Super Mario

Bowser's Muscle Car Expansion Set

A brick-built Bowser behind the wheel of a car that's more menacing grin than muscle.

Brick Rated Score

4.2/5

Set 71431 · 2024

Pieces458

Minifigsn/a

Year2024

Set number71431

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The verdict

This is the cheapest way you'll ever get a brick-built Bowser figure into your LEGO Super Mario collection, and that alone makes it worth a look.

I love how the designers turned candlestick pieces into snarling teeth and used rounded panels to give the headlights that dead-eyed stare, it's a genuinely clever bit of face-building using parts that were never meant to be a face. Add the working lever that flings the hood ornament or launches a Bill Blaster from the trunk, and you've got a set that plays as well as it displays. I'd point this at anyone building out a Mario course collection, or any Bowser fan who's tired of paying premium prices just to get him in brick form.

Best for: Super Mario course collectors and Bowser fans who want the character without paying for a flagship set

The full review

What it is

I'll be honest, I went into this expecting another disposable expansion set, and I came out won over. The car itself is a squat, muscular little thing with a grinning grille and rounded fender eyes that somehow look properly menacing for a toy built from plastic bricks. It's the kind of set where you can tell the designers had fun, the arch pieces sliding over tiles to create that sneering mouth shape is a neat trick, and the whole thing looks great sitting next to a Mario Kart track or on a shelf next to your other course pieces.

The catch

Where I have to be straight with you is on value for money if you're only after the vehicle. At 458 pieces the car section builds up fast, and a chunk of the piece count and play value comes from Bowser's brick-built figure, who is essentially a repeat of a design LEGO has used before. If you already own him from another set, you're really just buying the car and the interactive lever mechanism. The app integration is also a bit of a tease on its own, you need one of the starter sets with a Mario, Luigi, or Peach figure for the coin-collecting and sound effects to actually mean anything.

Who it's for

If you're chasing a full Super Mario course setup, or you're a Bowser completionist who never got him at a reasonable price, this is an easy recommendation. If you already have Bowser from a bigger set and don't care about the app features, I'd let this one pass and put the money toward a course expansion instead.

The parts story

What the build is actually like, and the pieces worth knowing about.

Building this one feels quick and satisfying rather than meditative. The car's body goes together in distinct chunks, chassis, hood, and rear spoiler, so you get that reward of watching the shape emerge early rather than forty minutes in. The lever mechanism connecting to the hood ornament and the trunk-mounted Bill Blaster launcher is simple internally but genuinely fun to fidget with once it's built, which is more than I can say for a lot of expansion sets that just sit there looking pretty.

The standout piece story here is really about reuse done well rather than brand-new molds. Candlestick elements become snarling teeth in the grille, curved arch pieces slide over flat tiles to fake a sneering mouth shape, and rounded panel pieces double as menacing headlight eyes. None of these are new parts, but the combination is inventive enough that I didn't clock what I was looking at until I stepped back from the finished model. At this price point for 458 pieces plus a full brick-built figure, the part-count value holds up fine even if nothing in the box is rare or highly printed.

Fun facts

01This is the cheapest set Bowser has ever been included in as a brick-built figure, according to fan site coverage at launch.
02The set includes an Action Tag for Bowser, which works with the LEGO Super Mario app to trigger horn, engine, and tire sound effects when he's placed in the driver's seat.
03Designers used candlestick pieces to build the car's toothy grille and curved arch pieces sliding over tiles to create the sneering mouth effect.
04The set launched January 1, 2024 with an RRP of 29.99 and has since been retired from LEGO's official online stores in several regions.