Editor’s Take
The LEGO APXGP Team Race Car (77252) looks like a movie tie-in, but it lands as one of the smartest value plays in the Speed Champions lineup thanks to its sharp black-and-gold livery, sturdy build, and two named minifigures.
Pros
- Striking black-and-gold livery
- Two named minifigures included
- Strong structural stability
- Unique rear bodywork
- Good value at launch price
Cons
- Heavy reliance on stickers
- Gold tones do not fully match
- Shares core F1 architecture
- Not a real-world F1 car
At a Glance
| Spec | Details |
|---|---|
| Set Name | LEGO APXGP Team Race Car |
| Set Number | 77252 |
| Piece Count | 268 |
| Price | $27.99 USD |
| Theme | LEGO Speed Champions |
| Minifigures | Sonny Hayes, Joshua Pearce |
| Launch Date | January 1 |
| Verdict | One of the most interesting 2026 Speed Champions cars, especially if you care about display value and exclusive minifigures. |
Why LEGO APXGP 77252 Matters More Than a Standard Movie Tie-In
After spending the year with LEGO’s Formula 1-heavy Speed Champions lineup, the APXGP Team Race Car immediately stands out. Not because it reinvents the format, and not because it suddenly breaks scale, but because LEGO found a clean way to turn a movie license into a set that still makes sense beside the rest of your F1 display.
That is the key to this LEGO APXGP Team Race Car review. Set 77252 is not based on a current real-world Formula 1 machine. It is based on the APXGP car from F1: The Movie, which gives LEGO more room to play with shape, branding, and character value. Instead of feeling like an odd extra release, it ends up feeling like one of the more deliberate Speed Champions sets in the wave.
LEGO APXGP Team Race Car Set Overview
The LEGO APXGP Team Race Car includes 268 pieces and launches at $27.99. On paper, that puts it right in line with the broader Speed Champions formula: compact footprint, modern open-wheel silhouette, and a build that aims for display presence first.
What makes 77252 more interesting is the source material. The APXGP car used for filming was not a standard Formula 1 car in the usual sense, which creates a real design challenge for LEGO. The set still needs to read instantly as an F1-style racer on the shelf, but it also needs enough unique shaping to justify its movie identity.
LEGO mostly gets that balance right.
What’s in the Box
Inside the box, you get four numbered bags, one unnumbered bag for the wheels and main chassis, an instruction manual, and a sticker sheet.
The sticker count lands at 27, which is still substantial, but not excessive by Speed Champions standards. That matters here because the livery does a lot of the heavy lifting. If LEGO had pushed even more of the visual identity onto stickers, this set would have felt cheaper than it is.
Building Experience: Familiar Bones, Better Identity
If you have built any of the recent LEGO Speed Champions F1 cars, parts of this set will feel immediately familiar. The front wing and nose assembly follow the same general pattern seen across the range. The rear axle structure also leans on the same studded Technic-style approach that showed up in several recent F1 releases. Wheel sizing follows the now-standard front-and-rear split, which helps the car keep that proper open-wheel stance.
That shared architecture is not a problem by itself. Speed Champions has a house style now, and LEGO is clearly working within it. The real question is whether 77252 does enough beyond that baseline.
It does.
The sidepods are the first place where the set starts to separate itself. Their layout looks noticeably different from the official F1 cars, and the visible gap in that section gives the model a silhouette you do not get from the rest of the lineup. The engine cover and rear bodywork also feel purpose-built rather than recolored from another car. Some parts language overlaps with other sets, especially McLaren-adjacent shaping, but the proportions and extensions are distinct enough that the APXGP car has its own identity in hand.
Just as important, the build feels solid. That is one of the easiest things to miss in product photos. The floor holds together well, the side sections stay attached, and the finished car feels more playable than some of the more delicate F1-style Speed Champions builds. If you plan to handle it often instead of parking it in a display case forever, that sturdiness matters.
Design Details and Parts Highlights
This is also one of those sets where the small design choices do a lot of work.
LEGO uses a generous amount of pearl gold throughout the build, including a few elements that look especially sharp against the black bodywork. The rearview mirrors use minifigure spoon elements, which is exactly the kind of weird little parts usage that makes Speed Champions fun when it is firing on all cylinders. There is also a gold minifigure ski piece running down the center of the engine cover, and it works far better visually than it sounds on paper.
The set balances printed elements and stickers reasonably well, though the gold consistency is the one visual drawback that keeps coming up. The printed gold and sticker gold match each other closely enough, but they do not fully line up with the pearl gold plastic pieces. In isolated spots that is easy to ignore. In areas where those lines are supposed to connect, the mismatch becomes more obvious.
It is not a deal-breaker, but it is the clearest finish issue on the model.
Minifigures: The Real Value Boost
The biggest advantage in this LEGO APXGP Team Race Car review is not the car. It is the minifigure lineup.
LEGO includes Sonny Hayes and Joshua Pearce, which immediately gives 77252 a stronger identity than most of the official F1 Speed Champions cars. Those sets usually stop at one generic driver. This one gives you two named characters tied directly to the movie, and that changes the value equation fast.
Both minifigures get nicely printed torsos, matching team suits, dual-expression head prints, printed helmets with signatures, and extra hair pieces. They do not get arm or leg printing, so this is not a premium minifigure package in the broadest sense, but it is still a meaningful step up from the standard one-driver formula.
For collectors, that matters more than the piece count suggests. Exclusive named characters tend to carry a set long after the initial release window, especially when the vehicle itself already looks good on display.
Price and Value: Better Than It First Appears
At $27.99, the LEGO APXGP Team Race Car sits slightly above what some buyers still expect from older Speed Champions pricing, but that is more a reflection of the current market than a problem unique to this set.
What helps 77252 is that the value is easy to see once you stop comparing it only by piece count. You are getting a sharp-looking F1-style car, a livery that stands out in a display, and two named minifigures instead of one generic driver. That combination gives the set a stronger identity than several technically more “authentic” race cars in the same general category.
There is also a smart contradiction at the center of the set. This is not a real Formula 1 car, yet it blends into a Formula 1 Speed Champions lineup almost perfectly. If anything, the movie angle helps it. LEGO gets to deliver something that feels familiar on the shelf without being boxed in by a real team’s exact design language.
Is LEGO APXGP 77252 Worth Buying?
If you only buy real-world motorsport replicas, this one may be a harder sell. The movie branding is the whole point, and if that does nothing for you, the set loses part of its appeal.
For almost everyone else, though, 77252 makes a strong case for itself.
If you like black-and-gold race cars, this is one of the best-looking Speed Champions releases in the current lineup. If you collect minifigures, the inclusion of Sonny Hayes and Joshua Pearce gives the set an edge many small car builds do not have. If you just want a display piece that breaks up a row of official F1 liveries, the APXGP car does that immediately.
It is also the kind of set that feels smarter the longer you look at it. LEGO could have treated this as a throwaway movie tie-in. Instead, it used the license to make a car that feels distinct, collectible, and surprisingly well positioned inside the broader Speed Champions range.
Final Verdict
The LEGO APXGP Team Race Car is one of the more strategic Speed Champions releases LEGO has put out in a while. It borrows enough of the modern F1 build language to feel at home beside the rest of the lineup, then separates itself with unique bodywork, a standout black-and-gold color scheme, and two named minifigures that add real collector value.
It is not perfect. The gold color mismatch is noticeable in places, and the set still leans on shared F1 construction more than a fully bespoke build. Even so, those issues do not outweigh what LEGO gets right here.
If you want the most authentic real-world race car, look elsewhere. If you want one of the best value-for-identity Speed Champions sets on the shelf, LEGO APXGP 77252 is an easy recommendation.
GameHaunt Score: 4.0/5
FAQ
How many pieces are in the LEGO APXGP Team Race Car?
The LEGO APXGP Team Race Car (77252) includes 268 pieces.
How much does LEGO APXGP 77252 cost?
The set is priced at $27.99 USD.
Which minifigures are included in LEGO APXGP Team Race Car 77252?
The set includes Sonny Hayes and Joshua Pearce.
Is the LEGO APXGP Team Race Car based on a real Formula 1 car?
No. It is based on the APXGP movie car from F1: The Movie rather than an official current Formula 1 team car.
Is LEGO APXGP 77252 worth it?
Yes, especially if you value the two named minifigures, the standout livery, and a display-friendly Speed Champions car with a different identity from the standard F1 lineup.
