Lego Land Rover Defender Features a Working Transmission

New Land Rover Defender is the most advanced Lego kit ever, featuring working drivetrain bits.

The new Land Rover Defender is the latest vehicle to be immortalized in the world of Lego, but in recreating the legendary SUV in plastic blocks, the company has created their most advanced kit to date. Like many other vehicles in the Lego Technic lineup, the doors and hood of the new Defender open and the front wheels turn with the steering wheel, but with moving engine parts, a “working” transmission and a multi-speed transfer case system, but small scale Land Rover offers more mechanical detail than any kit before it.

Defender from Lego

The new Land Rover Defender is part of the Lego Technic series and it has item number 42110 on the toy maker’s website. When it is all snapped together, 2,573 blocks create an SUV that is 17 inches long, 9 inches tall and 8 inches wide, making it one of Lego’s larger vehicles.

Lego vehicles have come a long way over the past 20 years and as the kits have gotten larger, the various blocks can replicate the real world form of popular cars, trucks and SUVs. In the case of the Defender, the blocks do a great job of recreating the look perfectly, so even without any badging, most people who are familiar with the new Land Rover SUV would immediately recognize small scale version.

In addition to looking like the new Defender, this plastic SUV includes key features such as aggressive off-road tires, independent four-wheel suspension, a working winch up front and a rear-mounted spare tire that also serves as the knob to open the rear door. There is also a roof rack with an array of tools needed for a successful day of off-roading, as well as a knob that allows you to steer without reaching into the cabin. However, what makes the Lego Defender really special is on the inside.

Working Transmission and Differential

The key features of the Lego Land Rover Defender are the working transmission shifter and the multi-speed rear differential. Although the engine obviously doesn’t run, the transmission shifter moves through the gears while a knob near the shifter controls the drive ratio. Like, when you turn the knob, the differential switches from one speed to another, which you can watch through the rear-most door. No Lego kit in the past has offered this multi-speed differential system, so the Defender is more high tech than even the Bugatti Chiron Lego kit.

The video above from the Land Rover YouTube channel shows every aspect of the new Defender Lego kit in action, but as you might expect, this high tech toy is not cheap. The MSRP on the Lego website is $199.99, so it is quite a bit less expensive than the Lego Bugatti, but at nearly two Benjamins, this isn’t your average children’s toy.

However, if you are a fan of Lego kits or the new Defender, this is a small scale SUV that you will want to order before it sells out.

Patrick Rall

"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.

"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.

"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.

"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.

"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

Rall can be contacted at QuickMirada@Yahoo.com