Review: 76915 Pagani Utopia
Posted by CapnRex101,
Speed Champions has introduced an impressive variety of popular manufacturers, now including Pagani. Only founded in 1992, the famous brand has developed three hypercars, potentially most recognisable for their distinctive exhaust cluster and rear profile.
76915 Pagani Utopia captures those identifiable features and integrates some extraordinary construction methods, as expected of the Speed Champions range nowadays! This set also introduces an array of new elements, including an updated chassis and the windscreen, which are integral to the incredible shape of the model.
Summary
76915 Pagani Utopia, 249 pieces.
£19.99 / $24.99 / €24.99 | 8.0p/10.0c/10.0c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
Once again, Speed Champions reaches new heights with 76915 Pagani Utopia!
- Exceptional bodywork design
- Several new elements
- Unique construction
- Poor sticker colour matching
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Minifigure
Speed Champions cars are always accompanied by suitable drivers, generally wearing branded racing overalls. This minifigure is no exception, displaying the Pagani marque alongside several white panels. I like the blue stripes on the driver's shoulders, which stand out clearly against the otherwise muted colours.
Detail continues on the reverse, including the stitching common among these Speed Champions minifigures. The black helmet is equally typical, while the head underneath appears consistently and was actually seen in 76907 Lotus Evija only last year. Perhaps a more unusual design could have been supplied instead.
However, the alternative hair piece was a pleasant surprise, as this element has never appeared in dark orange before! This unkempt hair was created for Harry Potter and is rarely used outside the eponymous theme. A wrench is also provided to remove wheel inserts from the car, a routine fixture since 2015 when Speed Champions was launched.
Reference
Source - Pagani.com
The Completed Model
When assembled, the Pagani Utopia is considerably smaller than many Speed Champions cars and measures only 15cm in length, which is similar to 76907 Lotus Evija. However, the shape of the model looks superb, with accurate proportions in relation to the source material and beautiful sweeping lines, running for the entire length of the car.
This undulating curve is clearly visible from the side, interrupted only by a couple of studs, which can certainly be excused. After, any LEGO model should feature some visible studs. This curve benefits from one of six new elements included, as the standard 2x4x2 wheel arches have been replaced with less bulky equivalents, narrowing the bodywork over the wheels. The dimensions of the part are unchanged, but the structure behind the arch is simpler.
The transition between the headlights and the wheel arches therefore appears sleeker than ever before! As normal, the headlights are printed, so only eight stickers are required. However, there is an obvious colour difference between these stickers and the dark bluish grey parts. The detail across the front looks splendid though, with stacked 1x1 clips and ice skates recreating subtle bodywork features.
A new windscreen has been developed too, closely approximating the sweeping curvature of the Pagani Utopia's actual windscreen. The printing looks superb and correctly includes trans-black panels in the roof, although my favourite feature is actually the dark bluish grey decoration along the edges of the windscreen.
The windscreen can be removed to access the interior, which is nicely upholstered with medium nougat pieces. The headrests are particularly effective, while 1x2 rounded tiles form the base of each seat. Also, I like the 1x1 bows situated above the dashboard, representing the pronounced air conditioning vents found inside the Utopia.
Similar to the wheel arches, the chassis component common among Speed Champions models has been updated to remove extraneous plastic, so it should be more adaptable. In addition, the central section has been enlarged and lowered slightly, leaving only a few millimetres of ground clearance underneath!
Earlier sets have sometimes received criticism for their bodywork behind the cockpit, which has often comprised 2x4 wedge slopes. A new 2x5 wedge slope is therefore provided here, creating a much gentler angle and narrowing nearly to a point. The resulting shape is stunning and these pieces frame a trans-black 1x2x2 panel, with roller skates providing texture inside.
Pagani designs are probably most known for their clustered exhausts, with four pipes arranged within a circular housing. A printed 2x2 round tile represents those exhausts here, while another decorated tile forms a light in the middle of the diffuser. However, the structure is not excessively reliant on printing, as door elements are cleverly integrated to create the flaps.
Furthermore, the whole rear section is angled upwards and connected using clips, situated deep within the engine bay. This construction is unique among Speed Champions models and makes smart use of 1x2 grille slopes, lining up neatly beside the wheel arches. 1x2 grille slopes occupy the spaces beneath the aforementioned doors too.
Overall
Speed Champions designers have continued to refine the theme throughout its duration and the realism of 76915 Pagani Utopia exemplifies that improvement. The bodywork shaping is brilliant and takes full advantage of the new elements introduced this year, in conjunction with ingenious building techniques. The distinctive rear elevation is truly exceptional.
In fact, the only weakness of the model is the colour matching of its stickers, which is frustrating because such issues should be avoidable. Nevertheless, that does not overshadow an excellent addition to the growing Speed Champions garage and I can definitely recommend this set, even at the price of £19.99, $24.99 or €24.99.
174 likes
66 comments on this article
I was unaware that wrenches were included to remove the wheel inserts. Today I learned!
Who cares about the stickers anyway? I just want this car because it’s body is amazing!
They need to remake the McLaren senna now that they're bigger.
Once again, what a beauty the Speed Champions have turned out... Nowadays these are definitely the sets I look forward to most in the year, and when I build them, I savour them like an amazing dish in a 3* restaurant :)
I'm not into this line but it's a beautiful car. And frankly, the stickers in the front are optional.
Look! It HAS doors, only in the wrong place!
As I wait for the GWP for the Jazz Club (longest wait ever to pick up a Modular!) this gets added to the ever lengthening shopping list - looks superb and will accompany selected other Speed Champions on my shelf of vintage F1 cars...
LEGO designers seem to be having fun with a lot of the newer models, Speed Champions or nay. And I'm here for it.
What happened to the transparent stickers like the ones used, e.g., on the 8017 ? They worked really well: more than 10 years later they look freshly applied.
The shaping accomplished on these relatively small models always blows me away. I really need to pick one up at some point.
Really happy with the look of this model and I can't wait to buy it! Glad to see that it's up to the usual standard of Speed Champions' fascinating and innovative construction.
The color matching on the DB5 didn't bug me too much (I think it looks worse in photos than in person), so I'm not TOO bothered by the continuing problem. However, with the added $5 to the price tag, I'm definitely going to be less forgiving of stuff like this going forward.
I AM pleased to see the windscreen piece has good printing.
@Be_hapi said:
"They need to remake the McLaren senna now that they're bigger."
They are releasing a McLaren set on March 1st
Amazing work! Bravo LEGO!
My only problem with this set is the dark gray color choice :( looks so sad compared to the real car.
@Cheesey_Studios said:
"The shaping accomplished on these relatively small models always blows me away. I really need to pick one up at some point."
looking forward to your Youtube review of these! :)
This is beautiful and I love the details. One of my favorite aspects of this theme is the surprising and fascinating building techniques.
Speed Champions is such a great line, this one looks great. My detolf is completely packed already, might need to disassemble some of the old sets to make room for the March 1 releases
Although there is a slight colour difference in the stickers here, I've noticed a marked improvement in printing in general in the reviews for this year's sets. Here, for example, I think is the first time that poor printing on the windscreen hasn't needed to be mentioned.
Not the biggest fan of the Utopia, it just feels like a weird mix of the Zonda and Huayra, which just doesn't work. But this set is pretty great! Even that printed windscreen looks pretty much perfect, so much better than, say, the Countach. It's a shame about those stickers, I will never understand why they can't do better or else just make clear backed stickers. I would probably just leave them off. But otherwise just a great build, I especially love the use of the door pieces at the rear. Despite not liking the car, I might just get this.
Speed Champions has snuck up and become my favorite Lego theme. The varied techniques used always has me sitting there for a few seconds asking how they come up with some of these builds and the end products always look so good. Long may it continue!
Is it just me, or is there no LEGO logo when you zoom in on the new wheel arches on the second to last image??
I don't think I've ever not seen the logo on a stud before unless it's hollow.
@Hovie said:
"My only problem with this set is the dark gray color choice :( looks so sad compared to the real car."
Agreed. And because there are some new parts in the car, and the windscreen is printed, color swapping won't be possible. That being said, the shape is too pretty, and the build looks too interesting for me to pass it up. As others have noted, Speed Champions is quickly becoming my favorite theme, if it isn't already.
Wow, that is a beauty!
I'm not a car nut, and I don't generally go for the Speed Champions line, but this could easily be an impulse buy for me if I see it in Tesco for 30% off. Sometimes I like a build to keep me busy on my lunch break ;)
It's a shame TLG can't have enough trust in the cutting alignment of its sticker sheets. Those dark blueish grey backgrounds to the stickers surely don't even need to be there to cause the colour-match issue. I wonder if Speed Champion afficionados trim off the backgrounds before application... it's surely worth the effort.
@FARLANDER said:
"What happened to the transparent stickers like the ones used, e.g., on the 8017 ? They worked really well: more than 10 years later they look freshly applied."
They changed something with the transparent background on the stickers. I noticed it on the Hidden Side line, so maybe it was around two or three years ago. Either way, the glue became really obvious and visible, even pulling away from the sticker leaving unglued edges. I suppose they couldn't perfect it and maybe they use it less frequently now as a result. No idea why they changed the materials/glue though.
@empire0 said:
"Speed Champions is such a great line, this one looks great. My detolf is completely packed already, might need to disassemble some of the old sets to make room for the March 1 releases"
Detolf! I learned something new today :) Two things actually, check out my double-reply-on-a-single-post-skills!
Wow they finally managed to colour match the windscreen printing with the bricks!? I wonder if that means that later editions of previous models such as 76911: 007 Aston Martin DB5 will also get a color matched windscreen, that'd be very interesting to know...
What colour is that interior? Doesn't look like dark tan. Is it Warm Tan?
I've been hoping for a Pagani for years and this doesn't disappoint. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Speed Champions is the best line going right now.
i think i need that windscreen for star wars mocs.
A tad more affordable then the larger one:
$2,190,000.00 USD
This is a fantastic model of a beautiful looking car. I'll probably never see a Pagani in real life, which is one of the things that makes Lego so wonderful since we can own models of things we'd never be able to afford to own, whether it's hypercars or X-Wings.
Aside from my positive feelings toward the set as a whole, I'm looking forward to seeing this new windscreen in some other great builds.
The new 1x5 wedge slope will be used A LOT in future sets, I think. Cool design, I would leave most of the stickers off, tho.
Speed Champions and car sets in general have never been too interesting to me, but lately, and especially with them now being two-seaters, I find myself wanting them more and more. Overall they’re very well done sets.
@alldarker said:
"Once again, what a beauty the Speed Champions have turned out... Nowadays these are definitely the sets I look forward to most in the year, and when I build them, I savour them like an amazing dish in a 3* restaurant :)"
Speed Champions took me by surprise last year--I never had any interest in 8-wide cars, but the design and construction techniques just wowed me so much. I now have 5 and am looking forward to more!
This set looks really nice, right up until the last couple studs length at the back end. I'm just not quite buying how they blended it compared to the real thing. I also wonder if 2x4 wedge plates would have been less accurate but looked better. The points on the end kind of stick out over the other curves. I'd say this one is great, but not perfect.
@ComfySofa said:
"Wow, that is a beauty!
I'm not a car nut, and I don't generally go for the Speed Champions line, but this could easily be an impulse buy for me if I see it in Tesco for 30% off. Sometimes I like a build to keep me busy on my lunch break ;)
It's a shame TLG can't have enough trust in the cutting alignment of its sticker sheets. Those dark blueish grey backgrounds to the stickers surely don't even need to be there to cause the colour-match issue. I wonder if Speed Champion afficionados trim off the backgrounds before application... it's surely worth the effort."
Some certainly do the trimming. I remember seeing someone do that for the DB5 on Reddit. Others including myself will just skip certain stickers. That is what I did for most of the DB5 stickers, and it looks great! Skipping stickers may not look as good for this car though, due to the stickers adding shaping.
As to the Speed Champions line, I would highly recommend trying out a car! They have ingenious building techniques, excellent display value, and useful parts.
Great set and really looking forward to getting. Told the wife that instead of me buying them in mass at beginning of year would like to get them as gifts throughout the year... So not sure when I will get it, but will enjoy it when I do.
Finally, a speed champions car with doors!
@FARLANDER those stickers always get dust, hair, air bubbles, etc. I find them to be terrible.
I think this years lineup overall is the best so far, and the shaping of this one is superb. I mean, even at 8-wide these models are still very small scale, around 1:27. To get all that detail in LEGO is exceptionally difficult, kudos to the design team!
The real heroes this year though are the people developing new parts. The shape of windscreens has become somewhat of a pet peeve for me, but finally they have come up with something that makes sense. This sweep-around shape will be very useful, too bad it wasn't available for the Jesko! Also, I am amazed that it took them until now to start removing as much bulk as possible around the key features on parts, such as the wheel fenders and chassis, so that they become more usable. That is a great move and I hope it continues! In general I don't really like very specialized parts, and it always feels a bit like cheating when they solve a problem by coming up with a new part, but slopes with different angles are always welcome and should be very versatile. Same for the new SNOT-piece.
Will definitely buy most, if not all, SpeedChampions sets this year. But I will probably wait a while to see if they show up a little cheaper at my local stores. They usually do.
This is the first Speed Champions I will build with no stickers. I think it will come out just fine. Massive props to the SC for the consistently best designs!
Why are men obsessed with cars?
@bananaworld said:
"
Why are men obsessed with cars?"
Why do people make weird comments online?
@graymattr said:
"...which is one of the things that makes Lego so wonderful since we can own models of things we'd never be able to afford to own, whether it's hypercars or X-Wings."
...or some recent Lego sets.
I'm not that fan of cars, even if I can appreciate beautiful ones. The original model is splendid. And the lego rendition not that bad. Not bad at all. The more SC sets we have, the more nice curves and organic shapes... Lego truly entered a new dimension with slopes, wedges and smaller parts. But, it's truly a shame now that such a powerful company can't make us stickers with matching colours. How is it still possible in 2023? Very nice set though. Thanks for the review.
@FARLANDER said:
"What happened to the transparent stickers like the ones used, e.g., on the 8017 ? They worked really well: more than 10 years later they look freshly applied."
I guess those were more expensive to produce, hence LEGO switched to the crappy ones they now have.
Seriously, LEGO's current stickers are about the worst in the brick world.
It also doesn't help that more often than not the sticker sheets arrive crumpled straight out of the box, with some stickers already sticking to the plastic bags or the interior of the box.
The best stickers are those transfer ones that once applied look like prints. Unfortunately only some alternative manufacturers use those.
At least this set looks awesome. When I buy it, I will simply leave the stickers off. They don't add anything worthwhile anyway, since all the important details are printed, thankfully.
I wasn't going to pick this set up, but it looks too nice to pass on. Plus, Harry's hair in orange to sweeten the deal a little...
This isn't a range I follow or a car in real life I am familiar with but really like the look of this and like @comfysofa could see me picking this up as an impulse buy. And while not a Bond Lotus Esprit this feels like a car you could see the wee James Bond minifig in as a switch from 76911
Looks amazing. No desire to own a Pagani though.
I was not thinking to buy this set because I did not know the brand Pagani. However, after enjoying the spectacular shape and the creative techniques, it is a must-have!!
Still could do with a BTTF DeLorean...
Good to have ya back, Cap'n.
The color-matching is awful,and Lego should be ashamed. This is especially true given the additional price increase. It's pathetic that they are so quick to raise prices, but so slow to correct a long-standing problem that is analogous to their founder's warning about stinting on finish and quality.
How far Lego has fallen. Such a shame.
That said, this car is cool. The designers are getting better and better. Leave the crappy stickies off, I suppose.
Too bad Lego corporate, quality control, and graphic design departments have become a dumpster fire!
@Quinnly said:
"Who cares about the stickers anyway? I just want this car because it’s body is amazing!"
How shallow of you. I’m sure it has an amazing personality!
Easily my favorite set of the march 2023 wave. Admittedly I’ve never heard of this car before this wave’s reveal, but it looks so dang cool!
Recently my kids started building these Speed Champions sets, and they’ve been perfect. …Great value for dollar and the history of quality models in this line make it easy to hunt for older quality cars. - Great work LEGO!
The stickers are that bad with these sets either. Very reasonable.
@Pink_Ice said:
" @Quinnly said:
"Who cares about the stickers anyway? I just want this car because it’s body is amazing!"
How shallow of you. I’m sure it has an amazing personality! "
Ha, ha!
I bet this car has a really bright mind as well.
Stickers shouldn't be off colour if they are going to be used.
I think this car is a beauty - and optional or not - the stickers need to be better - or if a set is in the higher price point - not be present at all.
Ugh they already had problems to nob be able to ride on carpets...
@Banners said:
" @graymattr said:
"...which is one of the things that makes Lego so wonderful since we can own models of things we'd never be able to afford to own, whether it's hypercars or X-Wings."
...or some recent Lego sets.
"
Are you implying we should have mini Lego sets... of Lego sets?
@Elcascador said:
" @Banners said:
" @graymattr said:
"...which is one of the things that makes Lego so wonderful since we can own models of things we'd never be able to afford to own, whether it's hypercars or X-Wings."
...or some recent Lego sets.
"
Are you implying we should have mini Lego sets... of Lego sets?"
Exactly! ;-)
There's a wonderful mini version of 10305 Lion Knights Castle added to Rebrickable recently, which is more in line with my budget currently...!
I eventually wonder if a brick/parts built round exhausts would have been possible or not? Somehow?
@bananaworld said:
"
Why are men obsessed with cars?"
Check your biases. And you can enjoy speed champions without being a car zealot. I certainly don't consider myself a car guy, but I love the SC theme. Brings the kid out in me, not the man.
@PhantomBricks said:
" @ComfySofa said:
"Wow, that is a beauty!
I'm not a car nut, and I don't generally go for the Speed Champions line, but this could easily be an impulse buy for me if I see it in Tesco for 30% off. Sometimes I like a build to keep me busy on my lunch break ;)
It's a shame TLG can't have enough trust in the cutting alignment of its sticker sheets. Those dark blueish grey backgrounds to the stickers surely don't even need to be there to cause the colour-match issue. I wonder if Speed Champion afficionados trim off the backgrounds before application... it's surely worth the effort."
Some certainly do the trimming. I remember seeing someone do that for the DB5 on Reddit. Others including myself will just skip certain stickers. That is what I did for most of the DB5 stickers, and it looks great! Skipping stickers may not look as good for this car though, due to the stickers adding shaping.
As to the Speed Champions line, I would highly recommend trying out a car! They have ingenious building techniques, excellent display value, and useful parts."
I trimmed the DB5 stickers with a hobby knife; I don't usually go to that effort myself but in that case the colour matching was REALLY bad and let down an otherwise perfect kit.
This is my favourite car of the wave. The shaping is absolutely phenomenal. Shame about the colour-matching of the stickers. It's unfortunate how these sets are let down somewhat by issues that are out of the designer's control.
strange how noone mentions the use of LEGO wheel-arches on this build, when the real car doesn't have any....
@BelgianBricker said:
"strange how noone mentions the use of LEGO wheel-arches on this build, when the real car doesn't have any...."
You could say that about many (most?) Speed Champions models, just like how their wheels protrude outside the car body unlike on the real cars.
@MrClassic said:
" @BelgianBricker said:
"strange how noone mentions the use of LEGO wheel-arches on this build, when the real car doesn't have any...."
You could say that about many (most?) Speed Champions models, just like how their wheels protrude outside the car body unlike on the real cars."
Almost every Speed Champions car with fenders have flared fenders. Personally I like the flared fenders, even if it's inaccurate to the real car, simply because without them the sides of the car would look too flat.
The shaping on this one is stunning! Although I think the exhausts are a little out of proportion. @capnrex101 is the wheel dual molded? The photos show a ring of colour around the usual 9-spoke wheel cover in a noticeably different colour to the cover!
This looks to be the best of the three singles I think - definitely going to pick one up at some point!
@danishbricklayer said:
"The shaping on this one is stunning! Although I think the exhausts are a little out of proportion. @capnrex101 is the wheel dual molded? The photos show a ring of colour around the usual 9-spoke wheel cover in a noticeably different colour to the cover!
..."
Having just built one myself this night, I agree about the exhaust, they are a little bit big. But, it's a fine compromise at this scale, I think.
The wheels are the type that are dual moulded together with the tires. But what I think you mean is that, yes, the wheel (and therefor also the brake disc) is silver metallic, while the wheel inserts are titanium metallic. The inserts come in a bag that also give you four 5-spoke ones in the same color.