Speed Champions

Formula E Panasonic Jaguar Racing GEN2 car & Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY

Two electric Jaguars in a blue you rarely get by the tubful.

Brick Rated Score

3.7/5

Set 76898 · 2020

Pieces571

Minifigs2

Year2020

Set number76898

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The verdict

This was the first Speed Champions set built around electric cars, and the first Jaguars the theme ever touched, which gives it a quiet little place in LEGO history.

The color is the real reason to own it, that medium azure is gorgeous and turns up here in shapes it had never appeared in before. The GEN2 single-seater is the star and the I-PACE next to it is honestly the weaker sibling. Best for a builder who loves motorsport oddities or wants a cheap pile of azure parts.

Best for: motorsport fans and parts builders chasing medium azure

The full review

What it is

The thing that pulled me in was the blue. This is the Formula E Panasonic Jaguar set from early 2020, and it holds a couple of firsts for Speed Champions: the first electric cars the theme ever produced, and the first time Jaguar showed up at all. You get two vehicles, the GEN2 single-seater that actually races in the ABB FIA Formula E Championship, and the I-PACE eTROPHY that runs the support series. The GEN2 is the one I kept picking back up. It has that low, purposeful open-wheel shape, and dressed in medium azure it looks like nothing else on a Speed Champions shelf. Next to the sea of red Ferraris and grey supercars, this set feels like a breath of cold fresh air.

The catch

I will be straight with you about where it wobbles. The I-PACE is the weaker of the two, and most reviewers landed in the same place. Its roof edges and rear end never quite convince, and it ends up looking like a chunky electric SUV rather than a proper competition car. Both vehicles also lean hard on stickers, and these are big sticker sheets, so if you dislike lining up decals you will feel it twice over. Then there is the start-finish gate, which almost everyone agrees is charmless, too plain to display and not much fun to play with. The cars are also quite wide, which is a Speed Champions habit, and it can make the minifigure drivers look like small children peeking over the wheel.

Who it's for

So who is this actually for. If you love motorsport, especially the electric side that most LEGO sets ignore, this is a lovely little pair to have. If you are a parts person, the azure alone can justify the box, because pulling that color in useful shapes from other sets is a real hassle. Where I would tell you to pause is if you only care about display accuracy, because the I-PACE will nag at you every time you look at it. It has retired now and sits well above its old shelf price on the secondary market, so if the color or the Formula E link speaks to you, grab it when you find one fairly priced rather than paying a big premium.

The parts story

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

The build itself is quick and friendly, which is exactly what Speed Champions is meant to be. An experienced builder will finish both cars and the gate in an easy afternoon, and a younger builder aged eight and up can manage it with a bit of patience. The GEN2 comes together in the more satisfying way of the two, with some nice angled work to get that open-wheel stance. The stickers are the only part that slows you down, and there are enough of them that you will want a steady hand and good light.

The headline for parts collectors is the medium azure. There are roughly 120 elements in that shade, and a good number appeared in this color for the first time here, which made the set a small quiet gold mine when it launched. Beyond the azure you get the usual useful Speed Champions wedge and windscreen pieces, plus the printed torsos on the two race-suit minifigures, which are the only printed decoration in a set that otherwise leans on decals. For 571 pieces at its original price it was fair value, and the color rarity is what keeps it interesting years later.

Fun facts

01This was the first Speed Champions set based on all-electric race cars, and the first to feature Jaguar.
02Roughly 120 pieces come in medium azure, with several element shapes appearing in that color for the first time.
03The GEN2 single-seater races in the real ABB FIA Formula E Championship, while the I-PACE eTROPHY ran an official all-electric support series.
04The set retired after 2021 and now trades well above its original retail price for sealed copies.