History
The DeLorean DMC-12 is one of those cars that needs no introduction. Designed by former GM executive John DeLorean and engineered with help from Lotus, the stainless steel sports car with its iconic gullwing doors rolled out of a factory in Belfast, Northern Ireland in the early 1980s. It was futuristic, a little weird, and honestly kind of underpowered for its looks. The company folded in 1982, not long after John DeLorean was arrested in a wild FBI sting involving cocaine. His story is dramatized in the 2019 film Driven, with Lee Pace playing DeLorean and Jason Sudeikis as the informant who got tangled up with him. It is worth watching if you have any interest in the man behind the car.
None of that stopped the DMC-12 from becoming arguably the most famous movie car ever made. When Robert Zemeckis cast it as Doc Brown’s time machine in Back to the Future (1985) and its two sequels, the DeLorean went from commercial failure to cultural legend.
The DeLorean matters. LEGO has known that for a while.
The Set and Its Place in the LEGO Lineup
This is actually the third time LEGO has given us a proper DeLorean time machine set. The first was the famous Back to the Future Time Machine | #21103
from 2013, released under the old LEGO CUUSOO banner before it became LEGO Ideas. It had gullwing doors that opened and wheels that rotated, which was fun. The overall shape and scale felt a bit rough by today’s standards though. I got three copies when that set released to display all three movie versions at the same time.
Then in 2022 came the big one: Back to the Future Time Machine | #10300
, an 18+ Icons set at 1,872 pieces with incredible detail that finally did the car justice at a large scale. That one sits at $199.99 and is a full display piece. I have not picked that one up yet.
Now in 2026 we get Time Machine from Back to the Future | #77256
, a minifigure scale Speed Champions version at $27.99. It sits between the other two in terms of scope, and spoiler: it absolutely holds its own.
What’s in the Box?
The box has that classic Speed Champions look, with Back to the Future branding added throughout. Inside you get 5 numbered bags, 1 instruction manual, 1 sticker sheet with 6 stickers, 2 rubber hose pieces, and 1 large base piece for the chassis.
Bags and loose parts
Five numbered bags is quite a lot for a Speed Champions set. The sticker count of six is genuinely low for this theme, and as you will see in the parts section, that is because a lot of decorative work has been done through printed parts instead. First impressions are strong.
Instructions Booklet
Manual and sticker sheet
The manual is the standard Speed Champions softcover format. Clear, well paced, and easy to follow throughout. Step 88 has a fun Easter egg moment that any Back to the Future fan will immediately appreciate.
Parts Breakdown
This set punches well above its weight in the parts department. There are a lot of exclusives packed into 357 pieces, and the ratio of prints to stickers is well above average for Speed Champions.
The Windscreen 6 x 6 x 1 1/3
Trans-Clear with Black/Dark Bluish Grey Frame print
is exclusive to this set and looks exactly right on the finished car. The Slope 30° 1 x 4 x 2/3
Dark Bluish Gray
and Slope 30° 1 x 3 x 2/3
Light Bluish Gray
are both exclusive color combinations. The Cheese Slope
Trans-Orange with Silver Surface print
is a curious part where one face is printed gray to blend into the car body while the other shows the orange rear blinker. It feels like an expensive print to produce, but the result in the finished build is good.
The Bracket 1 x 6 - 2 x 6 Inverted
Light Bluish Gray
is a new part from 2024, and the Light Bluish Gray color is exclusive to this set. Two of them are used as the base for the car doors.
The Glass for Window 1 x 2 x 2 Flat
Trans-Clear with Flux Capacitor print
is a real highlight. The print is crisp and immediately recognizable. The Brick 1 x 2
Black with 'NOV 05 1955', 'OCT 26 1985', 'OCT 26 1985' print
is the time machine computer in brick form and it looks incredible. The Slope Curved 2 x 1
Trans-Light Blue with Silver Plating print
and the Dish 2 x 2 Inverted
Black with Turbine, Orange/Silver Stripes print
round out a set that is clearly not cutting corners on decoration.
The minifigure parts are worth calling out here too. Marty’s torso in Sand Blue is brand new and exclusive to this set. Doc Brown’s torso is also new and exclusive, with a detailed print on both front and back. Doc’s head is new as well. These are not filler figs, and parts collectors who care about minifigure parts will want this set.
The one part worth flagging with some concern is the Zipline, 22L with 2 Connectors, Flexible
Black
. This rubber piece forms the cable runs along the sides of the car. Rubber parts that need to hold a specific shape tend to sag or deform over time in storage or display. Grabbing a spare bag when you buy the set is probably a smart move.
The Build Experience
Minifigures
Marty McFly shows up looking great. His red vest is not brand new (it also exists in Blue and Dark Bluish Gray), but this is the newest set to include it in Red and it still looks sharp with all its detail. The head is the same as in Back to the Future Time Machine | #10300
, complete with two expressions. I do wish the head were a bit more boyish to better match Michael J. Fox in the original films, but it is a small thing.
Doc Brown is excellent. The torso has a detailed print on both sides, and the head is new with two expressions. While Marty’s head appears in 33 sets, Doc’s is fresh out of the box. The whole fig reads immediately as the character.
Bag 1
Bag 1 contains two smaller bags. The first nine steps are basic chassis foundation work, and then a larger connection piece brings the front and rear sections of the car together.
The Microphone
Black Plain
shows up here in the role of gearshift. This piece started life as a microphone and has been quietly finding new uses across different sets ever since. Spotting it in a build always puts a smile on your face.
The printed Tile 1 x 1
White with Keypad, Blue Slit, Red Button print
is a simple but effective little computer tile that works well in the interior.
The Slope Curved 2 x 1
Trans-Light Blue with Silver Plating print
appears here too, which is a good example of the print-first approach this set takes compared to most Speed Champions builds.
Bag 1 ends with about half the chassis done. The build moves quickly and the pace feels right.
Bag 2
Bag 2
A single slightly smaller bag this time. The first sticker appears here on an interior section, which is fine. It gets covered up anyway.
The Bracket 1 x 6 - 2 x 6 Inverted
Light Bluish Gray
pieces go in here as the door bases.
The flux capacitor window goes in too, and it is one of the best moments of the whole build.
The most interesting technique of the entire set shows up in this bag. Three Pneumatic Hose Connectors
Dark Bluish Gray with Axle Connector
, a Bar 2L
Dark Bluish Gray with Stop in Center
, and two Arm Skeletons
Black Bent / 2 Clips
come together in a way that is not immediately obvious. You build it without fully knowing what it is becoming, which is exactly the kind of mystery a good Speed Champions set delivers.
Bag 3
Bag 3
Bag 3 builds out the rear of the car. The printed dish goes in here and adds a nice focal point to the back section.
The Trans-Orange cheese slope with the silver surface print does exactly what it needs to do. Seen on its own it looks a little odd, but once the exhaust section is assembled the logic is clear and the result works well.
A sticker appears on a curved piece in this bag. A sticker on a curve never sits flat, and it always looks worse than a print would have. It is the most visually frustrating sticker in the set.
Bag 4
Bag 4
Bag 4 covers the door and side mirror. The time machine computer brick is the highlight of this bag and it looks incredible once it is in place.
The next sticker seemed unnecessary at first. It looks like a plain dashboard card. Then you read the text: “plutonium chamber.” That specific text is probably never going to show up in another LEGO set, which makes the sticker feel more justified than annoying.
Page 88 is a fun moment. You will know exactly what you are looking at when you get there.
Bag 5
Bag 5
The final bag contains a second smaller bag inside. The windscreen goes on here and it ties the whole look of the car together immediately.
More printed tiles and grills fill in the remaining details.
The rubber cable pieces go on in this bag. They look good fresh out of the bag and the shape they form along the sides of the car is accurate to the movie vehicle.
After step 113 you make a choice: road version from BTTF 1, or flying version from BTTF 2.
Step 113, decision time
For the BTTF 1 road version, you use the OUTATIME California license plate and a fishing rod piece as the lightning hook. Wheels go on normally.
OUTATIME
Finished road version from Back to the Future 1
For the flying version, you swap to the orange license plate, attach the Mr. Fusion engine, and flip the wheels out to the sides using four Plate Special 1 x 4
Light Bluish Gray with Bar Down
pieces.
Finished flying version from Back to the Future 2
The Finished Product
Finished model (BTTF 2) with Marty and Doc
I printed a display stand for this one, and it was absolutely the right call. The flying version elevated on a stand looks like it belongs under glass. The proportions work well at this scale, the Trans-Light Blue cable tiles give the car that charged-up, sparking look, and the whole model reads as the DeLorean time machine from every angle. Marty and Doc fit in the cockpit and the set looks great with them placed inside, though getting them in and out requires removing the windscreen since the doors do not open.
The Real Talk
The Good Stuff
The model looks genuinely great. The size is right for Speed Champions, the price is hard to argue with, and those two minifigures are among the better figs the theme has produced. The ratio of printed parts to stickers is a clear win over most Speed Champions releases. The build has some clever technique moments across five bags that keep things interesting, and the dual build option gives you two very different looks from one box without any leftover unused parts.
The Not So Good Stuff
The two build options are fun, but the absence of a third is noticeable for anyone who cares about the full trilogy. The BTTF 3 configuration with train wheels was actually possible with the 2013 Back to the Future Time Machine | #21103
, so losing it in the newer set stings a little for trilogy fans.
The doors do not open. The gullwing door is one of the most iconic things about the DeLorean, and not having that feature at minifigure scale is a real omission. You have to remove the windscreen completely to get Marty and Doc into the cockpit. It works, but it adds friction to what should be a simple play interaction.
The Trans-Light Blue tile runs along the sides of the car have a visual problem. The tiles do not connect cleanly because of the geometry of the surrounding bricks, so the cable lines look broken rather than continuous. You can understand the design reasoning once you look closely at the parts, but it is still a weak point on an otherwise clean model.
Compared to the 2013 Back to the Future Time Machine | #21103
though, this set is ahead in almost every other way.
Should You Buy It?
This set is easy to recommend for almost anyone. If you have any connection to Back to the Future, it is an obvious pickup. Speed Champions collectors will find the build quality and technique variety right in line with the best sets in the theme. If you are after parts, the exclusives and the two new minifigure torsos alone justify the $27.99. Kids will enjoy building it and playing with the two versions, and adult fans will want it on a shelf.
I am already planning to pick up a second copy to display both versions at the same time. A couple of small frustrations keep it from being a perfect ten (missing doors, the tile cable alignment, no BTTF 3 option), but the price, the parts, and the overall look make this a very easy recommendation. Great set.
Where we’re going, we do not need roads, but we do need this on the shelf.
Final Score
Build Experience: 8/10 - A quick, enjoyable build with some genuine technique surprises.
Design: 8/10 - The car reads instantly and looks great on display, but the missing doors and the broken cable tile lines are real weaknesses.
Parts Quality: 10/10 - Loaded with exclusive color combinations, great prints, and two new minifigure torsos that parts collectors will want.
Playability: 8/10 - Two distinct build modes and two minifigures make for a solid play experience, even if the windscreen removal to access the cockpit is annoying.
Overall: 8/10 - A great set at a fair price with enough exclusive parts, strong design, and genuine film accuracy to make it an easy buy.