13 May 2024

LEGO® Speed Champions review: 76920 Ford Mustang Dark Horse Sports Car

Posted by Tom Loftus

Today we take a look at 76920 Ford Mustang Dark Horse Sports Car. It may only have a few new moulds, but it remains the literal dark horse of the March 2024 LEGO® Speed Champions wave.

Products in this article were gifted by The LEGO Group; the author's opinions are their own.
This article contains affiliate links to LEGO.com; we may get a small commission if you purchase.

76920 Ford Mustang Dark Horse Sports Car
US$26.99/ £20.99/ 26.99€/ AU$39.99
344 parts
Released 1 March 2024

The parts

If you intend to stock up on the new elements introduced in the latest SC wave, the Mustang probably isn't the best way to do it. 

The set comes with just three new moulds:

  • 2x Bracket 1 x 6 - 2 x 6 Inverted in Black (6458186 | 5090) - Found in 1 other set
  • 2x 1 x 2 tile with 45° Stud Notch in Black - Left (6510125) and Right (6510139) - Found in 5 other sets
  • 2x 1 x 2 tile with 45° Stud Notch in Dark Stone Grey / Dark Bluish Gray - Left (6510131) & Right (6510145) - Found in 3 other sets

The selection of recolours is a bit more substantive:

Firstly, given the colour of the vehicle, it's not a surprise to find some new and lesser seen elements in Earth Blue / Dark Blue:
  • 1x Microphone [Plain] (6475974 | 18740) - Exclusive
  • 4x Plate 3 x 3 Corner (6474895 | 77844) - Exclusive
  • 4x 3387 Wheel Arch, Mudguard 4 x 2 x 2 (6468003 | 3387) - Exclusive
  • 6x Slope 45° 2 x 1 Inverted with 2/3 Cut-out (6470262 | 2310) - Found in 1 other 2024 set
  • 1x Slope Curved 2 x 2 x 2/3 Inverted (6470263 | 32803) - Found in 3 other 2024 sets
  • 2x Tile Round 1 x 1 Half Circle (6444941 | 35399) - Found in 3 other sets
  • 4x Bracket 1 x 1 - 1 x 2 Inverted (6450823 | 73825) - Introduced in late 2023, found in 5 other sets

Next, likely to violate tinted windscreen laws in LEGO City, we have the Trans-Black recolours. From smallest to largest the set contains:
  • 2x Plate 1 x 1 (6446336 | 28554) - Exclusive
  • 4x Plate 1 x 2 (6514010 | 28653) - 1 Other 2024 Set
  • 2x Brick 1 x 1  (6470140 | 35382) - 1 Other 2024 Set
  • 2x Panel 1 x 2 x 2 [Side Supports / Hollow Studs] (6469858 | 35378) - 4 Other 2024 sets
  • 1x Windscreen 6 x 6 x 1 2/3 in Trans-Black (6510197 | 65632) - 2 Other 2024 sets

Zooming in, we find a couple of tiny red recolours. Neither are exclusive, but each is rare enough to warrant a mention:
  • 2x Technic Brick 1 x 1 with Axle Hole (6473604 | 73230) - Found in 1 other set
  • 2x Bar 1L with Clip [Cut Edges, Side Hole, Full Clip] (6439048 | 3484) - Found in 5 other set

Decorations



There are 3 unique printed elements in the set. All of which come in a pair, aside from the cheese slopes which get a spare as usual.
  • 2x Slope Curved 2 x 2 x 2/3 with Black/Silver Grill (6472234 | 106719)
  • 2x Tile 1 x 6 with Red Rear Lights, Silver Mustang Logo  (6472233 | 106718)
  • 2x Cheese Slope 30° 1 x 1 x 2/3 with Black Surface (6486137 | 108569)

The duplicated 1x6 print might seem like an error but they are both used on the model - rather ingeniously too. More on that later.


The sticker sheet is mercifully small with only 11 to apply - the benefit of building a car devoid of sponsors or racing livery.

Minifigure

The minifigure is on-brand, sporting an exclusive Dark Horse hoodie (6480719 | 76382). The hair piece in Dark Red (6446762 | 76772) is uncommon too, appearing in just 2 other sets.

The build

For a car with a fairly boxy appearance, the build is surprisingly intricate. Let's take a look under the hood.


The mystery of the double tail light print is solved as we take a peek at the rear end's construction. Once assembled, the second printed tile is partially obscured by the first, creating the illusion that the tail lights continue through the 90° corner. A look at the completed rear will explain that better but there's some cool stuff going on at the front end to cover first.


Some snazzy positioning of minifigure posing stands secure the headlights. The bonnet is clipped into place via a pair of 3L bars which, in turn, support a couple of.. flowers? Why flowers? Well, their recessed studs create just the right offset, projecting the front subassembly forwards the desired distance - ingenious! 

To the left and right of the front intake are the printed dark blue cheese slopes. During the build, they're easy to confuse with the set's plain dark blue cheeses. Even on the final model, they aren't that noticeable. One assumes the design team thought the little bit of simulated depth they do provide was worth the effort nonetheless?

Puzzling print choices aside, the completed Mustang is a mean-looking vehicle - in a good way. The Trans-Clear half round tile's stud notches perfectly mimic real car's segmented headlights. Nearby, the underside texture of the 1x2 curved wedges in black nail the look of the snout. 

Curiously, had it been applied, sticker number 10 would cover the bar hole on the inverted 1x3 tile. It's not unheard of for stickers to cover an element's physical features, but it is rare.  

A glance at the rear shows off the clever tail light solution. It is a little awkward that this area is predominantly 6 modules wide. The curved slopes and wedges either side look a bit tacked-on as a result. Perhaps if the lower portion was the full 8 modules wide, things would've felt more congruous?

Ignoring a draughty looking floor, the interior is nicely detailed with comfy looking seats and the dark blue microphone as a gear stick. The new brackets are pulling their weight too, providing an abundance of sideways studs for all those cheese slopes, while maximising interior space.

Closing thoughts

Despite a slightly disjointed rear, and some jagged edges on the side windows, 76920 Ford Mustang Dark Horse Sports Car remains an admirable brick-built adaptation. It's a tad boxy-looking but packed with great techniques – the nose area in particular has some stand-out NPU, cleverly exploiting a few existing element's geometry to capture subtle details. 

If it's new elements you're after, one of the other cars in the March LEGO Speed Champions range might be more to your liking. 

READ MORE: LEGO® Icons 10334 Retro Radio features a new version of the sound brick

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1 comment:

  1. This is a really nice model. Mildly interesting construction, captures the look well, brick-built headlamps, unprinted windscreen, looks good without stickers, nice selection of bricks mostly in one color.

    ReplyDelete