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Lamborghini Countach, Ferrari 512M and more immortalized as Lego sets

Lego has announced a slew of new Speed Champions sets, the ones based on actual licensed cars, for 2022. The latest batch includes a smorgasbord of supercars, from beloved classics like the Lamborghini Countach to yet-to-be-released promises like the long-awaited Mercedes-AMG One. There are seven cars in total, released in five sets.  Our favorite is probably the 262-piece Lamborghini Countach, based on a later LP500 variant. Not only does it tick the box of a childhood dream machine, but the angular shape of the real-life Countach lends itself well to being recreated in Lego bricks. Also, it's modeled in white rather than the typical red. Lego Speed Champions Ferrari 512M 1 View 6 Photos We also really dig the Ferrari 512M. It marked the last of Ferrari's V12 endurance racers, and even though it was soundly spanked by the Porsche 917, the cars are undeniably beautiful. The 291-piece Lego set does a great job of capturing its brutal wedge silhouette in brick form. Lego Speed Champions Lotus Evija 1 View 5 Photos Rounding out the single-car sets is the 247-piece Lotus Evija. The electric Lotus has a bit of a generic supercar look about it, but that's not entirely the fault of the Lego kit. Its dramatic vents can't really be replicated with the limited "resolution" of the Lego bricks. Its rear, with unique taillight-encircled air tunnels, is a bit more distinctive. Lego Speed Champions Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR & Vantage GT3 1 View 7 Photos In addition to the single car sets, there are two larger sets of two cars each. One is a 592-piece Aston Martin-themed pack that includes the Valkyrie AMR Pro and Vantage GT3. Again, it's a bit difficult to sculpt the cars' curvaceous lines out of straight-edged bricks, but the effort is admirable. The Valkyrie is probably the more successful of the two, as the Vantage would resemble a Corvette or Viper if it didn't have stickers to clarify the details. Lego Speed Champions Mercedes-AMG F1 W12 E Performance & Project One 01 View 9 Photos Last but not least is a twofer comprised of 564 bricks to build the Mercedes-AMG One and seven-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton's W12 racer. In Lego's official product description the driver is not mentioned by name, but the number 44 gives it away. The model of the One indeed looks like a sharp supercar, but the blocky pieces don't exactly replicate the lines we've seen on camouflaged test mules.

Weekly Recap: Mercedes, Volkswagen spend big as import automakers invest in North America

Import automakers are on a building frenzy in North America as resurgent car sales have prompted companies to expand their manufacturing footprints to meet rising demand. That was evidenced this week when Mercedes-Benz announced plans to build a $500-million factory to produce the Sprinter commercial van, and Volkswagen confirmed a whopping $1-billion investment to expand its massive plant in Mexico. Meanwhile Jaguar Land Rover reportedly wants to build a factory in North America, but not for at least three years, and Hyundai is said to be expanding in the southern United States. The common thread in all of this expansion? Trucks, time and money. Mercedes wants to capitalize on the burgeoning work van segment in the United States and will break ground in 2016 on a 200-acre site in Charleston, SC, to build the next-generation Sprinter. The site will have a paint shop, body shop and an assembly line, and 1,300 people will be employed when production ramps up. Why do this, when Mercedes has immense van operations in Germany? It's cheaper to build in the US for the US market. Building locally allows Mercedes to avoid import taxes, forego a complex shipping process that involves partially disassembling German-built Sprinters and naturally, reduces the time it takes to deliver finished trucks to their buyers. "This plant is key to our future growth in the very dynamic North American van market," Volker Mornhinweg, head of Mercedes-Benz Vans, said in a statement. He was speaking about Mercedes and vans, but another German automotive giant, Volkswagen, had similar motives for its mammoth expansion plans in Puebla, Mexico. The added space and production capacity will allow VW to build a three-row version of the Tiguan, and provide another crossover for its US lineup that's light on SUVs. The current Tiguan has two rows. The factory will be able to churn out 500 units daily of the larger variant, and they will be sold in North and South America. It will arrive in the US in mid-2017, a spokesman told Autoblog. VW also plans to build another crossover, a midsize seven-passenger vehicle, at its growing Chattanooga, TN, site. "Localization has become key to safeguarding our competitive position on the global market, and manufacturing the Tiguan in Mexico will bring production closer to the US market," Michael Horn, CEO of Volkswagen Group of America, said in a statement.

2016 British Grand Prix kept mostly calm and carried on

Three bursts of chaos decided the course of the British Grand Prix. The first was a literal cloudburst a dozen minutes before the race, which poured water on the Silverstone Circuit while drivers sat on the grid. Six minutes before the lights-out, the race director decided to start the race behind the Safety Car. The field loped around the wet track for five laps. When the Safety Car pulled off, the three leaders – Mercedes-AMG Petronas' Lewis Hamilton, followed by teammate Nico Rosberg and Red Bull's Max Verstappen – stayed out. Behind them, the second chaotic moment occurred: a big group of drivers made pit stops for intermediate tires. When Manor's Pascal Wehrlein spun at Turn 1 on Lap 7, officials issued a Virtual Safety Car. With the rest of the field slowed down, the three leaders ducked into the pits on Lap 8 for intermediates. The fortuitous timing meant all three drivers rejoined the track in their original positions. By Lap 9, with racing resumed, Hamilton had a 4.9-second lead on Rosberg. From that point, even as the track dried, no one bothered Hamilton during what one commentator called "a measured drive." The Brit won his home grand prix, taking the checkered flag seven seconds ahead of Rosberg. Rosberg had to earn second place on track. The German's car didn't respond well to the intermediate tires, so Verstappen excecuted an outstanding pass on Rosberg on the outside through Chapel on Lap 16. After everyone switched to slicks, Rosberg's Mercedes reclaimed its mojo and the German hunted Verstappen down, passing the Dutchman on Lap 38. The final touch of chaos happened when Rosberg's gearbox threw a tantrum on Lap 47 of the 52-lap race. Rosberg radioed his engineer, "Gearbox problem!" His engineer replied, "Affirm. Chassis default zero one. Avoid seventh gear, Nico." The race stewards allowed the engineer's first two statements, but stewards said the instruction about seventh gear contravened the rule that "the driver must drive the car alone and unaided." After the race, officials added ten seconds to Rosberg's time, demoting him to third behind Verstappen. Rosberg's is the first penalty arising from radio communication restrictions. Unsurprisingly, Mercedes will appeal. At this year's Baku race the radio controversy stemmed from engineers refusing to tell drivers what to do. Now we know what happens when the pit wall gets loose lips.