DrJB

You could always wait for deals on eBay. In the US, the Arocs sells for $230+tax, or roughly $250 (depending on which state you live in). Yet, there were few offers on eBay for $185, including shipping and no tax. This is usually target/Walmart liquidating overstock items. Hoping the same happens with the Porsche.

Good Job! I do have the bottom three and the proportions (all 3 with their backs against the wall) are consistent with what you have done here. Assuming we got the Porsche dimensions correct, we can put this 'aspect' to bed then. Yes, the Porsche is the largest (or longest) supercar yet from TLG.

Stumbled upon this on flicker, and it might not be pure technic, but has a large assortment of Technic parts. Thoughts, and do you know of other 'huge' technic constructions?

I'll add this, given that the OP might not be getting the answers he's after. In my opinion, the way TLG calculates prices is not necessarily fair (yet to be defined) / based on ppp / or else. The best example I can think of are 9398 vs. 41999. The parts count (and production price) was clearly more for the 41999, the box material as well. Granted, maybe less development for the under-chassis part, but in the end, those of us who bought both sure felt 41999 was a much better value. Now, did TLG give freebies to everyone with 41999 by adding silver pieces, and 2 PF components? Not at all. I'm a firm believer that TLG as a corporation is in this business to make $$$. Plain and simple. It just so happens that we all are guilty of wanting their product. Does the PPP or any metric hold water for the two vehicles? Not at all. What is it then? It could be that, like others have said, TLG knows how exclusive this set is, and they're trying to get as much return on their investment. Is that bad? Only time will tell, but every corporation plays by the same rules. No, I do not like the price! But I know myself when I'm at a lego store: I'll find an excuse to buy it. I'll close by one fact many of us might have overlooked. It appears this set is LARGER than all prior official cars, not just in terms of number of parts, but also in terms of actual dimensions. Maybe a picture of the Porsche next to the 8448 or 8880 will appease some of us and bring others 'to their senses'.

I thought a collector's item is meant to be kept in its box, and only opened 20 years down the road ... a time capsule of sorts

I used to have a large 1.2m×2.4m particle board to work on, (a large table) but it took a big chunk of room and was difficult to maneuver around. Now, I use an Ikea desktop (about 0.8m×1.4m) and it's big enough for play. No, my knees take no load when I'm with Lego.

Since we're talking about orange, here is a full orange car, from a lego event here in Chicago. I thought the Porsche looked a bit different, but then again, lighting conditions and other settings do affect the perceived color. Unless one does some 'image processing' based on some standard colors as reference. Would the blue building help to 'calibrate' the processing? I have the full size (4x) image available if anyone is interested.

Amazing how much detail/function you've packed in such a 'small' car. Nicely done!

That's the wrong car ... lol ... the wheels are not the same.

I think you got the math wrong . Any Lego car out there, if you buy the parts one at a time (from Bricklink) is going to cost MORE than if it were packaged as a single set. The 8455 cost less than $100 when it came out (I got a second one for $40, on sale at TRUs). If you try to bricklink it today, it'll cost you $200-250. The 'whole' is cheaper than the sum of the parts. Now, here is some 'alternate' math: Apparently a large part of the price tag went into preparing the book. Yes, the book weighs 1/2 of the total box, and possibly that is what had pushed the price way up. If the book was destined as a 'coffee table' item (as stated in the video), at least they could have made it hard bound and use higher quality paper, and that will last a bit longer than your typical set of instructions. Of course, I'm wishing/speculating that the book they showed is an early prototype and the actual one will be hardbound ... something to display proudly in its own glass case. The way I see it, and I'm sure I'm not too far from the truth, it seems TLG has realized there is extra $$$ to be made on licensed sets (look at all other themes), and they are now expanding the licensing idea to the Technic theme, full force.

There was a VEX IQ GBC segment last year at Chicago's Brickworld. In all honesty at first I felt (What the h*** is that?). But then again, with competition comes product improvement and new ideas.

Right On! I think many of us 'technic guys' i.e., those with engineering/STEM training, get more excited about the technical functions and components such as gears, suspension geometry, wheel offset, LAs, and on and on. While past sets have offered a certain sense of waow/new factor, I tend to agree that this set offers very little except maybe the build technique aka paddle shift. But, then again, that shifting mechanism was 'pioneered' by many in the MOC/AFOL community and as such (unless you've been living in a rock somewhere), is not totally new. Over the past few years, it seems Technic has evolved to focus more on looks than on function. Example: the 42009 Mobile Crane had many functions, but most were repeats and there was no suspension present. My definition of 'Ultimate' implies a certain amount of authenticity with regards to not only looks/geometry, but also function. Some of the features I was 'expecting' were a multi-link suspension, realistic wheel offset, boxster engine, ... Not bashing TLG, but if the set is destined for 16+, then it should mimic closely the 'real' vehicle. This is a Technic set, not Creator, and as such, more emphasis should be put on function, imho, naturally. In the end, rant as we may, many of us will end up buying this set, even though some are 'disappointed' ... it's just another toy.

Well ... looks like a big red box on wheels (as most busses do). Would be nice if you highlighted the special features (with photos) regarding for example the suspension, engine, steering ... etc. Maybe also some 'basic' LDD screenshota to explain how the various mechanisms operate. Good Job!

Looking closer at the suspension, I recall visiting a Porsche booth at a recent auto-show and the springs of the suspension are NOT placed as shown in the model. Maybe it was a different model, but to my recollection, the lego spring suspension geometry is far from the truth. Any thought/comments?

I used to work for the automotive (in Detroit area) and every now and then you'd see these prototypes on the road. Not only they had camo stickers, but also some parts were 'upholstered' to modify the outer shape. I can tell you this, it was rather ugly/distracting to see big zebras on 4 wheels, sharing the road with you.

Did you say Astronomy? I started with that back in 98 ... got a Meade ETX 125 (Maksutov-Cassegrain) with Autostar and a Nikon 995 plus various adapters for astrophotography. Was able to get decent pics of jupiter+moons, the Pleiades, and few others. Of course this technology is 18 years old and I'm sure things have evolved substantially since then. For one, Meade no longer makes the 125 and they moved their production to China. Still have my 125 though, and hopefully someday the kids will develop a taste for it. I'm digressing again ...

True Akiyuki's model is very aesthetically pleasing ... However, I like very much the 'multi-level' binary/gate sorting mechanism philo implemented. To me, it's more than just the looks/functionality, it's also the inner workings/math/algorithms. Let us not forget that, when the first GBC specs were 'drafted', philo blasted them all with his own GBC modules, some of them still running today. Yes, I also started my GBC adventure based on philo's page, and built those shown below, based on philo's instructions. http://www.philohome.com/gbc/gbc.htm

Maybe this was noted before but ... the preliminary box (in the video) says 2900 parts ???

If these were to become official sets, the box would for sure weigh more than the set itself ...

While there are many diverse/different opinions, this discussion reminds me of a quote in a movie I saw recently: There are two types of people, those constantly running after happiness, and those running away from pain (Russel Crowe, do not recall the name of the movie). This to say there are two 'groups' of AFOLs, those who see this as an iconic set and those who see it as just another set of parts, ultimately destined to be recycled for other MOCs. I recall you and I had a related discussion in a separate thread. You had told me/us, back then, that the best correlation to price was the actual weight of the set. As in any statistical analysis, there are many ways to skin this cat car. So, the few metrics that would make sense displaying (to me) would be: 1. Weight of the set 2. Average weight (mass) for each part 3. % distributions among nails&glue (2L/3L pins and bushings), and important parts (connectors, gears, lift-arms and panels) 4. Presence of PF parts and how many. There was a thread I started a while back, and the title I think was 'nails & glue' and in there, based on a small list of sets I considered, the small 2L/3L pins and bushings accounted for roughly 50% of all parts. Yes, I agree that the PPP for this set is in the same ballpark as for prior sets, but if this car has a higher percentage of small parts, then the PPP is no longer a 'valid' metric. Also, it's a good idea that you started this thread so we can have a separate/focused 'healthy' debate.

What I do not understand in the 'official' video is TLG's referral to this set as: "we wanted to reproduce the same building experience as that of the real car". (I'm might be para-phrasing here). Now, how can you reproduce the same 'experience' between a toy car and an assembly line? Do the shock absorbers come disassembled and left to the AFOL to put together? As much as I respect both brands, it seems the wording sometimes needs some 'editing'. True, but I wonder if I should get this set or save my $$$ for the real thing. Most likely the plastic version will appreciate, the metal version? not so sure.

I can already guess your next/expensive MOC ... 'redneck' ... err, orange-neck porsche playing in a mud pit.

Thanks. Good Luck with ur finals.

Would really like to see an animation.

With the 'flooded' thread about the Porsche, I came here expecting to read something different. What do I find? Porsche again :(