- lego will release a back to the future time machine kit on april 1, saying it was "inspired" by the car used in the films, but we all know it's a delorean.
- the new building set can be used to make the three versions of the bttf delorean seen in the three movies, but not at the same time.
- lego first released an official back to the future delorean set in 2013, but the new version is larger and way more screen-accurate. it goes on sale next month for $170.
somewhere near the top of the list of instantly recognizable movie cars is the back to the future time machine, a.k.a. a modified 1981 delorean dmc-12. plenty of scale models and toy versions of this iconic vehicle have been released in the past, but a new building set from lego gives movie fans the chance to build all three versions of the vehicle from the three films.
the delorean time machine most people are familiar with is the one from the first movie, and the lego version includes a light-up flux capacitor and a box of plutonium to re-create scenes from that movie. you’ll have to buy three sets to display the three versions at the same time, as each box includes different greebles and other design elements to make the car look more like it did in the movie's future timeline from the second film and the wild west from the third, including marty mcfly's hoverboard and either railroad-ready wheels or wheels that fold so the car is ready for flight mode. after all, where we're going, we don't need roads.
the new set comes with two lego minifigures—of doc brown and marty mcfly, of course—even though the car model is nowhere near minifig scale. these are not the first time characters from the back to the future films have appeared in lego form. the company previously released both doc and marty as brickheadz and, back in 2013, released a minifig-scale delorean with the different minifig versions of the two characters. lego also released two back to the future—themed sets for its short-lived dimensions video game.
the lego back to the future time machine set goes on sale april 1 and will cost $169.99 for 1872 pieces. while there will be minor differences between the three versions of the delorean you can build, the main model ends up being over four inches tall, 15.5 inches wide, and 7.5 inches deep.
despite the fact that it can't ever go faster than 88 miles per hour, the back to the future delorean is a pop-culture superstar. last year, the national historic vehicle register made the car the 29th entry on its short list of vehicles highlighting "america's automotive past for future generations." another movie car, the 1979 lamborghini countach lp400 s seen in the cannonball run, was the 30th car added to the list.
the back to the future brand has been strong enough to get applied to non-delorean vehicles as well. in 2015, toyota used the movie car's famous license plate (which reads outatime) on a modified mirai for display at sema that year. instead of a hydrogen fuel cell, this version was supposedly powered by a cute mr. fusion prop created with help from mv designz. the mirai was also modified with gullwing doors, something that will be easier to build with lego bricks than in the real world. toyota also featured actors michael j. fox and christopher lloyd in a bttf-themed ad for the mirai at the time.