Watch This Full-Size LEGO Car

Raul Oaida got his LEGO bricks out and made a car. And it's a big car, so it contains more than 500,000 LEGO pieces. It's a collaboration with marketer Steve Sammartino, who provided this list of factoids about the project:

Super Awesome Micro Project Factoids: - The engine is made from standard Lego pieces and runs on air! - The engine has four orbital engines and a total of 256 pistons. - More than 500,000 LEGO pieces. - Top speed around 20-30km (We drive it slow as are scared of giant lego explosion) - Built in Romania and shipped to a secret location in Melbourne. - It's a Hot Rod design, mainly because hot rods are cool.

The next thing you'll want to do is see the car in action (and note that there are a few non-LEGO parts, like the tires). This is beautiful:

Next, if you're anything like me, you'll wonder how that "engine powered by air" thing works. Oaida shows a quarter of it on YouTube—note the air pressure gauge, and the airline tubing. It appears to run on compressed air tanks on the road, but a small compressor might be used in the shop. Note that there are also tiny LEGO compressors that might work at scale...anyway, behold:

It turns out there are various LEGO engine designs floating around, many using pneumatics. I'm not seeing a lot of lubrication; perhaps those tough little bricks just don't need it?

And here's some Australian TV coverage:

(Via the ever-excellent Kottke.)