It really does come around sooner every single year. It seems like only last month there was a drought; now we’re thinking about Christmas. And like roast turkey, crackers and a blazing family row, nothing says festive season in the UK like some new Lego kits. Just in time for a blitz of shopping, there’s now the opportunity to build a Jaguar E-Type, a Land Rover Defender and a Jaguar Project 7 from bricks.
The E-Type is arguably the most interesting, a kit for adults inspired by ‘77 RW’ (the oldest surviving E, the one Norman Dewis drove to the Geneva show in 1961) and made up of 1,673 pieces. As usual when dealing with the more senior Lego stuff, it’s the detail that’s most exciting, from a foldable textile roof to working steering, a straight six that looks like a straight six to a five-piece tool kit. Lego says that its Jag ‘uses clever angles and Technic elements beneath the bodywork to capture the curves and proportions that made the original E-Type so distinctive.’ It’s 37cm long, 14cm wide and 9cm high; the ideal thing to dedicate a couple of hours to if the in-laws/neighbours/kids (delete as appropriate, or not at all) are proving a bit much this festive period.
Should your Jaguar appreciation have a more modern tilt (or the Lego builder in your house does not yet possess the skills), there’s also now an F-Type available for Christmas 2026. No ordinary F-Type, either, but a Project 7, in the spec it was first seen at Goodwood. It has been launched as a Lego Speed Champions kit, a bit less complicated than an Icons build and therefore suitable for ages 10 and up. A great diversion when they look like completing YouTube by December 27th, especially as it comes as part of a two-car, 740-piece kit: alongside the Project 7 in the latest Lego box is a Land Rover Defender. One equipped with big off-road wheels, a roof rack and ladder, spotlights and an interior. Both Jag and Defender get bespoke minifigures to ride inside, too.
On sale now from Lego and all good toy shops (probably some sub-par ones as well), the E-Type costs £130 and the Speed Champions duo for £45. Or, if it’s going to be a very special Christmas and Lego won’t exactly cut it, the classifieds are of course on hand: this Project 7 exactly matches the Speed Champions car (and is less than its new RRP), this E-Type is recently restored (and 65 years old next year), and then there’s the Defender - what could be more ready for adventure than a former Highlands Emergency Rescue truck?
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