8880 Super Car: The best engineered classic Technic set of the 1990s
Posted by FlagsNZ,
For many Technic AFOL enthusiasts, 8880 Super Car marks the pinnacle of what can be achieved with completely brick-built Technic engineering. This set is the flagship Technic set for 1994 and has gone into Technic lore of what can be achieved with good engineering using the original brick-built techniques.
Read on to see how LEGO designed Technic brick-built sets in the 1990s. See how this set incorporated four wheel drive and four wheel steering features, while also having the distinction of being the first Technic set with a V8 engine.
Box/Instructions
As with all significant Technic sets, 8880 Super Car comes in a large box. The front of the box has a great image of the car superimposed over a 1:1 scale profile.
As you can see, my box has seen better days.
The rear of the box shows the B model which is a Formula 1 Car; this could be a stand-alone set by itself.
LEGO used to include a plastic sorting tray with these big boxes. Today, sets come in numbered bags instead. I'm not sure which format I prefer: the numbered bags segregates parts during the build experience when new, but having a sorting tray is a convenient way of making future builds easier to manage.
The instructions are bound in one book. The B model instructions start at the rear cover and work back toward the middle of the book. This set was produced in an age before B model instructions could be downloaded from the Internet.
I have two 8880 Super Cars; one set of instructions has pages 16/17 as a corrected insert. Build step 18 has been corrected by replacing a ball with cross axle with a ball with friction snap as the steering knuckles.
Both of my 8880 Super Cars were bought second hand; however, they have different steering arms: the first set I bought came with the steering arm with pin connection (Part 6540a) on the left, while the second set came with steering arm with axle connection (Part 6540b) on the right. It is this second part which has been inserted as a modification.
The first set I bought also came with three additional grey large steering arms with hub (Part 6540) as spares. I am wondering whether there was some technical design issues with these steering arms and I would like to hear from any members who had this set from new and can shed light on these amendments with the modified page and parts.
There is a mixture of printed parts and stickers. The sticker sheet has an alternative dashboard and Octan sponsorship for the B model - Formula 1 race car.
Parts
There are 1343 parts divided into 36 building steps. This means that there are several steps that have more than 30 parts allocated to them; this is a far cry from today's style of having only a few pieces per building step.
As an example, here is build step 29 which includes 42 pieces.
This set occurred at the watershed from fully brick-built to the more modern studless building techniques. There are several parts unique to this set as well as a few parts that continue to be found in sets over 20 years later.
The build
As stated above, the build is divided into 36 steps. By step 20 the sub-chassis is complete along with the gearbox and steering system.
As this model is four-wheel drive, there are three differentials.
The set uses Technic balls as CV joints in the steering wheel hubs. This is a close up photo of the front steering and suspension assembly. As 5M axles did not appear until 1998, this set has joined a 3M and 2M axle on each of the four drive shafts.
This set uses a chain drive to connect the V8 engine onto the drive train. The steering pinion axle is threaded through the chain. The front steering turns twice as far as the rear by using a 16 tooth pinion at the front and an eight tooth pinion at the rear.
By step 29 the V8 engine is assembled and attached, the steering wheel and Hand of God steering is connected, and the dash board is built complete with dipping head lights.
The standout feature of this set which has not been matched on any other Technic set is the ease in which the gears can be changed. This is achieved by the use of a stick shift plate and Technic stick shift.
These two parts have only been seen in this set. They allow the smoothest gear transitions of any Technic set that I have seen.
The driving ring or synchroniser and axle connector first appeared in 1993 in set 8824 Hovercraft; however, this is the first Technic set to use these parts in a functioning gear box.
Here is a close up photo of the V8 engine, rear suspension and Hand of God steering wheel.
A close up photo of the front suspension.
This set uses toothed half bushes throughout.
These toothed parts first appeared in 1980 and offered some rigid design possibilities. The toothed half bushes suffered from stress fractures and so the toothed system has been withdrawn.
There are a few occasions where the build requires a small amount of force to flex and connect components. Today this would likely be called illegal.
The B Model
As mentioned earlier, the B model is a Formula 1 Car; this could be a stand-alone set by itself.
Half way through the build, the B model chassis is complete.
This model has front wheel steering only: the rear steering arms are rigidly held in place.
The amended instruction page does not include new graphics for the B model's steering arms; I guess that LEGO assumed that customers would recognise that the changes required for the primary model would also be required in the B model. Perhaps there was an amended page for the B model which I have not received.
The sleek Formula 1 race car body work has been enabled with the use of the black hinge plates.
The completed model
The model is finished off with black Technic beams with a sandwich of black and yellow plates that makes the trim. The shape is achieved by the generous use black hinge plates. The entire shaped body is made using these studded brick pieces.
The rear hatch lifts up to reveal the engine. The circular pistons were introduced in 1990 and have been included in a few Technic sets by 1994. A couple of sets had V6 engines but this is the first Technic set to include a V8 engine. This Super Car continues the trend of having the engine at the rear of the car.
Apart from the individual cylinder blocks, the engine itself is fully brick-built.
There is Technic livery with 4x4x4; four wheels with four wheel drive and four wheel steering.
There were several cars in the 1990s that had this configuration, with Toyota Celica and Subaru Alcyone being two examples.
The sleek Formula 1 race car looks great when completed.
The B model has a two speed gear box and the steering is controlled directly from the steering wheel.
Overall opinion
The LEGO Technic designers included a whole lot of engineering into this set and, as such, the set holds a position of awe amongst Technic AFOL enthusiasts.
The instructions do not include any indication for adding a motor although there is plenty of room to add a modern Power Functions M Motor next to the central differential. There is quite a lot of torque between the V8 engine and the wheels so maybe this is why motorisation was not considered.
The suspension is rather stiff but this is handled well by the extremely rigid brick-built chassis. The suspension in the B model is slightly softer due to the shock absorbers being set in at an angle.
I like the fact that the Hand of God steering also operates the principle steering wheel although there is quite a lot of resistance in the steering system if you use the actual steering wheel to turn the car.
The original ball with cross axle steering knuckles often disconnect from the steering arms which is not such a common problem with the modified steering arms with ball with friction snap steering knuckles described above.
Shifting gears is so smooth that it is a shame that LEGO have not used the unique shifter parts in any other set.
There are a couple of STAMPs. The Technic livery with 4x4x4 sticker sits on two 1x8 black tiles. These two parts lie underneath the steering rack of the B model which would wear away the sticker if placed here; I substituted other tiles here to preserve the stickered parts. The Octan livery on the B model is also applied as STAMPs.
The speedo for the A model indicates a speed of 147 km/h (91 mph) which is performance you would expect from a sleek sports car.
This set does reach the upper limit of design possibilities using the traditional brick-built techniques. I can see why Technic evolved over the following few years to include lift arms, panels and flexible hoses.
This set is still available at quite reasonable prices and should be included in any serious Technic enthusiast's collection.
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29 comments on this article
A lot of really neat parts from these older Technic sets... that shift plate is fantastic.
What a pity the Super Car boxed set I bought the other day from a charity shop didn't actually contain this car! It would have been great. (It contained the Test Car).
Back in the day, this model was - for lack of better words - the dog's bits. I have a lovely memory of watching in awe as my older cousins built one on Christmas day, and even motorised it so that it could move.
Even now, it still holds up as a wonderful model because it 'looks' like LEGO. I'd give my right arm to have one new to build.
I should really not read articles like this. It makes me sad about what I missed in 30-odd years of LEGO... :(
xD
Geez, that box is in bad shape. This set is indeed great. I built the B model for the first time a few months ago and also loved it. I remember Lego made a life-size version of this at time of release. That was truly something to behold, much like the giant dinosaur from Control Center II that they have at Legoland California. In short, Technic rules!
It's really cool how much functionality was packed into this set, but I have to admit, in my eyes, it looks... really raw. I'm not even sure if it's the studs that give it this effect (I have no problem with heavily-studded System sets and MOCs) so much as the boxy corners that studded beams/Technic bricks invariably have. The "joints" between studless beams tend to feel much smoother. The lack of any panels to fill out the exterior contribute to this effect as well, making the set feel half-finished.
I understand that not everybody will feel this way. The huge gaps that make it so hard for me to look at also means you get a nice view of all the moving parts, which I know for some people is a big part of the Technic theme's appeal! For others, studded building simply feels like a more genuine LEGO building experience. But to me, more modern studless sets like http://brickset.com/sets/8070-1/Super-Car just seem a lot more appealing.
Great review though. I wasn't old enough for Technic when this set came out, and a lot of the Technic sets I grew up with in the late 90s and early naughts had plenty of faults of their own (as did most themes of that era), so it's great to see what I missed out on!
Cool, brings me back to the 90's, (obviously)
I got this car for my birthday in 1994. I was also sick at the time, so I was stuck inside the house with this set and all the time in the world. Good times..
@lippidp
The life-size model was also present at Lego World 2013 in Utrecht, The Netherlands. So I guess they held onto it all those years; at least I can't imagine they re-built it! Here's a picture: https://www.flickr.com/photos/miies80/10406138744/
Great review of a truly awesome set. I remember getting this set of Christmas in 1994 and spending most of the day building it. One major issue I had with this set is the toothed bushing popping off where they hold the suspension springs on.
A word on motorization. I've tried a couple of time to motorize this set and failed. What I've determined is that there is far too much friction in engine constitution. I believe the small chain link drive belt the links several items is mostly responsible. The engine would need to be rebuilt to be more similar to 8448's engine, which can be motorized. 8448's engine has more of a directly connected to drive shaft and lacks the chain link drive belt. There also maybe some issues in the transmission. But if I remember correctly the transmissions in 8448 and 8880 are similar in construction and function.
^^ That is a really great photo of the life-size version of this model. Thanks for posting the link.
^ 8448 Super Street Sensation is one of my favourite Technic sets. It has a five speed gear box plus reverse. 8880 has four ahead gears. The gear ratios of these two cars are different, as by the time 8448 came out there were all the bevel gears available.
I am looking forward to the 42056 Porsche release later in the year. I am hoping that it combines the best engineering and aesthetics found in 8880, 8448 and 8070.
I plan to review 8448 in about a month.
I never realised that the 1994 Super Car was so intricate and engineered right to the edge, even with a stick shift gearbox for the four wheel drive so it's fascinating to see the nitty gritty on this model. I can see where Aanchir is coming from commenting that it is half finished (to paraphrase), but I'm assuming there must have been a point in time when TLG decided that the builder isn't interested in being able to actually see the engineering working and covered most of the models in panelling. But then licensing followed and we now have many licensed Technic sets which have to look like real vehicles. Still think I prefer the compression system and looks of the Air-Tech Claw Rig from 1992 though!
That's a great article and a trip back in time when I drooled looking at the catalogue, unable to have one!
But, as far as studded Technic engineering goes, I'm not sure if it represents the absolute pinnacle: to me, it's perhaps almost at the top, surpassed only by the 8480 Space Shuttle.
^ 8480 Space Shuttle is my next review. Watch this space, pun intended.
1996 saw the introduction of the Lift Arm which 8480 Space Shuttle incorporated into its cargo bay doors. http://rebrickable.com/parts/6629.
This set epitomizes the Technic theme as I discovered it back in the 1990s! As a boy, my dad took me on a visit to his boss's home. Turns out the guy was the first AFOL I ever met. Although I was entranced by his 9V train layout, my parting glimpse of the Super Car planted a seed of fascination and desire that blossomed into a full-blown pursuit for a copy of the set when I was an adult. I found one for a pretty penny on eBay back in 2010, but the bags were still sealed and the set was never built. I built it in 2011, and took numerous photos. It looks so impressive all shiny and new in spite of the now-archaic stud beams and toothed parts. Indeed, it is the pinnacle of Lego Technic engineering, and I consider it one of Lego's "Holy Grails". Glad to see it get such love on here!
Those pictures are fantastic!!! I love the pop-up headlights. That mechanism was an improvement over the design in the Test Car, I thought, and was always one of my favorite features. The best Technic gear box is in 2001's 4x4 gold truck.
The most exiting build I ever had in my Techic life!
"there are several steps that have more than 30 parts allocated to them"
That's pure awesomeness.
Since I quit my dark ages a few weeks ago, I have been disassembling, cleaning and comparing part lists of my old sets from the late 80s to mid-90s.
The last set I disassembled was the Super Car (saved the biggest for the end) and I just finished checking it's part list two hours ago. Only two pieces were missing (73983 + 4265b), but luckily I had them in my spares box :)
It was quite a solid build and took about 1.5 hours to disassemble and sort the parts. I got it for Christmas in 1995 and I remember it was a great building experience. I tried to add a motor but my motors from 8720 and 8700 were too weak.
I didn't really play with my Legos but liked to build my own constructions. However the Super Car was too precious so I built it once and since then it sat in my room for 20 years.
853, 8860, 8865, 8880. Every car had more functions and more body. Supercars haven't been the same since then. And still... 8448 is my favourite supercar. A great mix of studs and studless, very well designed and great looks. The better gearbox and wing doors easily making up for the lack of 4WD.
Looking forward to your article about the Space Shuttle. That's still one of the best Technic sets ever.
I wish Technic went back to studs like this. I would buy so many more sets. I love that this actually looks like it is Lego!
I' m seriously considering getting this or subsequent Space Shuttle in MISB condition (or close). Thanks for articles that will probably help me decide which one...
The only problem is that I'm already planning to get Bucket Wheel Excavator this year. But next year, who knows...
Nice review. My generous father offered me to choose between 8868 and 8880 at Christmas back in 1994. I chose 8868 and never regreted it. That is the best Technic set ever IMO. But also wanted the 8880 badly in mint condition with box and finally I managed to purchase it from my friend after dark ages. Built it at Christmas 2008 and it was WOW. Excellent engineering and design by every piece. It was challenging to build even as an adult. That is something I really miss nowdays. It remains a remarkable set along with 8868, 8480, 8479, 8485...
Two words for 90s Technic: Code Pilot.
I got this set twice, just so I could have both the A model and B model together, but sadly, the B model has ended up in pieces. As you've mentioned in the review, I've had to replace many of the half bushes due to them breaking (this has happened on many sets).
I've also managed to switch the steering wheel to the right hand side through simple mirroring of the instructions.
I have no idea why the gear stick mechanism was dropped after this, since it was one of the highlights of the set.
This is a fantastic set! For some reason I did not buy it when it was for sale at the stores. When I finally desided to buy it, it was gone from the stores shelf. I was so dissapointed of myself at that time. Then come internet and in 2000 came Bricklink. This was the first set I bought after registering to Bricklink in 2003 :)
I love how the designers could manage to get the supercar feel with sleek lines out of square-ish parts. But it actually looks more like an rally car.
The color scheme is also good. And lots of technic moving parts: realistic 4-wheel steering, independent suspension, V8 engine, working transmission...
This is the best Technic set that has been made in my opinion. And is still my favorite set.
The life-size 8880 could be seen in Copenhagen in 2015.
What a beautiful model - it's one of my "if only I'd got it back then" sets... I also remember when Lego took the lifesize version on tour (nowhere near me, of course) and I still boggle at the sight of it...
I own 8448 and it's also a fantastic set. 5 speed + reverse, V8. It's got a bit more styling than 8880, but lacks 4-wheel drive and 4-wheel steering. Much as I love 8448, I have to agree--8880 is the pinnacle of Technic Super Cars. I wrote a bricklest about these and the other Super Cars, if anyone's interested (shameless plug: http://brickset.com/sets/list-7808 )
Great article.
This really made me laugh though:
"The speedo for the A model indicates a speed of 147 km/h (91 mph) which is performance you would expect from a sleek sports car."
In 1974 maybe.....
The Subaru Alcyone(SVX) as referenced in the article had a top speed of 143 mph (230 km/h) post 1994, 154 mph (248 km/h) prior to that.
Wow, I see that overnight I have taken people on a nostalgic trip down Technic memory lane.
Thanks for all your comments. I like searching through your most-loved-sets, and I agree, 8868 Air Tech Claw is worthy of further investigation.
@ ra226, I have read through your bricklist which is a great summary. Thanks for posting the link.
@ mickywrx, when you put it like you have, yes, 147 km/h does not seem so sporty. Not even close to what Possum Bourne could have achieved.