LEGO Group in Deal With Volkswagen

[Cherise@VWvortex]

BILLUND, Denmark—Suddenly last summer, there they were in Billund. Two experts from the Volkswagen car manufacturer – seated at a conference table in Idea House.

In their hands they held a beetle. The Beetle. The one* and* only Beetle. Their own “Volkswagen Type I” – known all over the world under a host of local names: Beetle, Käfer, Boble, Coccinelle and many more. And now it was being carefully studied – in LEGO bricks.

Sitting by them – watching intently – was a LEGO designer. For Steen Sig Andersen, this was the culmination of months of development work.

This summer, two VW employees visited Billund. And next summer, the car (the small one) will hit the market, targeting the adult fans.

Full story...

[Stephen@VWvortex]

Sweet!!

[stapleface]

THIS IS THE GREATEST THING TO HAPPEN IN MY LIFE IN ALONG TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11111111!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!11!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I ****ING LOVE LEGOS
(yea i'm still a kid at heart)

[Good1Spd]

wawa weeewaa

[amerikanzero]

VW definitely needs to spend more time and money on this venture.

[ErikGTI]

Yes! This will give me an excuse to buy LEGO's again! Looks like VW has learned from Ferrari and their licensed stuff like the F1 sets.

[jettaivglxvr6]

It takes over a year to come up with a small Beetle lego?!?

[Cherise@VWvortex]

Quote, originally posted by jettaivglxvr6 »

It takes over a year to come up with a small Beetle lego?!?

Yes, it does. From the concept stage, to getting the proper legal bits in place for both companies involved, to design and numerous revisions (which involves more legal work) to implementing production (I'm not sure if this set has exclusive LEGO elements, but if it does, entirely new injection molds will have to be designed and produced and the parts will have to be made) to finally producing enough sets to supply to retailers... yes. It takes a long time.

[Green Hare]

Quote, originally posted by ErikGTI »

Yes! This will give me an excuse to buy LEGO's again! Looks like VW has learned from Ferrari and their licensed stuff like the F1 sets.

And hopefully this is the first of many licensed products to come...

Did I miss anywhere, are they listing the size of the completed kit?

[Cherise@VWvortex]

The size of the completed kit (dimensions and part count) are not yet available, at least as far as my sources can divulge.

[vortexblue]

Yesss.

VW's and Lego's.

If we could incorporate a 80's freestyle bike in there somehow, that would pretty much sum up how I spent my first 34 years on earth.

[stapleface]

[kuebelwagen84]

they should market a Lego VW THING, I'm sure it'd be alot easier to design when there's no curves to the car

[Veedubs87]

Awesome

[redneckdzl]

This is great, my two favorites together.

Yeah a Thing would be great, maybe even a dune buggy

[Green Hare]

Quote, originally posted by Cherise@VWvortex »

The size of the completed kit (dimensions and part count) are not yet available, at least as far as my sources can divulge.

is it small, medium, or large? can you divulge THAT much??

[quailallstar]

Two things I love in life.. Volkswagen und Lego! Now together

[vr6fanatic]

sweet!! now are they going to just produce the beetle or several other VW's?

[CarLuvrSD]

I'd buy one if I could get it with a TDI.

[Gehackt]

This is really cool! One of our my club members from Harsh Winters VW Club posted that this was on your site. I'm surprized to see how well the Water-Coolers are excepting the air-cooled Beetle model.
Big Joe
http://www.harshwintersvw.com

[stapleface]

you know the saying....if u build it, they will come.

[DeeJoker]

Wait, VW's are now shipped in individual plastic bags to be assembled by the user, then randomly lost across their parent's home?

I forgot- and stepped on in the middle of the night during a run to the pisser?

[spi_in_vegas]

That's cool and all, funny I have always seen vw's as LEGOS when it
came to engine swaps, relatively easy to do, at least with the earlier models.

[Jscoop88]

this is going to be the start of a lego revolution haha...whats next?...cabby?...caddy?...MK1 MK2's? Lets hope they make more lego models!

[Herbie3Rivers]

YES YES YES!!!!! I can't wait til this one comes out!

[borapumpkin]

i'll take two please!

[phatvw]

Announcement: VWVortex sponsored contest to create scale-model VW cars using generic LEGO pieces

Sound like a good idea?

BTW whatever happened to the creative side of lego and not just building what is shown on the box? Can you even buy random lego pieces by the pound any more?

[feels_road]

Quote, originally posted by CarLuvrSD »

I'd buy one if I could get it with a TDI.

Definitely. Needs to be available with TDi or TSI engine, manual transmission, and optional AWD. No deal otherwise.

(of course, in this case, I will get one, anyway... )

[Kid Digital]

I really miss my LEGOS I think this is a really cool thing.

[sirAQUAMAN64]

Loved LEGOs as a kid. I would buy this to put in my living room (alongside the auto show red plastic GTI)

[Cherise@VWvortex]

Quote, originally posted by Elmer J Fudd »

is it small, medium, or large? can you divulge THAT much??

I know no more about it than what was in the press release, unfortunately. If I can find more pictures or information, I'll definitely post it. Sets designed specifically for the adult fan base, such as this one, tend to be medium to large, which is, of course, subjective. Sorry I don't have any more information.

Quote, originally posted by phatvw »

Announcement: VWVortex sponsored contest to create scale-model VW cars using generic LEGO pieces Sound like a good idea?

I like that idea a lot!

Quote, originally posted by phatvw »

BTW whatever happened to the creative side of lego and not just building what is shown on the box? Can you even buy random lego pieces by the pound any more?

Kids like themed sets. They sell well. "Random" LEGO elements are available in tubs, by the pound through LEGO and LEGO company-owned stores, and through consumer-to-consumer channels (like eBay and BrickLink). A lot of the hard-core adult fans buy sets to obtain specific pieces, and then part out the rest.

[sciroccohal]

So, instead of teaming up with LOTUS or some other respected ENGINEERING firm...VW teams up with LEGO???

Seems like the marketing flacks have taken over the world.

VW buyers don't want Legos, MP-3, Text messaging, more cross-overs talk-to-the-car bullcrap...

What happened to 'DRIVERS WANTED'......

Now, it's TOY WANKERS WELCOME! x47

[Air and water do mix]

Quote, originally posted by sciroccohal »

So, instead of teaming up with LOTUS or some other respected ENGINEERING firm...VW teams up with LEGO??? Seems like the marketing flacks have taken over the world. VW buyers don't want Legos, MP-3, Text messaging, more cross-overs talk-to-the-car bullcrap... What happened to 'DRIVERS WANTED'...... Now, it's TOY WANKERS WELCOME! x47

does anything in today's world make you happy? Perhaps a move to Mayberry, South Carolina would be in order. You can ring Sarah with the crank phone and everything! Of course, you won't be on-line any more.

I think that the Lego connection is great. I certainly would buy one.

[GingerBreath]

I’m at a complete loss is to why this is a problem. VW didn’t hand over the keys to the factory and tell LEGO to go design and build vehicles. VW and LEGO teamed up to provide a product in response to consumer demand. This is not being marketed and sold by VW, it's being sold by LEGO. Are you equally as agitated by VW Hot Wheels, Matchbox, and Revell models? What about when VW partners up with manufacturers of other consumer goods, such as guitars and bicycles? I bet the Playboy Bunny Rabbit advertisement threw you into a world of hurt.

Many LEGO builders like this type of product. Many VW drivers like this type of product. It’s generally a win-win situation.

[vwnut84]

I am soooo buying this when it comes out. And if it comes in colors, I'll buy them all and make a little beetle commune in my house somewhere.....

and by the looks of the picture it (judging by the size of the pieces) looks like a 1:18 scale.