Review : LEGO Speed ​​Champions 76898 Formula E Panasonic Jaguar Racing GEN2 & Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY

Today we finish the series of reviews of the five sets of the LEGO Speed ​​Champions 2020 range with the reference 76898 Formula E Panasonic Jaguar Racing GEN2 & Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY (565 pieces - 44.99 €).

It is in my opinion the least successful of these boxes even if some were content a little quickly to marvel at the presence of many colored elements Medium Azure in this set. If we go a little beyond the inventory and avoid hiding behind the usual excuses, we see that the designer has this time missed the subject a little.

To begin with, I remind you that the Jaguar Formula E Panasonic Racing GEN2 entered in the ABB FIA Formula E Championship, that's it:

LEGO offers us a version that does its best to try to resemble the reference model and in general terms we could almost conclude that this is more or less the case. But at 45 € the box containing less than 600 parts to assemble two models, we can also afford to be a little demanding.

The LEGO version really struggles to convince me, it's rude, the front fenders are much too angular, the rear fins are too simplified and there is little left but the cockpit with its roll bar to find favor in my eyes. Some people will appreciate the visible tenons on the wheel arches, I find that at this scale it is rather unsightly. The Slope black used for the nose of the vehicle vaguely does the job, it's a little wide at the end despite the sticker which tries to give us an optical illusion.

It is as usual the sticker fair and the many stickers unfortunately do not help to improve the finish of the vehicle. In the end, it is vaguely similar thanks to the enlargement of the format but not enough for my taste.

The assembly of the chassis based on parts is interesting, but the fun is constantly spoiled by the phases of applying stickers. Fortunately, this first vehicle is assembled very quickly and we can move on to the next.

The other vehicle to build in this box, the Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY electric SUV, that's it in real life:

Here too, the LEGO version, which uses the new chassis and the new axles, really struggles to reproduce the curves of the vehicle and we end up with a construction that has little to do with the reference model. It's too long, the flat roof is awful, the rear profile is a mess with its windows that don't follow the curves of the body and the front would be almost passable if the headlights had been a little more elaborate.

The front face, with its far too angular wings, also benefits from an ingenious combination of parts to reproduce the specific grille of the vehicle. This is in my opinion the only element, possibly with the hood, that can be considered really successful.

It is once again the sticker fair with large surfaces to cover. We notice in passing that the background color of the stickers is not the same as that of the parts on which they are placed. It's really very ugly.

Unsurprisingly, the steering wheel is offset but the minifigure fits easily in the cockpit, even with its helmet on its head.

LEGO delivers two characters in this set, including a female pilot in a nicely pad-printed outfit. A gantry is also built with a function that allows you to manually trigger the appearance of colored lights. As for the set 76899 Lamborghini Urus ST-X & Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo EVO, I would gladly exchange this accessory without much interest for 5 or 10 euros less on the public price of the set.

In short, fortunately these are vehicles which evolve in more or less confidential championships because we once again reach the limits of what it is possible to do with square parts when it comes to reproduce vehicles whose body displays beautiful curves.

Complete collectors will probably not ignore this box with a little disappointing content, but they can wait a few weeks for its price to drop significantly at Amazon.

Note: The set presented here, supplied by LEGO, is as usual in play. Deadline fixed at 17th January 2020 next at 23pm.

Update : The winner was drawn and was notified by email, his nickname is indicated below. Without a response from him to my request for contact details within 5 days, a new winner will be drawn.