LEGO® Speed Champions 2021 interview: Design Manager Specialist Christopher Stamp

Back in May 2020 during the Fan Media Days, New Elementary contributors Tim Johnson and Francesco Spreafico spoke online to LEGO® Speed Champions Design Manager Specialist, Christopher Leslie Stamp, where he told us everything about the 2021 sets. (Well, almost everything – since then, they added another car to this year's assortment!) And so now, a year later with the sets about to be released on 1 June, we can finally share what he told us! This transcript has been edited for clarity, readability and narrative flow.

Set images ©2021 The LEGO Group, photograph ©2019 New Elementary

Forbidden Elementary: Sticker sheet cardboard box

Inthert (on Instagram) returns today with a wholly (and holey) different idea for a New Elementary post. Welcome to Forbidden Elementary, where we look at elements that aren't elements. Heresy!

Designed to withstand even the most enthusiastic play, the average LEGO® brick doesn’t typically require individual protective packaging. However, some of the more fragile, non-standard elements like rubber bands, string and cloth pieces need exactly that and so are placed in small cardboard boxes to keep them safe from factory to consumer.

This particular specimen comes from the Speed Champions polybag 30342 Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo Evo which was available for free with qualifying purchases from LEGO in June and August 2020. Unusually, it does not contain one of the vulnerable element types listed above; instead it protects the tiny sticker sheet from getting crumpled in the bag. Before diving deeper into the wonderful potential of cardboard LEGO elements, let’s take a brief look at the model itself because without it, I wouldn’t have embarked on this bizarre endeavour.

LEGO® Speed Champions 2020: Designer Interview with Christopher Stamp

Way back in May 2019, we spoke to LEGO® Speed Champions Design Manager Specialist Christopher Leslie Stamp in Billund where he thrilled us with a secret glimpse at the 2020 line and its new elements. Now that the sets are available, we can share our interview with you.

Hello Chris, how long have you worked on the Speed Champions line?

I was on the design team for the first launch, so I was lucky enough to work on those products. I was the main designer on the second launch and I worked on several of the third launch. And that's when we actually first started looking into the 911 Porsche. But we don't just pick a car and do it straightaway. For example, although we started looking into the Porsche in 2016, we thought we'd keep for 2017. Actually, we kept it until 2018 because we kept working on it for so long, and then I went off and I did Ninjago for a little bit.

LEGO® Speed Champions 2020: The new pieces

Tomorrow is January 1 and that means new LEGO® sets, which in turn means new LEGO parts! We asked Duncan Lindbo to locate all the new moulds and printed parts in the 2020 range of Speed Champions, and additionally tasked him with exploring the capabilities of those exciting new moulds.

A few weeks ago, LEGO revealed the first wave of 2020 Speed Champions sets which are available from January 1 2020.

• 76895 Ferrari F8 Tributo
• 76896 Nissan GT-R NISMO
• 76897 Audi Sport Quattro S1
• 76898 Formula E Panasonic Jaguar Racing GEN2 Car & Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY
• 76899 Lamborghini Urus ST-C & Huracán Super Trofeo EVO

But we’re not here to talk about the sets themselves, we’re here for the parts!

New moulds in LEGO Speed Champions 2020

2019 LEGO® Speed Champions Part 2: the new elements

Following his review of the five new LEGO® Speed Champions sets for 2019, Ben Davies (ProfessorBrickkeeper) now examines the new, recolored and printed parts you'll find in them. 75890 Ferrari F40 Competizione, 75891 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Race Car, 75892 McLaren Senna, 75893 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon and 1970 Dodge Charger R/T, and 75894 1967 Mini Cooper S Rally and 2018 MINI John Cooper Works Buggy are all now available to purchase.

Across the new assortment of Speed Champions sets, a whopping twenty-two new elements can be found. These include twelve part recolors, eight parts with new decorations, and two completely new part designs. After taking a look at the complete sets in part one of my review, I am turning my attention to all of these new elements, and highlighting some of the more notable ones.

Two new part designs for the purpose of vehicle building have been introduced in the the latest wave of Speed Champions. These include a slim new wheel arch and a hubcap element which extends to cover the edge of the tire.

2019 LEGO® Speed Champions Part 1: the sets

New year, new LEGO® sets and we also welcome a new contributor, Ben Davies (ProfessorBrickkeeper) who over the course of two posts will take a look at 75890 Ferrari F40 Competizione, 75891 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Race Car, 75892 McLaren Senna, 75893 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon and 1970 Dodge Charger R/T, and 75894 1967 Mini Cooper S Rally and 2018 MINI John Cooper Works Buggy. As is often the case at New Elementary, Ben chose not to apply the stickers. If you want to see how the cars look stickered, check out the reviews at your other favourite LEGO fan sites!

Since the theme’s introduction in 2015, LEGO® Speed Champions has continually offered a wide variety of licensed vehicles to autophiles and LEGO fans alike, ranging from consumer vehicles to racing cars.

2018 LEGO® Speed Champions: Under the bonnet

Sven Franic has early access to the LEGO® Speed Champions range for 2018, which are now available at BrickLink. He's put them together and, more importantly, pulled them apart to reveal the new pieces you'll find in 75884 1968 Ford Mustang Fastback, 75885 Ford Fiesta M-Sport WRC, 75886 Ferrari 488 GT3 "Scuderia Corsa", 75887 Porsche 919 Hybrid, 75888 Porsche 911 RSR and 911 Turbo 3.0, and 75889 Ferrari Ultimate Garage.

Speed Champions is an in-house LEGO® theme featuring external licences by various car manufacturers. The theme’s fourth year in production is a testament to its great success.  The 2018 line up is represented by sets licensed by Ford Motor Company, and two long-running IP partners of TLG: Ferrari N.V and Porsche AG.

I’ve been a gearhead all my life, and I remember trying to recreate real cars in minifig-scale models with the bricks I had as a kid. Cars like this at the time would have made my mouth soar from swooshing and vrooming.