The latest addition to the LEGO® Technic Ultimate Car Concept Series is packed with great new elements, as I revealed previously. Today, I’m finally building the set and find out if 42232 Koenigsegg Sadair's Spear Megacar also provides a satisfying build and finished model.
We were given this product 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.
42232 Koenigsegg Sadair's Spear Megacar™
- Release date: 1 July 2026
- Pieces: 4104
- Ages: 18+
Price:
- US$ 449.99 on LEGO.com US
- CA$ 629.99 on LEGO.com Canada
- GB£ 399.99 on LEGO.com UK
- AU$ 699.99 on LEGO.com Australia
- 449,99€ on LEGO.com Deutschland, Nederland, France, etc
- PLN 1949.99 on LEGO.com Polska
- NOK 5999,90 on LEGO.com Norge
- DKK 3699.95 on LEGO.com Danmark
The Sadair's Spear from the Swedish automobile manufacturer Koenigsegg Automotive AB is a high-performance version of the Koenigsegg Jesko. The name is not chosen at random, as the Jesko is named after the father of the founder of the company: Jesko von Koenigsegg. This man was known as a jockey, who rode his final race on a horse named Sadair’s Spear. It seems the name is also connected to Scandinavian mythology, but I can’t find a direct link; please let me know if you have more information for me.
If you wanted to purchase an actual Sadair’s Spear, I’m sorry to disappoint you as all 30 units produced are sold out. The car, with its 1,625hp V8 would have set you back around €3,8m, so the RRP of US$449.99/ £399.99/ 449.99€/ AU$699.99 for the LEGO version looks much more affordable. At least relatively.
The box
Opening the lid, we find 3 smaller boxes with diagonally cut flaps to add to the uniqueness of the packaging. The main box has cutout slots on the sides for easy access to the inner boxes.
Unlike the previous supercar, 42172 P1 McLaren, the wheels are sitting loose in the third inner box instead of having their own cardboard holder. The manuals are treated better, as cutouts in the thick bottom provide a snuggly spot for them.
On the one hand, a set in this price range deserves a special package, and although this one looks good, it doesn’t live up to the standard set by earlier supercar packaging. On the other hand – with me – boxes always end up in the recycling.
The building manuals have an extensive introduction, describing the car we’re about to build as well as the design process. Each bag starts with some further background information.
The build
Transmission
We start at my favorite part of these supercars: the gearbox.
Bearing in mind the new gear shifters that the set introduces to create the 9-speed transmission, I was a little worried about how complex this thing would become: building it is one thing, writing about it in a review is a different matter. Luckily, the gearbox appears to be detailed yet simple, so I'll give it a try.
I'll start with some photos and words, but at the end of this section you’ll also find a video making things clearer, hopefully.
The gearbox is less compact than previous versions, stretching from the center of the car to the back, with the rear axle breaking it up into 2 sections. It’s made out of 2 axles running along the sides, each with 3 gear shifters. Both axles feature the new stepper gear to time their rotation, and together they are connected to the gear paddles underneath the steering wheel.
Through the center, 4 axles – 2 on top and 2 on the bottom – connect in various ways to each other through various gears; some with clutch, and some without. The new drums (part 7445 in red, and 7446 in yellow) on the axles each connect to a Gear Shifter Fork (4159, orange), which shifts a Technic Driving Ring 2L (2473, dark bluish grey); clutching and unclutching the gear next to it on one of the top 2 center axles. Depending on which gear is being clutched, the power from the engine runs through different paths along the 4 center axles to the wheels, with the various gears changing the gear ratio with each selected path.
A top view gives a better perspective on how it all comes together. As I explained in the parts review, each drum has 2 settings: On and Off. This is unlike the original 4158 which has 3 settings: A / Off / B. The drums are lined up such that at any gear setting, one red and one yellow drum is connecting a gear to the drivetrain. The yellow drums each take 3 successive gears: in gears 1-3, the top right yellow drum (top right) is connecting, in gears 4-6 the center yellow, and in gears 7-9 the left yellow. Meanwhile, the red drums alternated with each shift: the right red takes gears 1, 4 and 7, the center red takes gears 2, 5 and 8, the left red takes gears 3, 6 and 9. This results in a trinary system with 9 possible settings.
The engine is a V8, using the revamped engine blocks and mounts also found in the Technic F1 cars. You can read more about this revamp in my review of 42206 Oracle Red Bull Racing RB20 and 42207 Ferrari SF-24. Despite the updated parts, the system is still the same repetition we’ve seen for decades.
The front suspension splits up the gearbox, and some axles are run over it, adding to the complexity. With the engine mounted as well, we can see the gearbox in full action by connecting a motor in the drivetrain, but the build is not done yet.
In between the seats, another shifter is installed, this time selecting between Drive, Neutral and Reverse. When Reverse is selected, the entire gearbox is bypassed. The knob for this mechanism is a clever solution too: instead of the usual pivoting lever, the knob slides back and forth on an axle, staying fully level while shifting.
And the finishing touch is found underneath the steering wheel, where paddles connected to the gear shifters in the gearbox. Note that the stepper wheel is sitting free; the timing is locked by the other stepper wheels inside the gearbox instead.
My main complaint with the previous cars is finally fixed: there is a disc showing the gear the car is currently in. It is a bit hidden behind the door, but when that is opened, it is clearly readable.
The resulting construction shifts surprisingly smoothly, and the engine clearly shows the difference in speed between each gear. Attaching a motor directly to the drivetrain right after the engine is mounted gave the best opportunity for a video: when I tried to replicate it by powering a wheel instead, the gearbox started to jam every time shifting to gear 3, 6 and 9. This could be just a construction issue, or maybe the combination of running the motor on full speed caused too much stress. The issue doesn’t occur when rolling the complete car on the floor while shifting gears, so it could just be a speed thing.
Unfortunately, a lot of the gearbox is being buried inside the car. You can see some of the mechanics from the bottom, but the sight is not as clear as in the other cars.
Let’s see that all in action:
Suspension
The Triplex Suspension – as the name suggests – uses 3 shock absorbers, which can also be found in the LEGO model. A small difference is found underneath the horizontal absorber: the anti-roll bar should be stiff, but has a hinge in the center here.
The new wishbones look great, but are made out of a softer type of plastic. From what I understand, this is to allow for some flexibility, and to prevent against breaking. Although that is a good reasoning, the flexibility also has a downside: pressing the suspension results in the bushes holding the connecting bar on the top to loosen up, as you can see in the second video later on.
Ghost Mode
When you are willing to pay €3.8m for a car, just being fast and powerful is not enough. For this, the Sadair’s Spear is equipped with Ghost Mode: with the press of a button, the doors, hood and back all open up at the same time. Useful? Nope. Looks cool? I guess.
The LEGO version includes the system as well.
The doors can be opened individually using a button hidden in the chassis, as we’ve seen in previous versions. New is a mechanism built into the doors that lets the mirrors fold in when the doors open. The movement is like a ballerina: first, the doors move outward, and then rotate until they stand vertically.
The hood can be opened manually, revealing 2 large vents. I suppose they cool the engine or provide air for the combustion? No room for a travel bag in this model!
The back can be opened as well, and here is where the Ghost Mode comes in: while the doors and hood can open individually, they are also connected to the rear cover. Opening this cover also opens the doors and hood, just like the Ghost Mode. Inside we can see the Triplex Suspension, the engine and a massive exhaust.
While it’s an impressive feature, it doesn’t work flawlessly. You need to open the back straight, not leaning too much to the driver's side, otherwise the hood doesn’t open fully or at all. I was also unable to open the doors into their vertical position, instead having them stay stuck under an angle. This issue does not occur when opening the doors individually using their own lever. For the photos, I’ve given the doors a final push, but the video below shows the issue better.
Other stuff
The rest of the build is as to be expected: mostly straightforward, with some clever tricks sprinkled through to create the shape of the Sadiar’s Spear. I like the roof being detachable, as without a Hand Of God you can only steer the car by turning the steering wheel.
The cabin is equipped with a printed dashboard and screen. The steering wheel doesn’t fully line up with the wheels in the front. This is a recurring issue in LEGO Technic cars, caused by the amount of gears in the drivetrain. It feels like a simple thing to fix, so I’m not sure why it keeps happening, especially in a set at the top of the line. The turn cycle is massive, so aside from "the wheels steer:, the function is not really practical.
I've put all moving parts into another video for you:
Finished model
The finished model looks great, and despite this being the fourth in the series that I’ve built, I am always impressed by the size of these beasts. I am not certain where to rank this one though.
The gearbox works great, and I am very happy with the added indicator so I finally know what gear the car sits in. It is as complicated as usual, but still I was able to figure out how it functions (I think!), something that was harder in the previous versions. On the one hand I like being overwhelmed by a complex build, on the other hand I also like to actually know what I am building, so this one is a great middleground.
I do need to note the new gear shifters introduced: I am always caught between being excited by new molds, while also being worried about them being used to cut corners in the design. For that, I wonder if a 9-speed transmission would have been possible with existing parts, and I am also curious to see if the new versions will show up in other sets. I suspect the new suspension was (in part) a wish of the manufacturer, and time will tell if the wishbones will be exclusive to Koenigsegg.
The Ghost Mode, while not flawless, is a nice step-up from previous sets, adding a bit of playability to what is basically a display piece.
I am not a car expert, so I am not really interested in the overall look, but I’ll do my best to judge the car. Looking at the real life model, it looks as the nose dives downward more, while the LEGO version stands taller. The mid-section of the hood is more level, and the raised (printed) headlights don’t stand out as much.
The back looks a lot better in that regard, but overall the car feels more bulky and less streamlined. I am also not a fan of the dark tan accents, which feel larger and more as though they are distracting from than complimenting the shape of the car.
With 200+ more parts than its predecessor 42172 McLaren P1™, I am happy to see the recommended retail price has not increased despite the past 2 years of inflation. We still do get the usual avalanche of new elements, so it doesn’t seem corners were cut there.
Is the build experience, parts and finished model worth the price tag? I think it depends on your budget. I had a blast building it, but although the gearbox and Ghost Mode are great feats of LEGO Technic System, now that the model is complete it is just a display piece I don’t have the space for, so it will be torn down soon to become a MOC-feeder.
I can see fans of the brand and car MOC designers having an interest, but I would rather save up for a more playable LEGO Technic model. May I suggest a remake of 8480 Technic Space Shuttle?
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