Review: LEGO 76925 Aston Martin Vantage Safety Car & AMR23 (F1)

November 8, 2024 | 1

LEGO Automotive Correspondent

VaderFan2187

LEGO has announced a large-scale partnership with Formula 1 in 2025, but they’ve actually been making F1-themed sets way before that, with many belonging to the Speed Champions theme.

One recent example is 76925 Aston Martin Vantage Safety Car & AMR23, which features the Aston Martin F1 team’s 2023 contender car along with a modified Vantage as one of the two safety cars that year.

The Speed Champions theme has received much praise for innovation and unique build techniques, but this set has garnered some scrutiny for both its models being similar to a couple of predecessors – the F1 car is based off the 2024 McLaren, while the Safety Car appears similar to the 2022 Vantage. Still, it makes sense as each respective vehicle is based off the same car in reality, and this set offers a unique opportunity to get two key vehicles for F1 fans. Can it stand on its own merits? Let’s take a deeper dive!

Special thanks to the LEGO Group for sending this set over for review.

Unboxing and building 76925 Aston Martin Vantage Safety Car & AMR23

The front of the box shows both cars racing along a pitlane exit, which is unrealistic but makes for an engaging graphic! All the respective logos for LEGO, Speed Champions, Aramco, and Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team are present.

The back of the box shows the rears of both cars – depicting the safety car peeling into the pitlane as the F1 car takes off, which is much more realistic. A photo of the real car is present which really highlights the interesting discrepancy in the racing green colour.

Inside are two instruction manuals, two sticker sheets, 6 numbered paper bags, and the two chassis elements loose in the box.

As is common in the Speed Champions theme–and exacerbated by the fact that this set features two race cars–there are a ton of stickers included! 51 stickers are present in this set and they are pretty pivotal to the final look of the models involved, so the build process will require some patience.

Some parts I found interesting were these corner wedge curved slopes and this 1×6-long studs-not-on-top panel.

Build Process

Bag 1 builds the central core of the Vantage Safety Car – fairly standard design for a Speed Champions car, but still enjoyable.

Bag 2 continues fleshing out the safety car…

…and bag 3 completes the model.

Bag 4 starts on the F1 car, and includes the second minifigure.

Bag 5 adds the front wing and the rear engine cover detail.

Bag 6 finishes the AMR23 model.

76925 Aston Martin Vantage Safety Car & AMR23 Minifigures

Two minifigures are included, each with the appropriate outfit for their respective vehicles. I like the printed Aston Martin logo on the F1 driver’s helmet.

Some printed detail is included around the back. Each minifigure also comes with a hairpiece, and one spanner is included which is standard for Speed Champions sets.

Completed 76925 Aston Martin Vantage Safety Car & AMR23 model

Let’s start by taking a look at the AMR23 F1 car. LEGO have nailed the look of the current F1-style cars in minifigure-ish scale, and this model is no exception, with amazing shaping throughout.

The biggest flaw that immediately jumps out is the colour – LEGO used the regular green hue for the brick-built model which was apparently selected in conjunction with Aston Martin themselves, but most fans have agreed it does not match the racing green colour of the real AMR23. I’d argue the real car looks closer to LEGO’s teal hue, although expecting so many recolours may have been a little unrealistic. Even the more common dark green colour appears to be a closer shade.

Nonetheless, I think the colour is less of an issue in person, especially given that LEGO colours do tend to be generally brighter in hue than their real equivalents.

The shaping of the car is impressive on the whole, with plenty of stickers used to good effect to get the swooping yellow line and sponsor details.

The AMR23’s wheels, like other modern Speed Champions cars, come with the tyre attached; however these ones have a yellow print to designate the Pirelli medium tyres.

Despite the slightly bulky design, the front wing has been replicated excellently, with lots of small pieces used to approximate the sleek shape of the real car. The 110th anniversary Aston Martin logo along with the entire 1×6 slope piece down the center of the car’s nose are printed, while the other decorated elements are stickered.

The sidepods have been done well, using some 1×4 angled corner curved slopes with sticker detail.

The rear wing is definitely too bulky, but that is understandable given the brick-based constraints, and the overall size is still proportional. A large Aramco-branded sticker is accurately placed at the rear above the red flashing light.

The rear wing looks better from the front, with a black connector element used to represent the DRS mechanism. Further impressive detail continues around the rear engine cover behind the cockpit, with further stickers used on the numerous angled surfaces. A printed 1×2 tile with some yellow details simulates the T-cam just above the cockpit.

The halo hinges open to give access to the driver’s seat, which is a typical design for modern LEGO F1 minifigure-scale cars. The driver does sit too far up, but that is an acceptable compromise given the scale difficulties and there is legitimately no way the designers could’ve made the figure sit lower.

Inside the cockpit is a printed video game controller element which does a good job representing the F1 car’s unique steering wheel design, although this piece first appeared in the 2024 McLaren. A pair of spoon elements are used for rear-view mirrors.

Here’s how the Aston Martin AMR23 compares to its predecessor, the Mclaren MCL60, which was released earlier this year. As you can see, both models are incredibly similar, with the main difference being around the construction of the rear wing. However, this is to be expected given the similarities of the real cars, and I think the variations in colour, stickers, and prints make them look suitably different from each other.

Turning now to the Safety Car, it also has the same green hue as the AMR23.

The design is very similar to the 2022 Aston Martin Vantage, which makes sense as it’s based on the same car. The biggest difference is the design of the front grille, which now uses inverted 1×2 curved slopes.

The headlights have nice printed designs, while the bonnet features some stickers. This model is definitely more conventional than the F1 car, which makes it slightly less visually interesting.

Nonetheless, the overall shaping still matches the high calibre that we’ve come to expect from the Speed Champions line. The typical SC windscreen element is used here with some specific prints, along with some trans-orange tiles on top for the safety car’s flashing lights.

The most impressive view is definitely the back, where advanced building techniques have been used to replicate the Vantage’s unique tail lights.

Even seemingly conventional details like the rear spoiler have been incorporated via unusual techniques, because of the complexities necessitated by the tail light design. The Aston Martin logo is printed on the side of a 1×2 plate which looks great, while the other decorated elements are stickers.

The printed windscreen piece is extended using some stickers on 1×5 corner slopes. The rear window is also made of trans-black elements, although these are pretty dark so it’s hard to see into the interior.

However, the windscreen element can be easily removed to access the driver’s compartment, with space for two minifigures inside.

The driver gets a steering wheel and a stickered array of buttons on the center console, while the passenger seat has a stickered Aston Martin-styled clock.

Here’s the real F1 Aston Martin Safety Car for comparison. Obviously the LEGO model is blockier, but otherwise the details have been adapted nicely.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, 76925 Aston Martin Vantage Safety Car & AMR23 seems to have one very specific target in mind; fans of Formula One–and I think it targets that demographic very successfully, with two beautifully designed, accurate models. The colour scheme may not be to everyone’s tastes, and I personally would’ve preferred a different shade of green, but it’s not too big a deal in person and I think it works fine.

Other Speed Champions fans may not be too pleased about this set being so similar to sets that have already come before, and indeed if you’re not an F1 fan then this may be worth a skip, especially if you already own the McLaren MCL60 or the previous Aston Martin Vantage. Nevertheless, if you do pick this up, you’ll get two high quality, well-designed models that look great on display.

The price is slightly on the steeper side but sadly that seems to be how the Speed Champions line as a whole has been trending, but the super high level of detail means lots of small pieces and an intricate, engaging build process that may make that price tag slightly more palatable.

Final Score

4

Build

Two really well-designed models are included, although we have somewhat seen them before…

2

Minifigures

No one is buying this set for the minifigures alone, but they serve their purpose. Still, there are many better sets out there for minifig collectors.

3

Real Value

The price point is slightly steep but this can be rationalised with the high piece count and intricate detail.

4

Innovation

Speed Champions continues to raise the bar for build techniques, and many ingenious designs are present here despite the familiar source material.

4

Keepability

LEGO’s partnership with Formula One is likely to bring with it many more F1 sets in future, but this will be remembered as one of the best minifig-scale ones so far.

Thanks for reading! LEGO 76925 Aston Martin Vantage Safety Car & AMR23 is available from LEGO.com, or your local LEGO store, or Amazon

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