Review: 77261 Ferrari 499P
Posted by CapnRex101,
Speed Champions polybags often accompany a minifigure-scale rendition of each car, so 30709 Ferrari 499P - Hypercar was fairly unusual when released in 2025, without a minifigure-scale car alongside. 77261 Ferrari 499P has followed this year instead.
Endurance racing cars are usually well-suited to the modern Speed Champions format, which can recreate their wide proportions and extremely low ground clearance. The model certainly looks realistic on the whole, albeit with some compromises to be discussed.
Summary
77261 Ferrari 499P, 329 pieces.
£22.99 / $29.99 / €27.99 | 7.0p, 9.1c, 8.5c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
I am pleased with the Ferrari 499P, but new parts are needed for a perfect LMH car
- Very realistic proportions
- Attractive and accurate livery
- Clever building techniques, most notably for the headlights
- Bumpy front bodywork
- Holes above the wheels need stickers
- Few printed parts for a Speed Champions set
Minifigure
Like in many Speed Champions sets, the minifigure included is dressed in racing overalls that match their car. Surprisingly, this design is based on the drivers' attire from the current season, featuring a yellow stripe around their waist and the name of each driver, represented here by a couple of black bands.
The sponsors are omitted though, which is interesting because they are featured on the actual car. Moreover, the yellow patches on the shoulders should extend across the arms and printed legs would have been welcome as well. I like the branded helmet though, returning from 60443 F1 Pit Stop & Pit Crew with Ferrari Car.
As normal, the minifigure comes with a silver wrench and an alternative hair element, while the head is double-sided, featuring two different smiling expressions.
Reference
Source - www.commons.wikimedia.org
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The Completed Model
Speed Champions struggled with endurance racers during its early years, but the transition to eight-stud-wide proportions has greatly improved the situation. 76906 1970 Ferrari 512 M and 76916 Porsche 963 were both quite impressive and the Ferrari 499P looks superb too, though there are still some areas to develop further.
However, the car's low profile and general shape look extremely accurate, especially from the top and sides, where one or two questionable details are less obvious. The cockpit is properly positioned and I like how the distinctive fin linked to the rear wing is designed without the need for specialised pieces, despite a couple of small gaps.
Furthermore, this model definitely improves on 76916 Porsche 963, thanks to parts introduced since the Porsche was released. The bodywork behind the cockpit is smoother and the wheels look substantially better. I criticised the Porsche 963 for its small wheels in 2023 and while their diameter remains the same, these printed racing tyres are far more accurate.
Despite the improvements in some areas, I think the front remains the weakest section of this model. Admittedly, the actual bodywork design would be very difficult to replicate because it is supposed to curve downward towards the nose and flare out over the wheels, but even so, the sharp transitions between the bonnet element in the middle and the curved slopes beside are awkward.
The cutouts above the wheels are only represented by stickers, which is another issue, though an understandable one without new parts. However, I like the white headlights, using triangular signs sandwiched between bricks, while the stickered details are accurate as well. There are 34 stickers in total, plus quite a few printed elements, including the windscreen.
The interior is cramped, as expected on this kind of car, but there is ample room for the driver with a printed steering wheel, which returns from the Formula 1 sets. I expect the 2L bars with stoppers placed inside are supposed to represent the mechanical systems around the driver in the real car.
In addition to various sponsors and its racing number, the car is decorated with a yellow stripe across the roof and down either side. This livery appeared in the 2025 season and differs from 30709 Ferrari 499P - Hypercar, which was inspired by the 2023 car.
The yellow 1x2 panels and one of the 1x4 curved wedge slopes behind the cockpit are printed, including the fuel cap on this slope, which is a nice detail. I wish the curvature of the bodywork continued further back though, as it should taper all the way to the rear, only interrupted by the two exhausts.
However, the shape of the rear wing and the fin between these exhausts looks almost perfect. As mentioned earlier, there is a gap where parts comprising the fin join, but I am not sure how that could have been avoided. Similarly, the rear wing is chunkier than it should be, which is an issue on several Speed Champions sets, but would require unique elements to improve.
The complex diffuser looks splendid though, with the narrow beam wing attached above using clips. This 1x8 tile is decorated with the rear light along its edge and I like how the bodywork is constructed around the wing, to look as thin and relatively fragile as possible.
Overall
Though still some way from perfect, 77261 Ferrari 499P is the best endurance racer in Speed Champions to date. The car's proportions and general shape are quite accurate and the livery looks superb, as normal for Ferrari. The bodywork around the cockpit is particularly impressive, greatly improving on 76916 Porsche 963.
There are still some problems, however. The bonnet should be a lot smoother and I really wish the gaps in the body above the wheels were represented physically, without a need for stickers. That would need a new wheel arch, though I think such a piece could be useful for other cars in the future, so maybe it should have been considered. Nonetheless, this model is well executed, albeit not a standout for Speed Champions this year.
73 likes
23 comments on this article
I just built this yesterday! It's a great model of one of my favourite racing cars.
I agree that Lego should introduce new wheel arches to allow these cars to have actual gaps above the wheels. The Cadillac Hypercar from Mattel Brick Shop has the gaps and it's biggest advantage it has over the Lego hypercar models.
Looks pretty good, one of the better SC sets. But considering the number of (essential) stickers, this is a clear no for me. Guess I'll just have to make do with my 30709....
Got this couple of weeks ago. I've got the Porsche hypercar and now I need the BMW to have all the Speed Champions hypercars. I hope Lego makes more, given how popular WEC is.
The price increases are ruining this series. They're asking $42.99 for this in Canada. That's up from $34.99 on the sets last year, and $29.99 from two years ago. They aren't any bigger. They aren't any better. So why is the price going up 43% in two years? Now even with a 30% discount they're more than they should be.
I'd got the polybag last year with 77242 Ferrari SF-24 when it was a GWP with any Ferrari. Got this last month with the Fast and Furious Supra. This is very good but the chrome wheels on the Supra won the day for me!
I was surprised how similar this looked to the Porsche so I finally bit the bullet and spent the last 30 min reading up about car racing. I clearly knew nothing beyond the occasional movie (Ford vs Ferrari, Days of Thunder, Driven, Phantom Menace, etc) and have not yet watched Rush or F1, though I’m a big Hans Zimmer fan.
I think they did a pretty good job here but that many stickers for such a small set would seem to be a Con for me. I’m guessing it’s pretty standard for these?
I’m going to just hold out hope for some 6 wide everyday type branded cars like a Honda Civic or Toyota Sienna, lol. My dream set remains my cherished FJ Cruiser. :o)
@yellowcastle said:
"...and have not yet watched Rush or F1, though I’m a big Hans Zimmer fan."
If you want to learn anything about F1, better don't watch that movie...it makes Days of Thunder seem like a documentary....
It does look a lot better than the other two hypercars. Kinda wish Lego had released them all in one wave like they did for F1
@yellowcastle said:
"I was surprised how similar this looked to the Porsche so I finally bit the bullet and spent the last 30 min reading up about car racing. I clearly knew nothing beyond the occasional movie (Ford vs Ferrari, Days of Thunder, Driven, Phantom Menace, etc) and have not yet watched Rush or F1, though I’m a big Hans Zimmer fan.
I think they did a pretty good job here but that many stickers for such a small set would seem to be a Con for me. I’m guessing it’s pretty standard for these?
I’m going to just hold out hope for some 6 wide everyday type branded cars like a Honda Civic or Toyota Sienna, lol. My dream set remains my cherished FJ Cruiser. :o)"
Don’t bother with the recent F1 movie, it’s muck for Drive to Survive level ‘F1 fans’ (term used very loosely). Watch the Stallone classic Driven instead. The F1 movie is basically an inferior remake of it.
@CapnRex101 I just noticed that the minifig for this set doesn't doesn't have a Brickset entry.
@yellowcastle said:
"I was surprised how similar this looked to the Porsche so I finally bit the bullet and spent the last 30 min reading up about car racing. I clearly knew nothing beyond the occasional movie (Ford vs Ferrari, Days of Thunder, Driven, Phantom Menace, etc) and have not yet watched Rush or F1, though I’m a big Hans Zimmer fan.
I think they did a pretty good job here but that many stickers for such a small set would seem to be a Con for me. I’m guessing it’s pretty standard for these?
I’m going to just hold out hope for some 6 wide everyday type branded cars like a Honda Civic or Toyota Sienna, lol. My dream set remains my cherished FJ Cruiser. :o)"
They have a brick-built 1950s pink Cadillac at some of the F1 races that is actually drivable, and even looks like an up-scaled set! I'm waiting for that to become a actual set. I also want a Ford Model T (or A) in minifig scale, along with a Stanley Steamer, 1951 Studebaker Commander, (gotta have somewhere to put those Fozzie and Kermit minifigs!), a Duesenberg, the Phantom MK III Rolls Royce from Goldfinger, and Herbie the VW Beetle. Others are wanted too, but I am not trying to swamp anybody with suggestions!
Call it classic champions for most of those, while the film ones can still go in Speed Champions.
I liked the polybag in large part because having dramatically different silhouettes really matters at that scale, but I don’t think I like the car itself to be excited about the bigger version. On the plus side none of the stickers look like they’re going to thoroughly resist staying stuck so that’s an improvement.
@yellowcastle said:
"...I clearly knew nothing beyond the occasional movie (Ford vs Ferrari, Days of Thunder, Driven, Phantom Menace, etc) and have not yet watched Rush or F1, though I’m a big Hans Zimmer fan.
..."
You should see Rush, that's a good one. I think it's a very well balanced film, with a bit of action, drama, humor, love, and emotions. Probably the best racing movie I have seen. Based on true events and real people, with a lot of attention to detail, makes everything even better. It manages to dive deep into the mindset of racing drivers in a way that stuff like, for example, Driven doesn't even come close to. All to the trademark sound of Zimmer too.
I should re-watch it. Again.
@gunther_schnitzel said:
" @yellowcastle said:
"I was surprised how similar this looked to the Porsche so I finally bit the bullet and spent the last 30 min reading up about car racing. I clearly knew nothing beyond the occasional movie (Ford vs Ferrari, Days of Thunder, Driven, Phantom Menace, etc) and have not yet watched Rush or F1, though I’m a big Hans Zimmer fan.
I think they did a pretty good job here but that many stickers for such a small set would seem to be a Con for me. I’m guessing it’s pretty standard for these?
I’m going to just hold out hope for some 6 wide everyday type branded cars like a Honda Civic or Toyota Sienna, lol. My dream set remains my cherished FJ Cruiser. :o)"
Don’t bother with the recent F1 movie, it’s muck for Drive to Survive level ‘F1 fans’ (term used very loosely). Watch the Stallone classic Driven instead. The F1 movie is basically an inferior remake of it."
Driven?! Classic?! I, disagree.
Lake event, could seem pure fantasy, but similar has happened IRL, outcome was not fatal, but very serious. Hirokazu Nagaya at Suzuka.
@M_Jibril said:
" @CapnRex101 I just noticed that the minifig for this set doesn't doesn't have a Brickset entry."
Talk to Bricklink. All minifig data is harvested from Bricklink on a daily basis. If the minifig hasn't been cataloged there, it won't show up here either.
@capnrex101 Please include stickers photo in reviews. :)
@Murdoch17 said:
" @yellowcastle said:
"I was surprised how similar this looked to the Porsche so I finally bit the bullet and spent the last 30 min reading up about car racing. I clearly knew nothing beyond the occasional movie (Ford vs Ferrari, Days of Thunder, Driven, Phantom Menace, etc) and have not yet watched Rush or F1, though I’m a big Hans Zimmer fan.
I think they did a pretty good job here but that many stickers for such a small set would seem to be a Con for me. I’m guessing it’s pretty standard for these?
I’m going to just hold out hope for some 6 wide everyday type branded cars like a Honda Civic or Toyota Sienna, lol. My dream set remains my cherished FJ Cruiser. :o)"
They have a brick-built 1950s pink Cadillac at some of the F1 races that is actually drivable, and even looks like an up-scaled set! I'm waiting for that to become a actual set. I also want a Ford Model T (or A) in minifig scale, along with a Stanley Steamer, 1951 Studebaker Commander, (gotta have somewhere to put those Fozzie and Kermit minifigs!), a Duesenberg, the Phantom MK III Rolls Royce from Goldfinger, and Herbie the VW Beetle. Others are wanted too, but I am not trying to swamp anybody with suggestions!
Call it classic champions for most of those, while the film ones can still go in Speed Champions."
How about Movie Champions for all the film-based cars? (I think Fast and Furious should have its own Speed Champions subtheme though.)
@PurpleDave said:
" @M_Jibril said:
" @CapnRex101 I just noticed that the minifig for this set doesn't doesn't have a Brickset entry."
Talk to Bricklink. All minifig data is harvested from Bricklink on a daily basis. If the minifig hasn't been cataloged there, it won't show up here either."
I see. I'm surprised Bricklink hasn't catalogued it yet when the set has been out for almost two months
@ShivaMT said:
" @gunther_schnitzel said:
" @yellowcastle said:
"I was surprised how similar this looked to the Porsche so I finally bit the bullet and spent the last 30 min reading up about car racing. I clearly knew nothing beyond the occasional movie (Ford vs Ferrari, Days of Thunder, Driven, Phantom Menace, etc) and have not yet watched Rush or F1, though I’m a big Hans Zimmer fan.
I think they did a pretty good job here but that many stickers for such a small set would seem to be a Con for me. I’m guessing it’s pretty standard for these?
I’m going to just hold out hope for some 6 wide everyday type branded cars like a Honda Civic or Toyota Sienna, lol. My dream set remains my cherished FJ Cruiser. :o)"
Don’t bother with the recent F1 movie, it’s muck for Drive to Survive level ‘F1 fans’ (term used very loosely). Watch the Stallone classic Driven instead. The F1 movie is basically an inferior remake of it."
Driven?! Classic?! I, disagree.
Lake event, could seem pure fantasy, but similar has happened IRL, outcome was not fatal, but very serious. Hirokazu Nagaya at Suzuka."
Describing Driven as a ‘classic’ was tongue in cheek, I have a friend who loves the film though. It was originally meant to be based in F1 but they wouldn’t give Stallone the rights to use F1 so he switched to CART.
The Frankenheimer F1 movie (Grand Prix) is decent, as is Le Mans starring Steve McQueen.
@M_Jibril said:
" @PurpleDave said:
" @M_Jibril said:
" @CapnRex101 I just noticed that the minifig for this set doesn't doesn't have a Brickset entry."
Talk to Bricklink. All minifig data is harvested from Bricklink on a daily basis. If the minifig hasn't been cataloged there, it won't show up here either."
I see. I'm surprised Bricklink hasn't catalogued it yet when the set has been out for almost two months"
https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?S=77261
Set was added June 1st. No inventory yet. That side of things is all done by volunteers, so a set could sit there indefinitely without a set inventory if nobody steps up.
@gunther_schnitzel said:
" @ShivaMT said:
" @gunther_schnitzel said:
" @yellowcastle said:
"I was surprised how similar this looked to the Porsche so I finally bit the bullet and spent the last 30 min reading up about car racing. I clearly knew nothing beyond the occasional movie (Ford vs Ferrari, Days of Thunder, Driven, Phantom Menace, etc) and have not yet watched Rush or F1, though I’m a big Hans Zimmer fan.
I think they did a pretty good job here but that many stickers for such a small set would seem to be a Con for me. I’m guessing it’s pretty standard for these?
I’m going to just hold out hope for some 6 wide everyday type branded cars like a Honda Civic or Toyota Sienna, lol. My dream set remains my cherished FJ Cruiser. :o)"
Don’t bother with the recent F1 movie, it’s muck for Drive to Survive level ‘F1 fans’ (term used very loosely). Watch the Stallone classic Driven instead. The F1 movie is basically an inferior remake of it."
Driven?! Classic?! I, disagree.
Lake event, could seem pure fantasy, but similar has happened IRL, outcome was not fatal, but very serious. Hirokazu Nagaya at Suzuka."
Describing Driven as a ‘classic’ was tongue in cheek, I have a friend who loves the film though. It was originally meant to be based in F1 but they wouldn’t give Stallone the rights to use F1 so he switched to CART.
The Frankenheimer F1 movie (Grand Prix) is decent, as is Le Mans starring Steve McQueen."
Ahh, that type of "classic" :)
Grand Prix, not bad for its time.
@Murdoch17 said:
" @yellowcastle said:
"I was surprised how similar this looked to the Porsche so I finally bit the bullet and spent the last 30 min reading up about car racing. I clearly knew nothing beyond the occasional movie (Ford vs Ferrari, Days of Thunder, Driven, Phantom Menace, etc) and have not yet watched Rush or F1, though I’m a big Hans Zimmer fan.
I think they did a pretty good job here but that many stickers for such a small set would seem to be a Con for me. I’m guessing it’s pretty standard for these?
I’m going to just hold out hope for some 6 wide everyday type branded cars like a Honda Civic or Toyota Sienna, lol. My dream set remains my cherished FJ Cruiser. :o)"
They have a brick-built 1950s pink Cadillac at some of the F1 races that is actually drivable, and even looks like an up-scaled set! I'm waiting for that to become a actual set. I also want a Ford Model T (or A) in minifig scale, along with a Stanley Steamer, 1951 Studebaker Commander, (gotta have somewhere to put those Fozzie and Kermit minifigs!), a Duesenberg, the Phantom MK III Rolls Royce from Goldfinger, and Herbie the VW Beetle. Others are wanted too, but I am not trying to swamp anybody with suggestions!
Call it classic champions for most of those, while the film ones can still go in Speed Champions."
Probably a pipe dream, but I'd *love* a Tucker 48. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tucker_48
@TheOtherMike said:
"Probably a pipe dream, but I'd *love* a Tucker 48. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tucker_48"
I just watched a video about that a few days ago. You know the government will make sure it never happens.