Toyota’s Hiace van wouldn’t be high on our list of the best vehicles to modify, but the world’s car tuners do seem to make odd choices sometimes. In Europe the Volkswagen Beetle and Transporter are perhaps the most inappropriate, whilst the Japanese modifying scene has gone a similarly daft route with ‘Bosozoku’ – the style in which builder filsawgood has created his splendidly ridiculous Toyota Hiace drift van.

Underneath the be-stickered Technic bodywork is a Technic buggy motor powering the rear wheels and a Power Functions servo motor which steers the fronts. These are linked to the previously featured third-party SBrick which enables control via a tablet or other mobile device.

For more details on the Hiace Hoonivan and to see a full gallery of images head over to Eurobricks via the link above.

The Lego Car Blog Elves live on a simple diet of occasional meals, even more occasional Smarties, and regular extreme Elf-on-Elf violence. Today’s lucky Elf scored a hat-trick, being rewarded – as all successful Elves are – with a meal token, and also with a bonus green Smartie. High on sugar the aforementioned Elf then completed its hat-trick by undertaking what can best be described as a rampage at the controls of its find.

The find in question is this remarkable remote control John Deere 900 Series feller-buncher built by MOCpages’ Desert752 Kirill, and it’s an incredible bit of kit. Power Functions operated skid-steering and drive give Desert’s tracked feller-buncher surprising agility, meaning many Elves were out-manouvered in the hallways of TLCB Towers and squashed as they fled.

Smarter Elves, learning from previous experience, clambered off the floor to areas of expected safety, but sadly for them the John Deere’s linear actuated felling arm – complete with grab and micro-motor powered circular saw – meant that there really was nowhere to hide.

With no more colleagues to torment the jubilant Elf driver abandoned its motorised weapon and escaped cackling into the night. One suspects its colleagues won’t be forthcoming in welcoming it back upon its next return to TLCB Towers…

Anyway, whilst we await the inevitable Elf fight you can check out what makes Desert752 Kirill’s John Deere 900 such a formidable machine – click the link above for all the details of the build on MOCpages, and watch the video below to see the feller-buncher in action.

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If someone said they’d built a yellow three-wheeler we would probably think of this. Which is about as far from this monstrous Challenger Terra Gator as you can get. There’s more to see on Brickshelf courtesy of Samolot.

This bewitchingly beautiful Technic supercar was discovered by one of our Elves on Flickr. It’s been built by previous bloggee Jeroen Ottens and – as you can see – it’s a work of art. The beauty of ‘Misstress’ is more than skin deep too; underneath the deliciously curvaceous bodywork is a mid-mounted V10 engine, working steering and fully independent double-wishbone suspension.

There’s a large gallery of superb images available to view at Jeroen’s Flickr photostream. Click on his name in the text above to see all of the photographs.

America. Bigger is better. Guns, meals (and waistlines) and – of course – cars. But what if there’s another way?

It was actually America, remarkably, that put the first turbo-charged production car on the market, way back in the 1960s. Turbo-charging was then promptly forgotten about, and the U.S auto makers went back to their tried and tested method of humungous and spectacularly inefficient V8s.

But the world has moved on, and with European and Japanese manufacturers making huge power from small capacity forced-induction engines, and saving weight, fuel and cost too, it’s finally time for America to get with the programme.

All of the Big Three are now championing turbo-power, using technology from their European divisions to bring smaller-capacity engines to the U.S market. Arguably the most successful so far have been Ford, with their excellent Ecoboost engine range. Unfortunately though, there are still customers in America who live in 1974, and they don’t trust this brave new direction one bit, so how does Ford prove to them that smaller equals better? A 600+bhp Ecoboost supercar ought to do it…

Only a handful of people even within Ford knew that the 2017 GT was being developed, so it came as a total surprise to the motoring press when the GT was revealed in concept form at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show. Powered by the 3.5 litre Ecoboost V6 that Ford would like to see replace the V8 across the range, the GT’s engine is around half the size of its American competitors. And it’s twice as good.

MOCpages’ Rage Hobbit thought so too, and he’s built a stunning Technic replica of the Ford GT before the real car has even gone on sale. Rage’s Lego recreation includes the mid-mounted V6 – hooked up to an eight speed remotely operated gearbox, remote controlled drive and steering, a motorised rear wing, double wishbone independent suspension and opening butterfly doors.

There are more images and full details of the build available at Rage Hobbit’s MOCpages account – click the link above to make the jump.

Earlier today we featured America’s attempt at downsizing, which is definite step in the right direction, but is still – let’s face it – bloody massive. Europe are making things much smaller.

Leading the way are BMW, whose latest supercar is powered by a tiny three-cylinder 1.5 litre turbo engine. And some electric motors. Big electric motors.

The striking looking i8 uses a combination of these power sources to deliver incredible performance and incredible fuel economy, deciding how much of each source is best to use at any given time. Clever stuff, although sometimes we don’t think the humble Toyota Prius gets enough credit…

TLCB Master MOCer Sheepo has decided to recreate this technical tour-de-force in Lego Technic, and his stunning replica i8 is very nearly as advanced as the real car. Power Functions RC drive and steering are included, as are an electrically operated retractable roof and opening scissor doors, plus the BMW’s dinky three-cylinder engine.

And then it’s gets really interesting. Sheepo has recreated (sort of) the BMW’s ingenious Hybrid system, with an electrically powered front axel, plus two more motors on the rear axel that are activated on the selection of Sport Mode, to give the car all-wheel-drive. The gearbox mounted in the middle equalises these motors to ensure smooth drive to each wheel, as well as upping the drive ratio when Sport Mode is engaged.

You can see how it all works at Sheepo’s website here (at the time of writing the i8 is yet to be published on the usual image-sharing platforms), or via the excellent video below.

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Ah, Hummer… the loudest way you can proclaim ‘ I have a tiny little penis!’ to the whole world. But whatever our feelings on the over-hyped, poorly built, pointlessly machismo waste of tin that is anything with a Hummer badge on it, this Technic H2 is rather nice…

MOCpages’ Artemy Zotov is the builder and he’s included some decent mechanical functionality. We often publicise fancy RC vehicles here at TLCB, but sometimes it’s nice to feature a creation with good old-fashioned mechanics. This one has a working V8 engine, hand-of-God steering, opening doors and hood, and a removable rear deck. There’s more to see at the link above.

There’s a happy Elf at TLCB Towers today, thanks to newcomer Damjan and his giant Technic truck. Damjan’s creation is yellow, has racing stripes (sort of), and is remotely controlled via LEGO’s Power Functions system – meaning it can be used to chase down colleagues and smush them into the office carpet.*

With this achieved the lucky discovering Elf is contentedly munching on a yellow Smartie, and we’re going to let its victims sort themselves out because it’s sunny here and we’re off for a pint of something alcoholic. You can see more of Damjan’s truck on Brickshelf, or at the Eurobricks discussion forum – click the links to take a look.

*It’s therefore quite a good shout for TLCB Summer Building Competition, in which we’ve received some excellent entries already. To read the competition details and to enter your model click the link above – and you could be in with a chance of winning some fantastic prizes!

Long before Bugatti formed part of the Volkswagen empire, before Veyrons, before EB110s and before their products were simply trophies of the super-rich, they made cars like this.

Only sixty-five examples of the breathtakingly beautiful Type 50T were produced between 1931 and 1933, and unlike today’s Veyron, all original Bugatti’s were built to do one thing; go racing.

Sadly the outbreak of war, the destruction of the Bugatti factory, and the tragic loss of Ettore Bugatti’s son in their Le Mans winning Type 57C ‘Tank’ racing car conspired to end Ettore’s incredible story, but these early cars live on as the most sought-after and expensive vehicles in the world today.

This beautiful recreation of the 1933 Type 50 was found on Brickshelf. It’s been built by marthart, and it features engineering inside as lovely as it looks on the outside: Remote controlled steering and drive, working lights, leaf-sprung suspension, opening doors, hood and trunk and a 4-speed-gearbox are all included. There’s an extensive gallery available to view on Brickshelf – click the link above to take a look.

This stunning Lego Technic recreation of the infamous Lamborghini Aventador supercar was discovered on Brickshelf today. It’s been constructed by previous bloggee Polo-Freak and it’s not only one of the best looking Technic Supercars that we’ve seen in a very long time, it also includes a raft of Technic functionality.

There are more images of the Aventador available on Brickhelf at the link above – click the link to take a look.

Today’s incredible Lego creation comes from newcomer Chrismo72, who has built one of the most astounding Technic models of the year.

Featuring five Power Functions motors controlling the pitch, roll and rotation of the rotors, two sets of LED lights, two IR controllers and two IR receivers, Chrismo’s Air Ambulance helicopter is amongst the most advanced Lego aircraft ever built.

As well as some brilliant Technic engineering Chrismo’s helicopter also includes some neat brickwork, such as the clever tail-rotor housing shown above.

There’s also a fully detailed interior, opening doors, and working control sticks. You can see all of the photos and read more about the build by visiting the discussion topic in the Eurobricks Technic forum.

Finally, we’re back to what we know. The Elves have been given strict instructions to stick to their brief, and the first result is this lovely Technic cafe racer motorbike. There’s a working twin-cylinder engine, front and rear suspension, steering and chain tensioner. Senpai Ragnarok is the builder making his TLCB debut, and you can see more of his excellent motorcycle at the Eurobricks discussion forum or at his Flickr photostream.

This pretty Moto Guzzi cafe racer comes from Flickr’s Senpai Ragnarok, who made his TLCB debut last week with another lovely Technic bike. His latest uses similar techniques to recreate the cafe racer flat-tank style, and includes a V-Twin engine, rear suspension and woking steering. Join Senpai for a drink at the link above.

This superbly neat Technic tipper truck comes from past bloggee Krzysztof Cytacki of Flickr. This truck actually appeared here a while back in a previous incarnation, and his latest version adds a linear actuated tipping bed and Power Functions motors for remote control. There’s lots more to see on Flickr – click the link above to see the full gallery.

Another day and another entry into TLCB Summer Building Competition. TLCB veteran Senator Chinchilla has built what appears to be an old and slightly boring Saab 99.

But this Saab has a few surprises, for underneath there sits the engine and running gear from a Subaru, meaning this sensible Swede is an all-wheel-drive rally weapon.

Unfortunately for the Senator this combination is the wrong way round for our Elves, who are – as has been mentioned before – largely idiots, and therefore they judge a book wholly by its cover. And perhaps if it has pop-ups.

The Saabaru’s slick engineering may be wasted on our workforce, but TLCB staff appreciate the genius that lies beneath. If you’re smarter than the Elves you probably want to take a look too – join us by clicking on the link above to Senator Chinchilla’s photostream.

The Elves are riotously excited following this find. They love Technic Supercars, and TLCB Master MOCer Paul Boratko (aka Crowkillers) is one of the very finest supercar builders around. His latest creation goes one step further to pleasing the Elves, as alongside the usual (and impeccably engineered) Technic Supercar features, Paul has added a few optional extras.

Violent optional extras at that, including wing-door mounted missiles, machine guns in the front wings, and the power of flight thanks to some nifty transformation.

You can see more images and read the full specification details on Eurobricks, MOCpages or Brickshelf, plus you can see Paul’s ‘Shuriken’ Supercar in action in the video below, with a very Elf-friendly soundtrack.

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Thank you to all the readers who suggested this creation to us. 

The Lego Car Blog, despite its charitable nature, is actually a pretty dark and shadowy organisation. The location of TLCB office is a closely guarded secret, TLCB staff forgo fame and fortune, preferring to shroud themselves in anonymity’s thick cloak, and the Elves… well, no-one really wants to get close to them so their mythical status is assured for some time yet.

Previous bloggee Thomas Graafland has theory though, and has boldly stated that TLCB operates from the back of a re-commissioned ex-Royal Mail Ford Transit, which he’s built in Lego form.

We can’t confirm or deny this hypothesis, but what we can say is that we absolutely love the van. Firstly it looks wonderfully realistic – our European readers will immediately recognise the ubiquitous Mk.4 Transit silhouette. Secondly, Thomas has crammed in all the features that we like to see in Lego creations; including working suspension, opening bonnet and doors, and working lights – plus there’s a comfy chair and giant screen in the back for blogging, bench seating for the Elves and racing seats up front for the staff.

Thirdly, Thomas has given the Elves a bit of a treat too. You might have noticed the quad exhausts in the image above… this Transit doesn’t have Ford’s usual diesel lump up front. Nope, this one is fitted with a mid-mounted V8, as per the ‘Supervans’ that Ford constructed in the 70s and 80s, and it’s remote control, meaning there’s much potential for an Elf to smush its unsuspecting colleagues.

Built for TLCB Summer Building Competition, Thomas’ entry scores almost full marks – only missing out on the points available for racing stripes and representing an Elf or two (something that could be surely be added?).

You can see all the details and watch a video of the V8 Transit in action via either Flickr or MOCpages, and if you think you can do better (and win some awesome prizes to boot) you can read how to enter your own creation in TLCB Summer Building Competition by clicking here. There’s just a few weeks to go!

Mr. Airhorn had been slumbering peacefully for quite some time here at TLCB Towers. Not today though, as a TLCB Elf was having probably the greatest day of its life.

This remarkable Technic creation is the work of previous bloggee Desert752 Krill, and – as you might be able to tell from the picture above – it’s no ordinary coach. The object protruding from the luggage hold is a remotely operated machine gun. And that’s just the start.

The opposite side features an arm-mounted circular saw, there are deployable tyre spikes, and it features a working anti-aircraft gun and front and rear mounted missiles. Plus the usual RC steering and drive of course. All in all it’s the perfect vehicle for a megalomaniacal paranoid dictator, or – in the case of today’s office carnage – an ecstatic TLCB Elf. It’s a shame it hasn’t been entered into TLCB Summer Building Contest as we don’t think anything will come close in the violence scoring category.

The only way to really see the entirety of the engineering insanity within this model is by video, and fortunately Desert752 has produced a brilliant one to accompany his build. Check it out below, and you can see all the photos and the full specifications of this ridiculous vehicle on MOCpages at the link above.

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This enormous Technic-figure scale Mercedes-Benz Actros 8×4 heavy haulage truck was discovered on MOCpages and Eurobricks. It’s been built by Shineyu Yu and it features a host of Technic functions including RC drive and steering. There’s more to see via the link above, and you can check out our preview of LEGO’s official 2015 Mercedes-Benz truck set by clicking here.

In the right hands LEGO’s Power Functions system can do some truly amazing things, and Eurobricks’ builder D3K definitely has the right hands. This is his beautiful 4-axle tow truck, and it features a vast array of Power Functions components and gearboxes to multiply the ability of the motors. Concentrate, here comes the science part;

D3K has engineered a remotely controlled linear actuator operated tilting cabin, front, middle and rear stabilisers, working front winch, wheel lift elevation, extension and tilting, and crane lifting, extending and winch. And he’s thrown in some old fashioned mechanical functions too, including a working V8 engine and three-axel Ackerman steering.

You can read the full details of D3K’s incredible creation at the Eurobricks forum where there also renders available showing the truck’s internal workings. To get a true idea of what this model can do though, you’ve got to watch in in action…

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