Before LEGO fired up the global building community with their life-sized fully-functional replica of the Bugatti Chiron using, Technic pieces akin to their official LEGO Technic set version (42083), the one prominent case of a life-sized car made out of LEGO bricks was a (non-running) Renault R.S.17 racecar.
This one was created in 2017 as part of promotion for both that year’s F1 season and Renault Sport’s 40th anniversary event. After over a year from its time in the spotlight, this full-scale LEGO Renault F1 racecar found itself in the news again, after it was sold in auction for charity.
Said auction took place just this past Sunday, February 10, and it was part of a larger selection of motorsports memorabilia that went under the hammer that day on behalf of UNICEF. Made by a LEGO Certified Pro from some 300,000 LEGO pieces, its estimated sale price was around $35,000-$55,000.
Nobody could have imagined, according to NBC affiliate WTHR 13, that the 1:1 LEGO Renault R.S.17 would go for $108,000 which was almost double its maximum ESP. That is indeed remarkable considering its being a static model compared to the “new hotness” that is the working life-sized Technic Bugatti Chiron.
With that, one piece of LEGO cross-promotion history now belongs to a well-off motorsports aficionado, with the proceeds going to UNICEF charities. The LEGO Renault is a hybrid build like the later Bugatti Chiron: LEGO bricks over a metal frame, with genuine Pirelli racing tires and a movable steering wheel.