Review: 77263 BMW M3 (E30) from LEGO® Speed Champions

Celebrate the 40th anniversary of a motoring icon with... a rock Golem? Today I take a look at the August 2026 LEGO® Speed Champions set 77263 BMW M3 (E30). Read on for my review of the model and MOCs inspired by some of its parts.

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.

77263 BMW M3 (E30)

• Release date: 1 August 2026
• Pieces: 358
• Ages: 9+

Price: US$29.99/ £22.99/ 27.99€/ AU$39.99

• US$ 29.99 on LEGO.com US
• CA$ 42.99 on LEGO.com Canada
• GB£ 22.99 on LEGO.com UK
• AU$ 39.99 on LEGO.com Australia
• 27,99€ on LEGO.com Deutschland, Nederland, France, etc
• PLN 114.99 on LEGO.com Polska
• NOK 399,90 on LEGO.com Norge
• DKK 249.95 on LEGO.com Danmark

Other countries click here

 

New moulds

Double spoked wheel hub (5808)

Earlier this year, 77254 Ferrari SF90 XX Stradale Sports Car introduced a new, larger wheel hub with five spokes (7834); now it has a six-spoked companion. 

• 4x Wheel, Sport 21 x 11, Double Spokes with BMW Logo print in Pearl Gold (6614318 | 5808, 118437)

Its functionality is identical to its counterpart (above, top left) with a LEGO® Technic pin hole on the back being the only legal connection point (above, top right). The split six-spoke design is a little more generic compared to the five, it evokes the feel of some common wheel hubs like Wheel 18 x 8 with Fake Bolts and Deep Spokes with Inner Ring (13971, above bottom right). Hopefully we'll see the new hub without BMW-specific branding soon.

5 x 6 x 1 2/3 Windscreens (16173)

Dual-moulded? Over-moulded? Two-stage injection moulded? There seems to be some debate regarding the correct terminology for parts like these, but one thing is for sure, each of these screens is made from two colours of plastic and are a wonderful upgrade compared to previous LEGO Speed Champions canopies that made-do with *mere* printed A-pillars. 

So far the screen only appears in two colour combinations, both of which are included in this set:

• 1x Windscreen 5 x 6 x 1 2/3 Curved Front in Trans-Clear and White (6632635 | 116173)
• 1x Windscreen 5 x 6 x 1 2/3 Curved Front with Black Stripes pattern in Trans-Clear and Black (6635727 | 119234) (6591537 | 116173).

Note that the black version included here actually has printing on the sides to better emulate the thicker C-pillars at the rear of the BMW. An unprinted (but still dual-moulded version) can be found in 77262 Ken Block's '65 Ford Mustang Hoonicorn V1; I can't wait for the confusion on the aftermarket that's going to cause!

To make matters worse, at first glance they appear identical in size to the existing 6 x 6 x 1 2/3 windscreen (65632, above top left). However, the new screen is a full module shorter. Similarly, the tapered section is a deceptively close, yet imperfect, match to the recent 6 x 2 x 2 curved windscreen (7304, above top right) which sits a half plate lower. There's no doubt all these screens share a significant amount of DNA and yet, they all have unique utility despite the similarities.

That extra plate of height does mean the incline of the new screen aligns perfectly with yet another windscreen, 5 x 2 x 1 2/3 (6070, above right). For a more material-based comparison, consider the Concorde canopy (103918, above left) - another recent duel moulded element with angle intrigue all of its own, as I found when I reviewed it back in 2023.

Exclusive recolours

There's bound to be at least one MOC builder who's been dying to get forks in black; if that's you then congratulations! Hopefully the other three exclusive recolours are of use to folks too:

• 1x Bracket 1 x 2 - 2 x 4 Inverted in Black (6637142 | 7452)
• 2x + Spare Equipment Cutlery - Fork in Black (6637141 | 79741)
• 1x Plate 2 x 2 Corner in Dark Azure (6609756 | 2420)
• 1x Plate Special 1 x 3 with 2 Studs with Groove and Inside Stud Holder (Jumper) in Dark Azure (6637140 | 34103)

Rare parts

There's just one element that meets our usual rarity criteria of appearing in x1 other set and none that appear in x2 other sets, so I included a few recent and lesser seen parts the set come with that I felt were worth highlighting too:

Appears in x1 other set:

• 2x Brick Curved 1 x 1 in Blue (6612153 | 7126) - Also in 72161 Drone Search for Mythical Mew.

No longer rare, but still relatively new:

• 1x Bracket 1 x 1 - 1 x 2 Inverted in Dark Azure (6589636 | 73825)
• 2x Bracket 1 x 2 - 2 x 2 Centered in Red (6605639 | 7674)
• 2x Plate Special 1 x 4 Rounded with 2 Open Studs in Dark Bluish Gray (6618347 | 77845)

Prints

Making up for the meagre selection of recolours and rare parts is a vast array of printed elements:

• 4x Plate Round Corner 2 x 2 with 1 x 1 Cutout with Magenta Stripes print in Black (6614317 | 118436)
• 2x Plate Round Corer 2 x 2 with 1 x 1 Cutout with Red Stripes print in Black (6614309 | 118428)
• 1x  Brick Sloped 30° 1 x 1 x 2/3 (Cheese Slope) with Black/Dark Azure Shapes print in White (6614310 | 118429)
• 1x + Spare Tile 1 x 1 with Black Surface, Triangle Cutout print in White (6614314 | 118433)
• 2x + Spare  Tile 1 x 1 with Black Triangle print in White (6635721 | 119232)
• 1x + Spare   Tile 1 x 1 with Dark Azure/Black Shapes print in White (6614303 | 118422)
• 1x + Spare  Tile 1 x 1 with Red/Black Shapes print in White (6614306 | 118425)
• 1x Tile 1 x 4 with Black Shapes print in White (6614315 | 118434)
• 1x Tile 1 x 4 with Black Shapes print in White (6614312 | 118431)
• 1x Tile 1 x 6 with Black Shape, Red Rectangle print in White (6663555 | 121662)
• 1x Tile 1 x 6 with Black/Red/Dark Azure Shapes print in White (6614311 | 118430)
• 2x Tile 2 x 2 with Black Triangle print in White (6614316 | 118435)
• 1x  Tile 2 x 6 with Black Shapes, Dark Azure Rectangle print in White (6663554 | 121661)
• 2x  Tile 2 x 6 with Black/Red/Dark Azure Shapes print in White (6614320 | 118439)
• 1x Tile 4 x 4 with Black'4', Shapes, BMW Logo print in White (6614313 | 118432)

Some of the 1x1s would make interesting details on mechs or jazzy bathroom tiles, but my favourite of the bunch are the 2x2 curved corner plates with horizontal lines in red and magenta. Two of the latter aren't even visible when the model is complete and are easy to swap out for unprinted versions if you'd like to make use of the prints in a MOC but also keep the car intact. Big thanks to the design team for their print-based generosity!

Minifigure

The driver comes with a printed torso to match the car's livery, and some striking magenta hair exclusive to this set: 

• 1x Hair Swept to Right, Hard Plastic in Magenta (6659715 | 76772)
• 1x Torso, Racing Suit, White 'M', Black/Dark Azure/Dark Pinks Shapes print, Odd Arms, Left White Arm, Right Black Arm, Yellow Hands in White (6636065 | 76382)

The build

A welcome surprise early on in proceedings is the absence of a specialised chassis element. Instead, we begin with a 6 x 8 trap door frame plate (92107) that is soon consumed by (mostly) basic parts in bright colours. The later stages kick things up a notch in terms of techniques and clever parts usage with a pair of forks framed by a sideways 1 x 2 panel (93095) for the iconic BMW 'kidney grill'. Also note the clever positioning of brackets at a slight angle to achieve the subtle taper of the bonnet.

As the build comes to an end, the technicolour filler brick is covered by a lively asymmetrical livery formed of prints, stickers and actual bricks. The effect is similar to 76922 BMW M4 GT3 & BMW M Hybrid V8 double pack that Thomas Jenkins reviewed back in 2024.

Decorations

Before we take a look at the completed build, here it is sans-stickers:

The large geometric patterns on the top surfaces of the car are surprisingly effective despite the print coverage limitations of tiles and the tricky 5 x 5 area on the bonnet. It's encouraging to see the vehicle looks pretty good as-is, however, the small set of stickers are still essential to get the full effect.

Completed model

Given the complexity of the paint scheme and the combination of mediums used to achieve it, the finished BMW looks surprisingly cohesive:

Things can get a little muddled when the smaller decorations struggle to navigate some of the car's contours, but overall it's a valiant effort and looks even better in person. For fans of the car but not the 40th anniversary livery, it's fortunate that the bodywork is predominantly formed of standard plates and tiles, so a less lary version would be relatively easy to modify. 

Speaking of bodywork, the shape of the 40-year old original translates into brick form rather well. It still suffers a little from 'narrow greenhouse disease' with its back-to-back 6-wide windscreens but the fact the surrounding area is 7-wide rather than the usual 8 mitigates this nicely.

Verdict

As is often the case with LEGO Speed Champions sets, the question of value persists. For most of us, the cost remains as per the previous wave at £22.99/ 27.99€/ AU$39.99 but those in the US will be disheartened to see a jump from $27.99 to $29.99 per single vehicle set this wave. Thankfully the quality of the theme continues to rise in tandem with the prices, but it's becoming rather a lot to ask for a single vehicle. 

Hmmm. That seems a rather sour way to end the article. How about some rock monsters? 

MOCs by Tom Loftus using set 77263

Having sung the praises of the cool 2x2 curved corner plate prints, I felt compelled to put them to good use as the robot eyes they obviously are.

I intended to make a slick, futuristic style bot with asymmetrical accents using some of the other prints and stickered elements, but as I started building, a more organic looking creature emerged - one that definitely wouldn't like to be plastered in decals, so I'll save those for another day. 

Instead, I made an Ice Golem. I (somehow) didn't know this style of creature is called that, but my brother-in-law assures me that's what this is.

I enjoyed making it so much I decided to do another, this time a little more... 'Power Miner-y'.

I toyed with making the second one have different proportions but I failed to find a configuration I liked more than Mr. Ice Paws over there. 

I rather like the idea they're twins anyway:

READ MORE: Exploring Bar 6L with Stop Rings, Double Bent (7078)

 

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