I'll start by saying this: the Elva is a hard car to capture. With it's insane curvature, strange proportions, and open top, many people aren't surprised to learn that the full-price retail model isn't great.

So how does a tiny polybag model scale up to it?

First off, this set gets a pass for being so small: it's about Hot Wheels-sized, meaning the "loss of detail" is justified, and to many's surprise, this set has LESS problems. The model looks great, it's by far one of the most bang-for-your-buck polybag sets out there, and I can imagine many kids and adults alike leaving this one built for a long time.

I know minifig-scale sets are a big deal for many collectors, but sometimes you need to overlook that and enjoy this for what it is. It's to scale with the old LEGO Racers line, and that's cool enough for me.

The build: despite its small stature, the McLaren Elva makes for a pleasing build. Being a Speed Champions set, stickers feel almost compulsory, and five such stickers make up details such as headlights and the McLaren logo – all but impossible to recreate using pieces at this scale. Nevertheless, the rest of the build is a great exercise in using few pieces to recreate the important facets of the real thing. The whole thing is built at five-wide, and uses SNOT and a variety of slopes, tiles, and wedges to great effect. As a result this is also a pretty decent parts pack for its size. 8/10

Play value: as Henry Ford (apparently) once said: “motor racing began five minutes after the second car was built”. This is the second polybag set to come from the Speed Champions garage, and as a result, if you own #30342 Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo EVO, you can finally stage a pint-sized LEGO supercar race. The play features in this are, in honesty, not dissimilar to a full-scale Speed Champions set (minus the minifigure and accompanying wrench, of course). However the Matchbox-like size somehow makes this iteration feel more satisfying to drive around on one’s desk or floor, possibly as it requires less space and fewer hands to execute the most outrageous of racing maneouvres. Who needs minifigures, anyway? 7/10

Model value: the move to a five-wide format gives the Elva much more elegant proportions than its polybag predecessor. As mentioned above it also allows for more pieces to be used to recreate the various facets and edges of the real thing, and the result is a really rather elegant little car. The stickers for headlights give it the front a touch of uncanny valley, but at this scale it’s really the best option; the tail lights, on the other hand, are surprisingly excellent – there are lights on full-scale sets that aren’t as effective as these. 7/10

Overall verdict: the McLaren Elva is an unusual vehicle, and any set would be hard-pressed to recreate it adequately; that it has been done so effectively at such a small scale is truly impressive. As a fan of the now-defunct Tiny Turbos line, I hope that LEGO continues to produce polybag-sized Speed Champions using this five-wide format and with wider releases; not only does it provide a low price barrier to budding petrolheads, its size has not resulted in any loss of play or display value. If the whispers of a full-scale McLaren Elva coming this summer are true, its little brother has certainly set an impressive standard. 8/10