Technic

Ferrari 488 GTE "AF Corse #51"

A gorgeous race Ferrari in brick form that rewards your eyes more than your engineering brain.

Brick Rated Score

3.8/5

Set 42125 · 2021

Pieces1,684

Minifigsn/a

Year2021

Set number42125

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The verdict

This one is all about the silhouette, and the silhouette is genuinely lovely.

It sits between the tiny Technic cars and the giant 1:8 hypercars, so you get a proper multi-hour build without needing to remortgage the house. Just know going in that it prioritises looks over clever functions, and it can feel a bit fragile once it is on the shelf. If a red Le Mans winner on your desk makes you happy, you will forgive its quirks.

Best for: Motorsport fans who want a display-first Technic car without the 1:8 price tag

The full review

What it is

The Ferrari 488 GTE AF Corse #51 is a 1:10 scale race car and, at the time, it was the biggest LEGO® set of its kind, with over 300 more pieces than the old 8653 Enzo Ferrari record holder. It slots neatly into the middle of the Technic car range, bigger and more involved than the little pull-back models, but nowhere near the price or scale of the giant 1:8 Lamborghini and Bugatti flagships. What you are really buying here is a shape, and honestly it is a great one. The proportions of the real Le Mans car come through clearly, from the low nose to the aggressive widebody rear, and when it is finished and sitting on a shelf it looks properly fast standing still. If you love motorsport, this is the sort of model that makes you grin every time you walk past it.

The catch

Now for the honest bits, because there are a few. The functions are on the modest side. You get working steering, a V8 with pistons that move, front and rear suspension, and doors that open, but nothing that will make a seasoned Technic builder gasp. The price never sat cheap either, launching around 169.99 dollars, and for that money some builders expected more mechanical cleverness than they got. Then there are the stickers. Roughly 60 of them, and they cover nearly every flat surface on the car, so a big chunk of the finish depends on your patience and a steady hand rather than printed parts. The bigger gripe from the community is structural. The body flexes more than you would like, it feels a little flimsy if you pick it up by the roof, and that rear spoiler has a reputation for falling off. It is a display piece that wants to be handled gently.

Who it's for

So who should grab this one. If you are a Ferrari or endurance-racing fan who wants a real centrepiece build without stepping up to the flagship prices, this is a lovely middle ground and it looks the part on a desk. It is also a fair first big Technic car if you want to test whether this range is for you, since it gives you a proper few evenings of building. If you live for ingenious gearboxes and rock-solid engineering, or if fiddly sticker application makes you sigh, you may want to look elsewhere in the Technic lineup. But taken for what it is, a good-looking tribute to a car that actually won its class at Le Mans in 2021, it earns its spot. Just treat it kindly once it is built.

The parts story

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

The build comes bagged in stages, and there is a real sense of the model growing under your hands as you go. You start with the chassis and drivetrain, wiring up the fake V8 so the pistons actually shuffle when the wheels turn, then move into the suspension and steering before the bodywork goes on. The front end is where you want to slow down and pay attention, because a single flipped lift arm early on can throw the whole nose out of alignment, and you will not notice until much later. It is a satisfying few hours overall, more about careful panel-and-frame work than heavy gear trains, and the pace stays steady rather than repetitive. The stickers are the one chore, so give yourself good light and take your time.

On the parts front, the headline is a set of brand-new elements made specifically for this car. Over the rear wheels you get new inner wheel arches and fender flares that push the body out into that proper widebody race stance, paired with new 13-module long mudguards, all fresh for 2021. There is a healthy dose of red panels and curved bodywork that will be handy for anyone who builds their own cars, plus the usual generous Technic mix of lift arms, pins, gears and axles. At 1,684 pieces for a 1:10 car, the part-count value is fair rather than remarkable, and the real draw is those new molded body pieces and the tidy tire and rim combo that nails the look.

Fun facts

01The real #51 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE Evo won the LMGTE Pro class at the 2021 24 Hours of Le Mans, with Pier Guidi taking the flag over 40 seconds clear of the chasing Corvette.
02At launch this was the largest LEGO Ferrari set of its type, packing over 300 more pieces than the old 2005 record holder, the 8653 Enzo Ferrari.
03It is built to 1:10 scale, the same family scale as that classic Enzo, sitting below the giant 1:8 Technic flagships like the Bugatti and Lamborghini.
04LEGO made a whole set of new fender flares, inner wheel arches and long mudguards just for this model to capture the car's aggressive race-ready widebody stance.