Well, as I said in the very beginning, this is a far cry from the XL supercars that cost an arm and a leg. It’s not as big, but it’s also not tiny by any means. And at face value, it’s certainly packed with all the right features. As far as playability, it ticks the boxes. As far as display, it does a pretty damn good job at ticking those boxes. Diehard fans of the real car may find a thing or two they don’t quite like, but generally speaking it doesn’t disappoint. The designers did a good job. Really, I can’t find any reason to put a stamp of disapproval on this. It’s a quality kit, and will make any Technic and/or Ford GT fan happy.
LEGO Technic 42154 2022 Ford GT will be available March 1st 2023 and retail for US $119.99 | CAN $149.99 | UK £104.99.
The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.
It appears while this is a new set Lego os still using plastic and not paper for the kit bags.Perhaps as a non bias reviewer you can hold Lego accountable in the future this based on their pledge/announcement last year.
Thank you for such a thorough review. All those little animations took a lot f time to make.
As for a set, I realy want this one. Rare colour, good amount of complications, good scale. To me looks better than Ferrari GTE 488.
There is a new design trend to takie supercars offroad, Lamborghini and Porsche did some restyling to their cars. So I expect nice selection of offroad MOCs for this Ford GT.
Easier said than done I’m sure, but a little more printing on those headlight elements would’ve gone a long way in making the front end look more like the real deal. I’m still picking this up because at the very least, it looks like a great supercar, even if not exactly like a Ford GT
It seems a bit inconsistent to have a model like this focus so much on aesthetics, but then have that ugly steering knob up on the roof. I also really don’t like that the steering wheel isn’t linked to the steering. I do appreciate the use of an actual rack + pinion steering, vs other midsized Technic models that use various links or toggles and not gears.
Thanks for this review. For myself, I’ll choose other Technic models of I want function, or Creator cars when I want aesthetics.