Review: 76916 Porsche 963
Posted by CapnRex101,
Endurance racing cars have inspired numerous Speed Champions sets, representing multiple eras. However, the unique silhouette associated with some contemporary endurance racers has previously proven problematic, given the flared bodywork.
The enlarged size should create an opportunity for improvement though. Fortunately, 76916 Porsche 963 seizes that opportunity and seems reasonably accurate in official images, with an attractive livery, despite some lingering issues.
Summary
76916 Porsche 963, 280 pieces.
£19.99 / $24.99 / €24.99 | 7.1p/8.9c/8.9c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
Some features of endurance racers remain troublesome, but this model is appealing
- Accurate bodywork shaping
- Stunning Porsche Motorsport livery
- Disproportionate wheels
- Huge number of stickers
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Minifigure
The majority of Speed Champions minifigures are dressed in racing overalls, faithfully recreating real overalls whenever possible. This minifigure therefore includes accurate Porsche Motorsport branding, with intricate metallic silver stitching, alongside black and red stripes down either side of the torso and legs.
Ideally, these stripes would reach the ankles, but the decoration only covers the upper section of the legs, as normal. The head is unusual though, since the element seems familiar, but features a new part number and I cannot find anywhere it has appeared before. Regardless, this cheerful expression looks good.
The minifigure includes a black helmet and a medium nougat hair element, which has appeared only three times before in this colour. This driver is also equipped with a wrench, matching other Speed Champions sets.
Reference
Source - Wikipedia.com
The Completed Model
76906 1970 Ferrari 512 M demonstrated how modern eight-stud-side Speed Champions models can benefit vehicles with flatter silhouettes and 76916 Porsche 963 gives another example. The car appears realistic on the whole, recreating the characteristic combination of flat surfaces and bulbous curves traditionally associated with endurance racing cars.
The realistic shape is most apparent from the side, where the distinctive horizontal line between the wheels is immediately recognisable. However, the wheels seem disproportionately small and lack branding around the edge. Decorated wheel caps were effective for 76909 Mercedes-AMG F1 W12 E Performance & Mercedes-AMG Project One, but those widen the tyres, so would not have been appropriate here.
Additionally, the bodywork above the front tyres should be incredibly thin and the updated wheel arches, while better than usual, are still too bulky for LMH and LMDh racers. Nevertheless, their white colour corresponds with the source material and I love the headlights, which make brilliant use of trans-clear 1x2 semicircular tiles, appearing for the first time in any translucent colour!
Even though the wheel arches themselves are imperfect, the transition between the arches and the recessed bodywork around the cockpit is smooth. I like the angled mirrors, in particular. The shape of the new canopy element also looks superb, although the printing is disappointing, once again, because the red decoration does not match the neighbouring red bricks.
The interior is extremely basic, only including a steering wheel and providing just enough space for the driver. Even so, the headroom is extremely limited and the canopy only fits properly once the minifigure leans back against the headrest. Doors are integrated on each side, but these are not functional, instead creating room for the driver's arms.
By this point, you have probably noticed the extensive use of stickers across this vehicle. A total of 34 stickers are included, which is more than any single Speed Champions car since the scale was changed three years ago. Admittedly, the designs are lovely and I appreciate how the black stripes line up correctly across multiple stickers, but the number of stickers is extraordinary.
These stickers should not overshadow the brick-built details though. For example, the shape of the fin behind the cockpit is absolutely perfect and the dark bluish grey exhausts look impressive as well. Moreover, the essential rear diffuser is remarkably complex and includes several of the new 1x1 curved bricks with side studs, above and below an accurate trans-red light band.
Overall
76916 Porsche 963 represents a significant improvement over the previous six-wide LMP racing cars, including 75887 Porsche 919 Hybrid from 2018. The proportions of the model are accurate and I love the detailed livery, which looks marvellous in relation to the source material, although lacks any sponsors, as expected.
Of course, the patterns are reliant on stickers and the quantity here is excessive, even speaking as someone without an aversion to stickers. The size of the wheels also leaves something to be desired, but updating those would also entail specialised wheel arches, so I can understand the need for compromise. Ultimately, while scope for further improvement remains, the Porsche 963 is satisfying.
107 likes
30 comments on this article
Good car and stuff, but honestly the huge white chunk and almost complete lack of any white at the back is really jarring. It would be boring without any white through.
Even for a Speed Champions fan, the number of stickers is eye-watering. The end result does look worth it, though. I wasn’t too sold on this in the official pics but this review really wowed me.
This is one vehicle type where I actually liked it better in 6w. The improvement in shaping from 6 to 8 still leaves a lot to be desired, and the increase in sticker area is appalling.
Great shaping, but because of the insane number of stickers this is a definite no. This is one case where I would have loved to see a picture without all of the stickers...
Least impressive SC out of the new wave, but still looks like a fun build. Stickers are fine. Some things just can't be done without them. I would rather have stickers and a set than no stickers and no set.
@WizardOfOss said:
"Great shaping, but because of the insane number of stickers this is a definite no. This is one case where I would have loved to see a picture without all of the stickers..."
I think the review on New Elementary has pictures without stickers.
https://www.newelementary.com/2023/02/lego-speed-champions-review-76916.html
Looks great but that is a ridiculous amount of stickers, pass from me.
Nice review. 34 stickers is a lot, but I reckon it's worth it.
I saw a different review that mentioned that the windscreen doesn't close fully when the driver is inside. Can you confirm whether this is the case?
@WizardOfOss said:
"Great shaping, but because of the insane number of stickers this is a definite no. This is one case where I would have loved to see a picture without all of the stickers..."
We’ve got you covered over on New Elementary - see it without stickers, looks better imo!
https://www.newelementary.com/2023/02/lego-speed-champions-review-76916.html
@M_Jibril said:
"Nice review. 34 stickers is a lot, but I reckon it's worth it.
I saw a different review that mentioned that the windscreen doesn't close fully when the driver is inside. Can you confirm whether this is the case?"
I saw that too and it is not correct, although I understand why they said that. The windscreen does close fully with the driver inside, but the space is extremely tight and you need to press the minifigure all the way down and lean them back, which is not as easy as it sounds, given the small area.
@CapnRex101 said:
"I saw that too and it is not correct, although I understand why they said that. The windscreen does close fully with the driver inside, but the space is extremely tight and you need to press the minifigure all the way down and lean them back, which is not as easy as it sounds, given the small area."
Glad that it's doable, albeit difficult. A few of last year's cars wouldn't close down all the way unless the driver was bald. I consider that a somewhat unacceptable design flaw.
I hope all of this year's cars are A-OK.
@jdjarchow said:
" @WizardOfOss said:
"Great shaping, but because of the insane number of stickers this is a definite no. This is one case where I would have loved to see a picture without all of the stickers..."
I think the review on New Elementary has pictures without stickers.
https://www.newelementary.com/2023/02/lego-speed-champions-review-76916.html"
Well, that certainly shows how awful it looks without the stickers.
I don't get the hate on stickers, especially in a set where without them it looks nothing like the car it is supposed to represent.
@ShinyBidoof said:
" @jdjarchow said:
" @WizardOfOss said:
"Great shaping, but because of the insane number of stickers this is a definite no. This is one case where I would have loved to see a picture without all of the stickers..."
I think the review on New Elementary has pictures without stickers.
https://www.newelementary.com/2023/02/lego-speed-champions-review-76916.html"
Well, that certainly shows how awful it looks without the stickers.
I don't get the hate on stickers, especially in a set where without them it looks nothing like the car it is supposed to represent."
Maybe if the entire surface needs stickers for a set to be recognizable, and LEGO refuses to print at least the most important pieces even after the price hike, then the set needs rethinking?
@jdjarchow said:
"I think the review on New Elementary has pictures without stickers.
https://www.newelementary.com/2023/02/lego-speed-champions-review-76916.html"
That actually is less bad as I expected....but obviously still far from great. And it makes the badly matching color from the canopy stand out much more.
I guess I'm with @sipuss on this one, if this many stickers are required to make something recognizable, pick another subject.
I read that people do not like the high amount of stickers...
After seeing the photo without it, I think that it really needs the stickers.
In fact, racing cars have a lot of stickers from advertising. Thus, LEGO just reproduce the reality...racing cars (real or LEGO) depend on stickers!!
P.S. I will get it
@WemWem said:
" @CapnRex101 said:
"I saw that too and it is not correct, although I understand why they said that. The windscreen does close fully with the driver inside, but the space is extremely tight and you need to press the minifigure all the way down and lean them back, which is not as easy as it sounds, given the small area."
Glad that it's doable, albeit difficult. A few of last year's cars wouldn't close down all the way unless the driver was bald. I consider that a somewhat unacceptable design flaw.
I hope all of this year's cars are A-OK."
I thought they would all fit with the helmet, but not always with the hair piece.
@CapnRex101 said:
" @M_Jibril said:
"Nice review. 34 stickers is a lot, but I reckon it's worth it.
I saw a different review that mentioned that the windscreen doesn't close fully when the driver is inside. Can you confirm whether this is the case?"
I saw that too and it is not correct, although I understand why they said that. The windscreen does close fully with the driver inside, but the space is extremely tight and you need to press the minifigure all the way down and lean them back, which is not as easy as it sounds, given the small area."
Thanks for clarifying that! That was my biggest concern with regards to this set, so I'm glad to hear it's not actually an issue.
@WizardOfOss said:
" @jdjarchow said:
"I think the review on New Elementary has pictures without stickers.
https://www.newelementary.com/2023/02/lego-speed-champions-review-76916.html"
That actually is less bad as I expected....but obviously still far from great. And it makes the badly matching color from the canopy stand out much more.
I guess I'm with @sipuss on this one, if this many stickers are required to make something recognizable, pick another subject."
Did someone say horrible color-matching?!!!!!
C'mon Lego!! You're killing us, here!
This car is an easy pass. Ugly without stickers, too many stickers, price increase, and really bad color-matching.
@HeriSanmi said:
"In fact, racing cars have a lot of stickers from advertising. Thus, LEGO just reproduce the reality...racing cars (real or LEGO) depend on stickers!!"
Exactly. On most occasions stickers representing stickers don't bother me (although I'd prefer clear backed). It's mainly when stickers try to represent body features that things can get a bit jarring.
In my opinion, the wheels feel just fine.
As for stickers, I've always kinda gave Speed Champions a pass when it comes to having so much stickers. When it comes to traditional models, they usually come with ALOT of decals that needs to be applied, and speed champions kinda calls back to the complexity that came with building those more traditional model kits.
The model looks superb but looks less like a Lego. That’s why I liked 6 srud cars, they still had the toy charm.
@sipuss said:
" @ShinyBidoof said:
" @jdjarchow said:
" @WizardOfOss said:
"Great shaping, but because of the insane number of stickers this is a definite no. This is one case where I would have loved to see a picture without all of the stickers..."
I think the review on New Elementary has pictures without stickers.
https://www.newelementary.com/2023/02/lego-speed-champions-review-76916.html "
Well, that certainly shows how awful it looks without the stickers.
I don't get the hate on stickers, especially in a set where without them it looks nothing like the car it is supposed to represent."
Maybe if the entire surface needs stickers for a set to be recognizable, and LEGO refuses to print at least the most important pieces even after the price hike, then the set needs rethinking?"
The only solution would be that not release the set. With stickers, there is a chance after retiring, to get the full car without paying insane amount of money for it. Not to mention, these pieces without print useable in other sets/Mocs too.
In my opinion the car just looks bad because of the scale and I know we are talking about an sc car.
I'd like Lego to issue 2 sets of decals for each set.
Stickers for simplicity and robustness.
Waterslide transfers for accuracy.
Not a chance of it ever happening of course!
As for this set, I fully understand why it isn't all prints. And honestly, I don't even think it would be that great if it was. Lego is about brick built models. There are obviously limits to what's possible with that, and then I don't mind prints or maybe even stickers for some additional detail. But when the looks of the model rely so heavily on decoration, maybe it just wasn't the right subject for Lego. For that same reason I'm not a fan of sets that rely heavily on very specialized parts, like Cobi often does with their cars.
And sure, we wouldn't have gotten this set then. It's not that there aren't any other Porsches they could have picked....
@sjr60, they could start with supplying two of the sticker sheets. So you have spares when you mess one up, or can replace on that got damaged after time. Would cost them next to nothing, but would be so helpful.
I absolutely cannot wait to grab this, along with the rest of the wave. The new LMDH category is fantastic.
Here's a really good technical rundown of the real race car, if anyone was interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wSuOGCc-fE
I sense I'm in quite the minority here, but since I got into Speed Champs when they switched to 8-wide, I've found myself genuinely enjoying applying the stickers. Bothers me a bit when there are unavoidable gaps between them, rather than being able to line them up on adjacent bricks with the barest fraction of a gap between them - and admittedly I don't always get them on perfectly lined up - but it's an enjoyable challenge, and I like looking at the result.
Wouldn't want all sets to be like that, of course - certainly not using stickers as a replacement for actual constructed detail - but on these cars, where they're mainly just replicating colour decoration on flat surfaces, when I see a car like this one where it's stickered head to tail more or less, I find myself looking forward to it.
@sjr60 said:
"I'd like Lego to issue 2 sets of decals for each set.
Stickers for simplicity and robustness.
Waterslide transfers for accuracy.
Not a chance of it ever happening of course!
"
I have been saying the same thing for years. Lego have replied to a few of my emails saying they will "look into" supplying two sets of stickers, but I hold no real hope.
I really like the look of this Porsche and looking forward to adding it to my SC collection.
"...the wheels seem disproportionately small..."
I disagree, I think the wheels look fine, although I have not seen the model in person.
Anyway, I ran the numbers. The model seem to be 22 studs long, with a 13 stud wheelbase, and the tires are 24mm outside diameter (18mm wheels). The real car is 5100mm long, with a 3148mm wheelbase, and 710mm diameter tires (on 18 inch wheels). It therefor looks like they have aimed for a 1:29 scale. A perfect model at that scale would be 176mm (22 studs) long, have a 109mm (13.6 studs) wheelbase, and the tires would be 24mm tall with 16mm wheels.
So if anything, the tires are spot on and the wheels should actually be smaller to be more accurate!
Scaling things can play tricks with our perception. And above all, I think people are used to seeing small size toy cars with wheels that would be enormous if scaled up to real life size.
Good review though, and very nice detailed pictures. Thanks!
Well we can't blame TLG for ignoring the excessive-sticker-loving crowd! They aim to cater to all kinds of folks.
The overall shaping is really impressive. I especially love the use of the semicircular tiles as the headlights. Are those connected by just sitting on a stud in the middle?
Also, unless I’m mistaken and the piece has changed, I believe that the hair piece is identical to 6082516, which has appeared twelve times.