Cadillac ended up joining the Formula 1 grid three races early at this year’s Las Vegas Grand Prix, when a bright pink, highly-exclusive convertible Fleetwood Sixty Special – driven by a surprise celebrity chauffeur – ushered the race’s top three finishers to the podium.Cadillac, already a sports car motor racing staple having contested both IMSA and the FIA World Endurance Championship regularly for more than two decades, will join the F1 grid for the very first time in the sport’s 75-year history in 2026. To promote both the American brand’s arrival (on home turf) and F1’s’ ongoing relationship with LEGO, race winner Max Verstappen, championship leader Lando Norris, and Mercedes’ George Russell took a ride in a full-sized, fully drivable 1950s Fleetwood made entirely from LEGO, with TV and movie star Terry Crews making a cameo as their chauffeur. Nine-NINE! More Than 418,000 LEGO Pieces Used For The Build Tipping the scales at more than two tonnes and measuring just over five meters long, more than 418,000 individual LEGO bricks were used to bring the brick-built Fleetwood Sixty Special to life. Each of which was painstakingly stuck together across nearly 4,000 hours (around five and a half months) by a 17-strong team of LEGO engineers, designers and ‘master builders.’ The replica is believed, though not expressly confirmed, to be based on Cadillac’s 1955 Sixty Special given its distinctive rear fins, chrome ‘spears’ on both bumpers, bulging hood, and, of course, the bright pink paint optioned by Elvis Presley for his own ’55 Fleetwood.LEGOWhile the replica was built around an existing Cadillac chassis, suspension and braking system, and used conventional wheels and road tires, LEGO’s team did incorporate a fleet of electronics to make sure the headlamps worked for F1’s latest night race (incidentally, there is a way to bring that atmosphere right to your own living room). The original Fleetwood’s 6.0-liter (365 cubic inch) V8 was not included for obvious reasons, and was instead replaced with a bank of electric motors that nevertheless pushed the Fleetwood, with driver and passengers, to “over 15 MPH.” Throughout its parade lap, the brick-built Caddy was flanked by two suprisingly expensive all-electric Celestiq SUVs. The Latest F1-LEGO Project LEGOThis is far from the first time that full-sized LEGO replicas have been attractions on the F1 grid and/or podium. At this year’s Miami Grand Prix, all 22 drivers completed the traditional pre-race drivers’ parade in full-sized and fully-mobile LEGO F1 cars representing each of the 11 teams on the grid. At the British Grand Prix, meanwhile, the podium finishers were presented with full-sized replica trophies built from LEGO. A full-sized McLaren MCL36 was also on display at the 2022 Australian Grand Prix to promote the recently launched LEGO Technic McLaren F1 set.LEGOFurther afield, Lando Norris, who recently took a wild ride in a Liberty Walk Nissan Skyline, made history earlier this year when he became the first Formula 1 driver to complete an entire lap of a Grand Prix venue (Silverstone) aboard a full-sized and fully drivable LEGO sports car McLaren P1. The famous Danish brand also recently confirmed a new partnership with the F1 Academy, a junior single-seater series established specifically to help create opportunities for female racers, mechanics and engineers in motorsport.
