The best Lego Technic sets 2020: making mechanisms fun

The best Lego Technic sets offer something more than the bricks-and-plates world of more traditional Lego. They're more challenging, giving you slightly more complex instructions to interpret and offering a different kind of satisfaction for a job well done. They're also more sophisticated, featuring motors, gears, and mechanisms that make them fun to play with and great for expanding the mind at the same time.

Technic sets tend to fall into the vehicle category, as you'll see below. That's no bad thing: the vast range of Lego Technic bells and whistles combine to make some of the coolest cars, boats and hulking excavators it's possible to make out of clutch-held ABS, with plenty of moving parts and extras to sink your teeth into.

Many Lego Technic sets also pull double duty, with two sets of instructions for one set of pieces allowing you to build and rebuild different vehicles. 

It's fair to say that, despite their often somewhat higher price, Technic models are among the best Lego sets you can buy, and their potential for experimentation makes them inherently more valuable. If you're lucky, you might even find them cheap: check out our guide to the best Lego deals, and keep your eye on our Black Friday deals guide too...

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Lego Technic cars come with functional gearboxes and engine pistons, planes have moving flaps and undercarriages, and trucks have whole crane systems to shift their plastic cargo around. Once you're done, and all the gears and levers are working together in harmony, you'll get an immense amount of satisfaction from the work you've put in.

So whether you're looking for a set for yourself or a gift for the Lego fan in your life, read on to discover the best Lego Technic sets available on the market today.

Best Lego Technic sets: the list

One of Lego Technic's goals has always been to replicate the experience of proper engineering, and nothing says 'engineering' quite like constructing a massive excavator. The Liebherr R 9800 mining excavator is just that: while the real thing is an 810 tonne beast used to scrape minerals out of the ground, this smaller model is just about the coolest Technic build around.

This is a serious 4,000+ piece Lego Technic set, perfect for adults, though it's not so complex that a teenager couldn't handle it.  The Lego version of the Liebherr R 9800 switches out its enormous diesel engine for a pair of smart hubs and seven individual motors, each of which you can control through Lego's Technic Control+ App. 

There's even a collection of round 2x2 bricks included so you can practice your scooping and dumping. A long build time, plenty to do once the pieces are together, and some serious shelf appeal combine to make this one of the best Lego Technic sets there is.

Motorbike nuts will go, well, nuts for this. The 646-piece replica genuinely captures the style and elegance of the iconic Italian sport bike, and we're not just talking a static model. With its turning front wheel, moving front and rear suspension, and working front and rear disc brakes, the V4 R also behaves strikingly like a real-life two-wheeler. 

Other well-observed details include an exhaust pipe, exposed clutch, shock absorbers, windshield and dashboard. And then comes the crowning glory: a working two-speed gearbox – a Lego Technic first – with down for first, middle for neutral and up for second. 

There’s a kickstand, too, so it’s easy to put it on display. Which you’ll probably want to do at some point, because this beautiful 1:8 scale model, which lovingly replicates the curves and colour of the original, is quite the looker.

Bricks are one thing, but when it's time to move up to more complex Lego you need something with serious kid appeal, like this awesome Dragster. The absolute perfect way to introduce Lego Technic to a Lego-obsessed youngster, this 2-in-1 build (the other form being a nifty Hot Rod) is great fun to put together and even more fun to play with, with a pull-back-and-go motor powering the wheels and sending it racing away at quite the clip.

You can even use the wheelie bar to decide whether to careen forwards with the front wheels in the air or keep all four tyres on the ground for more streamlined speed. 

Highly entertaining, and a perfectly achievable build for junior constructors - and great practice for putting the pieces back together after a collision with the wall. Honestly, we'd buy one for the kids then one for ourselves; what is a Dragster without a rival to race against?

It’s a big project to take on, but for car fans (or Lego Technic fans), this is just about an unbeatable set. The 1:8 scale model (22 inches long when finished) has a specially designed eight-speed gearbox (with paddle gearshift) connected to a 16v engine model with moving pistons (which move at different speeds at different gears, naturally). 

There's also working steering, a special interior with authentic details, and even a raisable rear spoiler.

As you build up the model around the functional core, the super-deluxe instruction books explain how the model was designed with Bugatti’s input, and the way you connect the different parts of the Lego structure mimic how the actual car is built. Overkill? Comically so. Amazing? Oh yes. 

Lego has really been pushing the advancement of gearboxes recently – as well as introducing its first bike gearbox in the Ducati Panigale model above, this new Land Rover Defender set boasts its most sophisticated gearbox to date: a four-speed sequential device that requires more than 100 pieces for its construction. 

It’s typical of this super-authentic model, developed in partnership with Land Rover, which is bulging with complex mechanics. As well as the gearbox, there’s an in-line six-cylinder engine with moving pistons beneath the bonnet, working All Wheel Drive with three differentials, independent suspension on both axles, and a working winch. 

There’s also a working steering wheel, a detailed dashboard and a transmission system with two levers for engaging high or low gear ratios. Atop your vehicle lies a removable roof rack with storage box, pannier, ladder and traction mats, and you can even open the rear door with a turn of the spare wheel. With more than 2,500 pieces, this is a great project to put together.

While we were obviously swayed somewhat by the hypnotisingly bright colours, it's the secondary function of the Lego Technic Catamaran that really excited us: it actually floats, unlike that pirate ship you once dunked hopefully in the bath.

That means curious kids can experiment with sailing, angling the sheets to get the best propulsion. You can also control the rudder and angle the sails while you give it a run out in the paddling pool. We'd definitely not recommend taking it on open water, though. 

This is one of Lego's 2-in-1 sets, which means you can also head online and find a second set of instructions to rebuild the pieces into a Race Power Boat, perfect for adding a little extra value to a set which is already reasonably affordable, though the Power Boat doesn't have any power functions, so there's arguably a bit more to the first build.

This Lego Technic model summons the spirit of the classic muscle car, and is inspired by both the original 1970 Dodge Charger R/T and the Fast & Furious films. With just over 1,000 pieces, this is less involved than the likes of the Land Rover Defender. 

That may be a downside or a benefit, of course, depending on your outlook; but it certainly makes it a lot cheaper. And overall, the design is thoughtful, sophisticated, and will produce a rush of nostalgia in any fan of the films, or just Americana in general. 

Authentic features include moving pistons, suspension, steering system, air blower, and V8 engine. There are also some clear nods to the movies, in the form of two nitro bottles for extra power, a mini fire extinguisher, and a supercharger intake poking out of a cutout bonnet. 

And just to round things off nicely, there’s a display stand that lets you set the car up on its rear wheels, just like Dom did in the first part of the series. A great choice for anyone who lives their life a quarter mile at a time.

The second Lego Technic bike in this list is very different to the first, with a rugged look and feel that's light years from the slick Italian superbike, but it hits all the right notes. 

This adventure-focused design includes functional suspension and steering, and a two-cylinder engine with moving pistons as you roll it around. There's a kickstand too. 

And even better, you can then take it apart and follow a second set of instructions to build a hoverbike concept vehicle, developed by Lego and BMW.

It's been officially retired now, but you can still find stock in some places, so snap it up when you can.

This vehicle is a concept for a self-driving wheel-loader, developed by Volvo and Lego, that could be the construction vehicle of the future. To that end, it comes with an adorable little Lego drone that would act as its mapping eyes. 

Plus it has a secondary design you can build, which is another concept along similar lines: a self-driving dump truck, that’s once again led by the drone. They both look great, and have some nice articulations – the rear of the Loader model extends out as a counterweight, while the dump truck… dumps, predictably.

Another retired product, but there's still stock available at retailers like Amazon as we write.