We adore the irony of an older "brick" Volvo V70 immortalized as a life-size Lego wagon made entirely of, well, bricks. According to Volvo, this 1:1 creation has been a work in progress for over a year, with the company sharing some images of the build to Facebook.
The builder is David Gustafsson, a Lego megafan from Sweden who won upwards of 400,000 Lego pieces through the Lego Masters competition a few years back. He's an accomplished Lego artist on smaller scales, and that win prompted him to build a full-size Lego version of the actual Volvo V70 he drives. Brickscale.com shows his progress which admittedly isn't entirely Lego. There's a metal frame underneath, along with normal wheels and tires on which the V70 rolls.
Virtually everything else, however, comes straight from the world of Lego. That includes the seats, dash, steering wheel, and functional instrument cluster. The front and rear clips are supported by Lego bulkheads underneath. The doors open, and the lights turn on. It's almost a real car.
In fact, this Lego wagon has all kinds of functional items. Perusing David's Instagram page we see power mirrors, rotating knobs for the climate control, a movable shifter, and headlights that pivot when turning the steering wheel. Yes, it has functional steering, which is important because there's also an electric motor powering the wheels. In other words, this is technically an EV you can actually drive.
According to Brickscale, the V70 was recently on display at the Ecar Expo in Gothenburg where folks could watch the assembly process in action. That was back in December; two weeks ago David shared Instagram images showing the near-complete interior. A video from last week shows the rear portion of the roof is finished now, too.
Being a work-in-progress, there are upwards of 350,000 bricks invested into the build right now. It's unclear whether all 400,000 from the Lego Masters win will ultimately be used, but we'll be watching David's socials for updates as he nears the finish line. If you happen to be in Sweden, the car will make public appearances at various locations through April.
