LEGO Speed Champions 76916 Porsche 963 review

LEGO Speed Champions 76916 Porsche 963 is an exemplary showcase of what can be achieved with LEGO bricks, masterfully recreating the real car’s complex shapes.

After eight years of LEGO Speed Champions, the innovative design of 76916 Porsche 963 proves that there’s still room for creativity blended with familiar techniques in the car-centric theme.

76916 Porsche 963 is based on the sports prototype of the same name, and while these types of vehicles are rarer (but not unheard of) in Speed Champions, there’s never been one quite like this before.

— LEGO Speed Champions 76916 Porsche 963 set details —

Theme: LEGO Speed Champions Set name: 76916 Porsche 963 Release: March 1, 2023

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Price: £19.99 / $24.99 / €24.99 Pieces: 280 Minifigures: 1

LEGO: Available now

— Where to buy LEGO Speed Champions 76916 Porsche 963

Featuring 280 pieces, 76916 Porsche 963 is part of LEGO Speed Champions and is available in official LEGO Stores and from other retailers. Check below for the latest deals.

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— LEGO Speed Champions 76916 Porsche 963 build —

Prototype racing cars aren’t unheard of in LEGO Speed Champions, including 75887 Porsche 919 Hybrid and 75872 Audi R18 e-tron quattro back when the theme only encompassed six-stud-wide vehicles. Looking back at those sets, it’s clear that this design of race car is far better suited to the eight-stud-wide system instead. 76916 Porsche 963 is simply gorgeous to look at; the shapes, the details and the colours are all so vibrant and mesh together perfectly, especially in LEGO.

The scale appears to be as good as you are going to get considering the strange proportions of minifigures. Everything in the set works in its favour and while it does work without stickers, it’s likely not going to be anywhere near as striking to look at. It’s a shame as the stickers in this model are annoyingly abundant, but know that it’s worth the time, patience and effort to get it right as this is one of the most visually-appealing LEGO Speed Champions cars currently in production. That’s no small feat considering the rest of the 2023 wave.

The use of new and unusually-shaped elements to capture the shapes of the real Porsche 963 is continually interesting, and that contributes to the overall building experience, which is lengthier than for most other LEGO Speed Champions models.

Unfortunately, the interior is a bit sparse, with the most notable detail being the headrest. There’s admittedly not a lot of room to work with and it’s not on view most of the time anyway, but it’s worth bearing in mind should the interior of Speed Champions builds be an important aspect of the set to you.

Looking at the set from above, the shapes and design provided by the stickers become clearer, allowing a deeper appreciation of how accurately it recreates the real car. From below it’s nothing special, though that can also be said for most LEGO Speed Champions cars and again, it’s unlikely to be the most sought-after angle of this model.

Provided you can get past the stickers, the build in 76916 Porsche 963 is one of the most interesting experiences in LEGO Speed Champions to date and the set stands out as a prototype car recreation that truly benefits from the move to eight studs.

— LEGO Speed Champions 76916 Porsche 963 characters —

There’s just one minifigure in 76916 Porsche 963, which is absolutely the norm for LEGO Speed Champions. As is usually the case, the minifigure is adorned with a racing suit featuring basic Porsche Motorsport imagery.

The printing on this minifigure is great, apart from one unfortunate oversight. While the legs have good details close to the edges and on the hip element too, they only run halfway down the legs. The real Porsche Motorsport racing suit doesn’t cover the feet so this makes some sense, but it feels jarring having it transition to just white. Printing to suggest shoes or dual-moulding could have fixed this, but considering that the minifigure will spend most of the time sitting in the driver’s seat, it’s not a major oversight.

— LEGO Speed Champions 76916 Porsche 963 price —

With 280 pieces, 76916 Porsche 963 is priced at the new standard of £19.99 / $24.99 / €24.99 for single Speed Champions cars. Considering the volume of the model and how good the final result looks, this feels like a fair price, though we’re not sure how much higher we would be willing to go. At present, this price point continues to be an excellent and affordable cost for LEGO Speed Champions’ single-car sets.

— LEGO Speed Champions 76916 Porsche 963 pictures —

— LEGO Speed Champions 76916 Porsche 963 pros and cons —

Despite the numerous stickers, 76916 Porsche 963 is a fantastic LEGO Speed Champions set at its core. It showcases the potential of the newer eight-stud-wide design, especially when it comes to prototype cars and their overall smooth and sleek shapes.

It’s a strong entry in the impressive Speed Champions 2023 selection and presents an interesting and uncommon category of the car for the theme, too – one that the design team has represented well in this new model.

76916 Porsche 963 pros76916 Porsche 963 cons
A masterwork in strange shapes at a small scale using only LEGO bricksHeavily reliant on stickers for the design
A rare model of car for LEGO Speed ChampionsFeels too similar to the LEGO Solus GT to have us wanting both
Benefits from the theme moving to eight-stud-wide models

This set was provided for review by the LEGO Group. 

Please support the work that Brick Fanatics does by purchasing your LEGO Speed Champions sets through one of our affiliate links.

— Alternatives to LEGO Speed Champions 76916 Porsche 963

While prototype racing cars aren’t uncommon for LEGO Speed Champions, some of the closest cars in design available now or on launch day include 76900 Koenigsegg Jesko and the upcoming 76918 McLaren Solus GT & McLaren F1 LM.

However, for Porsche LEGO sets, your next best bet – at a much more expensive price – is either 10295 Porsche 911 or 42096 Porsche 911 RSR.

— LEGO Speed Champions 76916 Porsche 963 FAQs —

How long does it take to build LEGO Speed Champions 76916 Porsche 963?

While most LEGO Speed Champions sets take around 40 minutes to put together, 76916 Porsche 963 had a build time of around 50 minutes, partially thanks to the numerous stickers you’ll be prompted to apply.

How many pieces are in LEGO Speed Champions 76916 Porsche 963?

Over two bags, 280 pieces are featured in 76916 Porsche 963 that make up the car, minifigure, wrench and some spare parts that you can add to your collection.

How big is LEGO Speed Champions 76916 Porsche 963?

LEGO Speed Champions cars are all the same scale and tend to be a similar size. 76916 Porsche 963 measures 4cm high, 17cm long and 7cm wide.

How much does LEGO Speed Champions 76916 Porsche 963 cost?

You’ll find 76916 Porsche 963 in-stores and online for £19.99 / $24.99 / €24.99 – the standard price for LEGO Speed Champions models with one car.

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