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Along with the photos of the stunning new LEGO Technic set – 42056 Porsche 911 GT3 RS, LEGO released a lot of additional information to ramp up our interested in this new set.
You can check out our coverage of the press release over here, and below you can read the mini-bios of the designers along with an interview with the pair.
Designer Bios
Andy Woodman
Current position: Senior Design Manager LEGO Technic
Andy Woodman, age 44, married with 1 daughter aged 4 who already shares her dad’s passion for speed and loves to ride around on her own Ducati.
Lives in a forest area of Denmark in a house they designed and built themselves.
Has a first class Hon’s degree in Industrial Design and Masters degree in Vehicle Design from the Royal College of Art, London.
Work experience includes RLE international, DAF Trucks Holland, Emap and Lego System A/S where he has worked since 2003.
Has a passion and interest for all forms of design especially Architecture, Vehicles and Yachts. Passes on this passion and knowledge for design by lecturing at local colleges, hopefully inspiring others to be interested in perusing a design career.
Loves cars and all things automotive, especially racing his rally prepared Porsche 911.
Loves road trips and exploring new places, hates plane travel, not flying, just everything associated with it. Still looking for the ultimate family car, to use on a grand tour with the family and explore new places.
Uwe Wabra
Current position: Senior Designer in the LEGO Technic department
Uwe Wabra, has worked at the LEGO Group since 1996.
Lives close to Billund in a home he has renovated over a number of years and is constantly evolving to accommodate his fantastic collection of Auto Memorabilia.
Originally trained as a chef at a prestigious Danish Hotel before turning to his other passion, carpentry. Then in 1996 he got the opportunity to reignite his childhood passion for LEGO Building by accepting a position with the LEGO Group in the LEGO Technic department.
Since then he has had many roles designing for other departments in the company but his passion is for the LEGO Technic models and is very happy to be back working with the LEGO Technic team.
Has a passion for all things automotive – just take a quick look in his garage or at his model collection, which is spread all over his garage and house. It really is an eclectic collection of cars, bikes and trucks.
His passion is for classic vehicles and of course, Porsche has a strong past. He has always had a Beetle and now that he has worked with Porsche, he really wants a 356.
Interview with Andy & Uwe
The designers of the LEGO Technic Porsche 911 GT3 RS Andrew Woodman and Uwe Wabra are talking about their dream project – from the idea to the complete model.
What was the idea behind this project?
Andrew Woodman: As a lover of design and high-performance cars, it was a dream to make the Porsche 911 our first model. When we started to collect ideas for this new LEGO Technic model, we realized that we wanted to create more than just a great building experience. It should be all over special. We knew that we needed a partner with the perfect vehicle that was both highly desirable and a true icon. So we reached out to Porsche.
How did the cooperation with Porsche run?
Andrew Woodman: The cooperation with Porsche was fantastic. The employees are incredibly passionate for the Porsche brand and showed huge interest in our LEGO Technic model.
From our very first meeting it was clear that Porsche shared the same passion for the vision of this concept and together we decided upon using the current 911 GT3 RS as the first vehicle in this LEGO Technic series.
How much time did the whole process take and what were the particular development steps?
Andrew Woodman: The whole process took almost two ages: From the development of initial design ideas concerning the concept in winter 2013 to the final approval of the model by Porsche in fall 2015.
Uwe Wabra: When we started our initial drafts in 2013, the Porsche 911 GT3 RS project remained top secret. Therefore I had to build the first LEGO version using photos of the camouflaged prototype of the original from the internet. The first LEGO prototype was ready in a matter of weeks.
Andrew Woodman: We presented the result of the first model to the design team of the 911 GT3 RS at Porsche and discussed the basic technical functionalities as well as the shape of the body. On the basis of this feedback we designed the next model and simultaneously started with the development of the wheels rims which are an important part of the legendary design of the car. Afterwards we visited the Porsche Development Center in Weissach as well as the Porsche GT workshop area. During intensive working phases we worked out the elements and details of the car and perfected them. The final step was the approval by Porsche.
Did you experience a special moment during the development phase?
Andrew Woodman: During our visit at the Porsche GT workshop area we could see a preproduction 911 GT3 RS complete and finished in lava orange. This was the first time we saw the car in color – all the others had been black which made it difficult to see the proportions and details of the car.
How many persons were involved in the development process?
Andrew Woodman: Several persons participated in the development of this model: Among others, a graphic designer started working on the required decorations and stickers. In the meantime model designers worked further on the styling and on the development of particular components, for example the gearbox.
What were the challenges during the development of the LEGO Technic Porsche 911 GT3 RS?
Andrew Woodman: One of the biggest challenges for us laid in designing an element that works on the 911 GT3 RS, but also in general with all others LEGO Technic elements. Furthermore something that could work in our system for years to come.
Uwe Wabra: It was important to integrate as many of the advanced technical functionalities from the real 911 GT3 RS as we could. The steering and suspension were difficult enough, but our biggest challenge was the creation of the functioning double-clutch transmission with gearshift paddles.
Available June 1, 2016 online and at stores in Germany and Austria, and then August 1 at other LEGO stores and the RRPs are:
US $299.99 – CA $349.99 – DE 299.99€ – UK £249.99 – DK 2599.00 DKK
*Euro pricing varies by country. Please visit shop.LEGO.com for regional pricing
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