The Return of the Dune Buggy

From all the classic LEGO Technic cars, for me the 8845 Dune Buggy from 1981 was the most fascinating set. A very simplified car, maybe a Citroën Mehari or not, with a roll cage. So I thought of how could this set be constructed 30 years later?

The result is a combination using the old Technic brick ladder frame and front suspension with the steering and the old wheels, but with a longer wheelbase and an 2-cylinder engine and a direct rear-wheel drive without a differential. Love the old steering parts, giving the car an impressive small turning circle.

The body is built and shaped by lots of angled lift arms and some small bricks to hold the self-made seats.

The first version was a 2-seater with a longer steering column, then I moved the seats forward and figured out the rear ones. All seats are made of curved slopes, plates, tiles and hinges. Because of the variety of the slopes and tiles provide, you can imagine lots of colour schemes with nice stripes for the seats as well as the body shell. I finally chose a plain dark red interior to the plain black lift arms.

What about this dark turquoise helmet? Well, remember those TECHNIC figures from the 80s and 90s? You can put 4 of them into if you own some. Unfortunately, I'm not allowed to show them inside. But you'll find some lovely pics at my Instagram page.

The roll cage contains the modern connector types, also the front grille. We have a full-size spare wheel like usually you find in off-road cars, two boxes behind the rear seats for equipment you need, and a very puristic dashboard with only one gauge, containing the direction indicator lever and shifter too.

What do you need more?

Lighting. Yes. But no stickers. Transparent parts use only. 2x2 headlights and 1x1 tail lights, 2 of each and round, should be enough.

An implied fuel tank, maybe, you'll find it under the rear seats. Behind the fuel tank, I added some 1x4 bricks to bring the licence plate as backward as possible. This could be the battery box or something like that.

The last piece was the hood in front. It is held by 2 studs without any hinge, actually. No panels, just plates, tiles, and some curved slopes again. Rally stripes as a tribute to the eighties. There are lots of details to add, please feel free to suggest.

So what you think? Could this be an idea for a set, combining the old and the new, as well as the full variety of parts?