Update – check out my motorized versions with high quality building instructions!
Unboxing, speed build and detailed review about the LEGO Technic 42096 Porsche 911 RSR. I compare it to the LEGO Technic 42056 Porsche 911 GT3 RS and the 42077 Rally Car to see which one is more similar to this new race car.
The set comes in a slightly bigger box than 42077, you can see the car in action and some features on the back. It has 1580 pieces and the price is 149,99 € / $149.99
As you can see the box does not have the premium experience we saw with 42056, it’s just like any regular Technic set
There are 13 unnumbered bags, 4 tires and the manual with 2 large sticker sheets
This model will be really sticker heavy
The manual has a presentation of the features and a comparison with the real car
The part list
Build time: 3h 40min
As you can see on these first images the basic structure including the front and rear axle are almost identical to the ones of the 42077 Rally Car, there are only some minor differences, e.g. the rear axle is 2 studs narrower.
The flat 6 engine is installed
The base of the front is made of 2 huge gear racks we saw previously in the Bucket Wheel Excavator.
There are some interesting techniques used to hold the panels in place at a certain angle.
Extra pieces
These parts are either new (the wheel arch) or appear in a new colour in this set. The red pin with a towball is interesting as the color is new but it is not visible at all in this set. I guess it will have a visible usage in the next wave.
The wheel arch used in this set is 2 studs shorter than the one from 42056
Unfortunately the wheel arches are printed, and the print quality is not that good. Looks like a badly applied sticker.
You can see here the 42096 compared to 42056 and 42077. The colour scheme and the stickers look fantastic, the car has many details in the front and at the back as well.
The white stickers have a visibly different colour compared to the white panels which has some unpleasant results. There’s even a completely white sticker on one of the top panels to match the others next to it.
If we compare the sets from the side it is visible that despite the size difference the wheelbase of the new Porsche is exactly the same as the wheelbase of the 42077 Rally Car.
The reason for this is the same basic structure.
This perspective is the least good looking, the front wheels are too far from the front end of the car and because of this the nose section seems to be huge. The wheels also look small in the wheel arches.
If we test the wheels of the 42056 Porsche the result is not better, the vehicle becomes too high and the wheels would not fit properly anyway.
In the interior there is a racing seat which is fixed in place (just like the original)
The door has a map of the Laguna Seca race circuit. There are no gauges on the dashboard which is correct, but unfortunately the position and the shape of the steering wheel is not realistic.
Some additional gadgets in the cabin
There’s the AC system on the central console and the rear view camera that shows the direction and distance of the cars coming from behind.
On the bottom there is the rear differential driving the fake engine. There’re two bumps (skid plates?) on the differential that prevents the suspension to fully compress and this way the wheels does not touch the wheel arches.
Summary
What I liked
- Impressive race car, great colour choice, with all the stickers it looks great (from most angles)
- Lots of details replicating the original car
- Reasonable price considering the size and the license
- Simple but effective suspension
- Nice part pack
- Potential to motorise
Could be improved
- Lack of HOG steering, has a big impact on playability
- Printed parts look like badly applied stickers
- White stickers have different colour than the panels
- From the Technic functions and structural point of view it seems to be a dressed-up 42077 Rally Car
- No extra Technic functions like adjustable suspension or the air jack system
- Lack of B model
Umm, what’s the app you used to look at the chassis to the lego rally car and the porsche?
It’s LDCad, I use this application to build digitally