Chrome silver has returned to the LEGO colour palette this summer after a 13-year absence, but it looks like it may just be a one-off…
It wasn’t immediately obvious from official images of the newly-released 77260 Fast & Furious Toyota Supra MK4, but StoneWars has confirmed that the LEGO Speed Champions car’s rims are indeed chrome silver. That marks the first use of this shiny coating since 2013’s 75017 Duel on Geonosis, where it was deployed for Count Dooku’s curved lightsaber handle.
Even then it was rare, though, having been mostly phased out by the late 2000s. Chrome gold suffered much the same fate, with the exception of the gold ring minifigure accessory, which remains in circulation to this day thanks to the Lord of the Rings sets. Those two hues – which were relatively easy to wear away with play – have been replaced by the more durable, but less reflective, drum-lacquered silver and gold.
Exactly why chrome silver has returned for the Supra’s rims is less certain. Maybe the coating tech that applies the drum-lacquered silver finish wouldn’t work on those pieces? Maybe Universal specifically requested true chrome to properly recreate the car seen on screen? It’s hard to say, but the result is good news for anyone who’s been sorely missing chrome from their LEGO line-up in recent years.
Images from StoneWars suggest that the LEGO Group has taken the same approach to these pieces as it did to chromed elements back in the day, simply layering the shiny coating over a regular element. What’s interesting here though is that the rim’s sole connection point – a hole for a Technic pin – remains an uncoated light grey.
The chroming process adds a tiny bit of additional thickness to a regular LEGO piece, so any chromed element back in the day typically required a specific (and fractionally smaller) mould to maintain tolerances and clutch power.
Because only the visible side of the Supra’s rims needs to be chromed, the LEGO Group has probably managed to get away with reusing the same mould first seen in January’s 77254 Ferrari SF90 XX Stradale (assuming there’s a bit of leeway in the tyres). Indeed, BrickLink lists both elements as ‘Wheel 21mm D. x 11mm with 5 Spokes’, the only real difference being the printed Ferrari logo on the Stradale’s wheels.
That’s not necessarily good news for anyone hoping for the wider return of chrome silver in LEGO. This is a very specific use-case where play is unlikely to damage the chrome coating: the wheels are encased in tyres, there’s no connection point around the chrome paint, and so on. We’re not necessarily going to see chrome silver lightsaber handles return as a result – although with the 50th anniversary of Star Wars on the horizon in 2027, who can say for certain?
One more point of interest here: the chrome rims in 77260 Fast & Furious Toyota Supra MK4 don’t come packaged separately to protect their coating, but in a regular bag mixed in with other parts. Presumably the LEGO Group is confident the chrome paint can at least survive the shipping process.
77260 Fast & Furious Toyota Supra MK4 is available now at LEGO.com for £22.99 / $29.99 / €27.99.
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