Technic

Formula E Porsche 99X Electric

A quick, cheerful little racer that trades Technic engineering for pure pull-back fun.

Brick Rated Score

3.7/5

Set 42137 · 2022

Pieces422

Minifigsn/a

Year2022

Set number42137

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The verdict

This is the set I hand to someone who wants a taste of Technic without committing a whole afternoon to it.

The pull back motors are genuinely satisfying to yank and release, and the low, wide profile actually looks like a race car the second you snap the last panel on. I will say plainly that if you come to Technic for gearboxes and steering geometry, this one will feel thin. It is best for a younger builder or anyone who wants a fast, good looking desk model rather than a mechanical puzzle.

Best for: younger or first time Technic builders who want a fast build and instant play value

The full review

What it is

I like this one for what it is honestly trying to be. It is not a functional showpiece like the big Technic supercars, it is a small, cheerful model of the first electric race car LEGO has ever recreated in this line, and it leans hard into that novelty. You build it across four numbered bags in around ninety minutes, then load up the two pull back motors hidden in the chassis and send it skidding across the floor. My favorite detail is that the ratchet release lever sits right on the body of the car itself, so you do not have to pull a panel off like you do on some of the other pull back Technic sets to reset it.

The catch

Here is the honest part. This is a sticker heavy set, thirty one of them, and they cover almost every panel on the car, so if you hate stickers this build will test you before it tests your patience elsewhere. There is also not much going on mechanically once you are past the pull back drivetrain, no steering rack, no suspension travel, nothing to fiddle with the way you can on a proper Technic function set. At 422 pieces for fifty dollars it is priced more like a display piece than a play set, and Brickset's own review called out the same thing, decent looks but limited functionality.

Who it's for

I would put this in the hands of a younger builder easing into Technic, or a Formula E or Porsche fan who wants a cheap, cheerful nod to the real car on a shelf. If you are shopping for the engineering side of Technic, the mechanisms that make you go how does that work, skip this one and put your money toward a set with real steering and suspension instead.

The parts story

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

The build itself moves fast. You are stacking up the chassis first, seating both pull back motors, then cladding the whole thing in body panels that snap on cleanly enough that the shape reveals itself almost immediately. There is an LEGO Technic AR app tie in where you can scan the finished model, which is a nice bonus for a younger builder but not something that changes the physical build at all.

The standout here is really the mechanism, not any single rare piece. Two pull back motors in one small chassis is unusual for a set this size, and having the ratchet release built right into the bodywork instead of requiring you to remove a panel is a small but real improvement over sets like the Ford Mustang that share the same basic idea. Beyond that it is mostly straightforward Technic beams, pins, and that big 31 piece sticker sheet doing the visual heavy lifting, so do not go in expecting new molds or printed parts, this one is about the finished silhouette and the zip across the carpet.

Fun facts

01It is the first electric car from any manufacturer that LEGO has turned into a Technic model, following two earlier Technic Porsches.
02The real 99X Electric raced in the 2019-2020 Formula E season and can hit 100 km/h in about 2.8 seconds with a top speed near 280 km/h.
03The set has already retired from LEGO's own shop and now trades mostly on the secondary market for close to its original fifty dollar price.