LEGO Technic 42156 PEUGEOT 9X8 24H Le Mans Hybrid Hypercar – Worth the hype? [Review]
Lately it seems as though LEGO has been pounding out the Technic super cars, both at the extra-large, uber-expensive level, like the Ferrari Daytona SP3 and midrange like the 2022 Ford GT. Hot on the heals of the last midrange, the latest model comes to us in the form of PEUGEOT’s flagship racer: LEGO Technic 42156 PEUGEOT 9×8 24H Le Mans Hybrid Hypercar. This mouthful of a model is a 1:10 replica of the real deal, clocking in at 1775 pieces. Join us as we take a deep dive into the set, which is currently available and retails for US $199.99 | CAN $279.99 | UK £169.99.
The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.
Unboxing the parts, instructions, and sticker sheets
Unfortunately I’ve had several sets lately come with a damaged box. This one looks a bit worse in real life than it does in the pictures. It’s not awful, but I felt it was noteworthy in the event that you’re someone who buys your sets from LEGO directly online, and you like to try and keep the box in good condition. These review sets come from a different department, but I’ve had similar trouble with LEGO Shop Online.
Aside from that, the box is pretty standard fare. The back features some specs and nice inlay shots.
Inside there are 16 bags numbered 1-5, 3 unnumbered bags, and 4 loose tires.
The stickers aren’t overpowering on the box art, so I was a little surprised to see two sticker sheets, featuring a total of 58 stickers.
The instruction manual is fairly thick, and, per usual with these kind of sets, the first several pages are dedicated to information about the designer, the model, and the inspiration.
The build
We begin our journey with the rear differential. It’s always fun to dive into the mechanics right away.
I’m constantly in a state of awe regarding the engineering prowess and skill of LEGO Technic designers. They are magical wizards. But we can’t forget to also commend the element designers. I often find myself amused by simple, yet genius things, like how the small CV joints are “frictionless” which allows them to slide freely on an axle. This prevents pinching, which even when very small can still cause a problem.
With both sides of the assembly complete and strengthened by beams, we’re ready to move to the suspension.
Obviously you’re not going to need much suspension on a low race car, but I’m always glad that they include it in these Technic sets. This particular model is slightly unique in that it uses the new giant spring element (which only came in the BMW M 1000 RR Motorcycle before now) to achieve dual suspension. (The assembly is upside down here to show the spring.)
The V6 engine block features a rainbow of parts, but other than that there’s nothing different between it and so many other iterations in various sets.
Still, it’s fun to play with and I always like to share the mechanism in my reviews for those new to the theme.
The engine and rear differential are combined and fortified with a pair of 3×19 Technic frames.
Next, we add some connective elements to create exhaust and cover the engine with a pair of light bluish gray Technic panels. You’d think this color would be a commonly used part, but it’s not, only appearing a couple other sets.
Apart from all the small pins and connectors, our one true pop of color arrives in the drivers seat – a brilliant lime. On the opposite side of the driver we do some interesting bending of light bluish gray rigid hose to create what I believe are the powertrain cables.
For the first time ever, we have a Technic hybrid car that demonstrates both a fuel and electric engine. While the V6 sits at the back, a couple of Hero Factory weapon barrels represent the electric motor at the front. It’s sits within a 7×11 Technic frame that, until this point, was only seen in a couple LEGO Education sets. The “motor” connects to the “new” and less common differential. It appears to have been based on size/tooth count so that everything fits in the frame, but it’s perhaps notable that this element has a bit more friction than the back differential.
One more thing to note here is that the only new mold in the set comes in the form a a black L-shaped “flip-flop” Technic beam. This new element joins a recent family of beams that all share alternating holes, but is the first with a bend. Very useful!
As previously mentioned, it takes a little more oomph to spin the internals of the differential, but that doesn’t change how it plays, especially when built. And once again, if you look carefully you can see how the tiny bit of give in the CV joints is so important.
Another thing that I appreciate here is the build process for the steering. The gear that is connected to the steering wheel is put on as a placeholder, but not pushed into position until the whole assembly is finished, ensuring everything is lined up correctly.
Following suit with the back, we add another spring for the front differential. While the back spring sits underneath the differential, this one sits above everything.
The spring is heavy duty for sure. It’s a little tough to demonstrate the suspension without the wheels on, but I did my best. The whole assembly is satisfyingly beefy.
And with that complete, we connect the front and back together. Another thing I’d like to mention about the build process of this model is how the designers tried to make it easier at every turn. Often with large Technic models, we are tasked with attaching a large chunk to a plethora of pins on the receiving side, and it’s a painful process. (How often do you find yourself wrestling pins into holes like a toddler’s legs into a pair of pants?) Here, the car is built in such a way that most of the time the pins are inserted halfway through holes on the to-be-added section, and are fully pushing in when both halves are partial connected.
With the steering gear pushed into place on the rack, we can now use the steering wheel. This is connected via gears and axles (under and then behind the drivers seat) to the knob that comes out the roof.
We’ve had lots of super vehicles in lots of cool colors, but this is the first time we’ve had one that is mostly all gray. Some might say that’s boring, but it’s such a useful color! And thankfully, we get to use some new and rare part color variants. Listing them all might be a bit dull for you, but in general, they come from the panel family. These are just nine, and I’ll point out more shortly.
The new corner panels (used as headlights in the Ford GT 2022) round out the crown nicely here. And a handful of system elements complete the top.
Also rare are another couple of big black tapered mudguard panels, which are emblazoned with large stickers and round out the sides. At this point we also add the doors.
The mechanism for the doors is simple, but smooth. The wide angle allows for pretty good access to the steering wheel. However, it’s instinctual to pick up the model from this area and it’s easy to lose your grip as the doors pop open.
From here we return to the back of the vehicle, where we add some more rare black and red panels and orange connector beams to create the iconic tail lights and spoiler.
The back paneling includes a few more recolors and rare bits. Particularly notable are the dark bluish gray mudguards. We’ll return to this section and why it’s special shortly.
There are some gaps here that aren’t ideal, but overall the designers did a great job of replicating the body.
On the opposite end of the vehicle, we use a couple more of the alternating hole L-beams for support. We also use 4L glow-in-the-dark rods clipped into little L-beams at angles to achieve the headlights.
It’s interesting how incredibly different the techniques are between headlights and taillights, but they both nail the look.
From here we install the top of the front fender, which includes a couple recolors in the form of small panels. We also add the hood, which uses a linkage mechanism for a smooth open and close.
Another rare element, a 15L black mudguard only previously seen in the Ford F-150, is used to round out the window area. Like the back (and with any Technic set, really) there are some odd gaps, but generally speaking, everything is buttoned up pretty well.
With the body complete, it’s time to finally add wheels and we’re finished!
The completed model
I’ve heard a lot of murmurings that many people think this vehicle is ugly as heck. To each their own, but I don’t think the “ugly” sentiment comes from them thinking this isn’t true to the source inspiration. It definitely has a strong resemblance to the real thing. Personally, I don’t have much to say on if it looks pretty or ugly, but I would say it does look mean, especially in the head-on picture below…
Admittedly, I’m not a big race car fan. It’s not that I don’t like race cars, I just don’t know much about them, and they don’t get me as excited as some other people. Instead, I review these sets simply as a Technic fan, and as a Technic fan, I can certainly respect the effort made here. So apart from having opinions one way or another on how pretty this or the real car is, I’d like to focus on the techniques, ease of building, and the play features.
The puzzle-piece meshing of all the panels is about as good as it gets on a Technic car. Also, the dual suspension on both the front and back, as well as the techniques for the head and tail lights are all quite pleasing.
Apart from the fact that the doors open when you try to pick it up, and that they are a wee bit small and skeletal, I do like the angle they open and how they feel. The steering wheel is always a little hard to get to in these models (hence the knob on top), but I think that, despite the small doors, it’s not any more difficult here. I’m also a fan of being able to see under the hood, and that smooth mechanism.
I mentioned that we’d loop back to the rear paneling. One thing I really like about this set is that all the back bodywork is assembled as one large removable piece. It is simply held in place by a few axels in pinholes. On one hand, you wouldn’t want to flip the model over, because it would just fall off. But on the other hand, this allows us easy access to see all the cool moving parts while staying true to the shape and design. You could always swap the axel pins for plain black pins if you wanted to keep it solid.
Conclusions and recommendations
Overall, I find that I can appreciate this set specifically for the fun build process, the unique techniques, and the new parts. It’s not the best set to buy simply for the parts (in terms of part-out value). But if you’re someone who likes to build these to learn something and then take it apart for reuse, it’s perfect! It’s not a set that I would personally choose to display long-term, but perhaps a big racing fan would.
If you like this review, stick around and check out all of our deep dives into Technic sets!
LEGO Technic 42156 PEUGEOT 9×8 24H Le Mans Hybrid Hypercar includes 1775 pieces. It is currently available from multiple retailers for US $199.99 | CAN $279.99 | UK £169.99.
The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.
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