LEGO Outdid Itself With The 2023 Bugatti Bolide
I declare this by far the best $50 Technic set of the year. Bugatti Bolide #42151 set review.
Over the last year or so I kept recommending everyone to get the McLaren Senna LEGO technic set, as for just 50 bucks, it was clearly the only set I could wholeheartedly see as totally worth its money. When it comes to Technic sets, since I was about 8 or 9, the main requirement for me was always getting not just functionality, but also pieces that I could then reuse for MOCs later on, pieces that were traditionally technic, like springs, gears, differentials, nice big wheels, etc. The McLaren Senna provided a lot of that in a decent-sized package at a fantastic price. I thought it will be very difficult for LEGO to beat that. Clearly I was wrong.
In January 2023, The LEGO Group released another relatively small Technic set, the Bugatti Bolide #42151. To my surprise, as the rumours started taking shape with leaked images, even the blurry ones spoke of much more than the McLaren Senna ever was. Then of course LEGO officially released it on the 1st of January, and I was sold. I was so sold! Remembering my initial reaction to the Senna, the Bugatti Bolide felt like miles ahead.
Just looking at the set in the box, already gives you the impression of a more mature design that doesn’t skimp on functions.
Needless to say, as soon as the store opened its doors after New Year’s Day, I was in the shop grabbing it like hot cake, and I don’t regret my decision one bit! A fantastic set in every way.
While the price is exactly the same as it was for the Senna, you get more pieces, 905 to be more precise. And you know what? It shows. While I only checked the part count after the build, I kept having this gut feeling that somehow the Bugatti Bolide was a more detailed build overall. Throughout the 2 or so hours I spent building it, I kept having this impression that more effort is being put into getting the details right. The higher piece-count confirms that. An extra 70 or so pieces can go a long way in a Technic set.
In terms of functions, you get a working V16 engine, which does not use the traditional pistons you’d see in larger sets, but still does a good job dropping jaws, especially if you’re a kid! My only criticism around it is that I would have preferred the exposed part of the pistons to be the grey parts rather than using the end of the brown pins. Having said that, looking at the mechanism closely at higher speed, it would have probably created an issue where the engine would self-lock due to very little distance between the pistons, affecting the overall play experience.
You get the obligatory steering, and thankfully, just like in the Senna, it’s the “hand of God” variant. Quick side-note on this. “Hand of God steering” is a something that’s been fairly common in LEGO sets, especially Technic, where the steering is controlled from the top of the vehicle, giving the user much better access than otherwise through the regular steering wheel. This enhances playability by a factor of 100. In fact, it can often act as the veto point between total playability and none at all. For instance, the large 1:8 Technic supercars don’t have it, and thus tend to be more for show than actual play.
Beyond steering, you also get opening doors, and front hood. One aspect the Bugatti Bolide lacks in comparison to its older brother, the McLaren Senna, is the differential mechanism for the rear axle. While technically, the Senna didn’t have it either, the wheels were connected independently of each other which acted more or less like a differential. Of course, that had the downside of not having only one wheel connected to the engine, while in the Bugatti we have both rear wheels turning the pistons. In reality, in such a small-sized car, I can’t say I really feel much of a difference, but those who care about such small details, should know before jumping to buy.
Despite the lacking differential, I felt the overall result was still better than what LEGO released with the McLaren Senna in the past. The Bugatti Bolide, besides being a fun, and surprisingly complex build for a less than 1000-piece set, also looks and feels more polished, and that’s coming from someone who isn’t really that into Bugattis in general.
The Bugatti Bolide’s overall design and functions complement each other perfectly.
The set relies on some System pieces to achieve some of the details and a whole lot of stickers too — 36 I think — which I would traditionally hate, but on this occasion, I feel that the use of the stickers is far less intrusive regardless of their high number, than it was the case with the McLaren Senna, where I decided not to even stick them on. For such a small set, even the interior has a nice amount of detail, and a printed Bugatti logo on the steering wheel, the very same piece that is used in the 1:8 scale Bugatti Chiron! 😉 You can also see below some extra comparison images between the Bugatti Bolide, the McLaren Senna and yes, even the Bugatti Chiron!
LEGO proved, once again, that it can do better, and can design a small set that ticks all the boxes. A beautiful and truly Technic Bugatti Bolide for the price of a dinner out. Can’t beat that.
Attila Vago — Software Engineer improving the world one line of code at a time. Cool nerd since forever, writer of codes and blogs. Web accessibility advocate, LEGO fan, vinyl record collector. Loves craft beer! Read my Hello story here! Subscribe and/or become a member for more stories about LEGO, tech, coding and accessibility! For my less regular readers, I also write about random bits and writing.
