My kitchen table isn't often the scene of a secret, embargoed photo shoot, but it was this morning. Yesterday, just before I left the Geneva Motorshow, I was entrusted with a silver Jiffy bag containing a pre-production set of the latest car to join the LEGO Speed Champions series: The new McLaren 720S.

The model was revealed to me and Jethro on the McLaren stand in Geneva by Craig Callum, who is Head of Design for the Speed Champions series. Callum has exactly the sort of happy, permanently delighted persona you would expect of someone who works at LEGO. He was also a car designer before he joined the Danish company, so he knows his DLOs and swage lines.

He began working with McLaren quite some months before the 720S was even being teased to the public but admitted that the new Super Series car was quite a tricky one to recreate in small plastic bricks. Nonetheless, the distinctive socket headlights and the very airy cockpit are clear to see in the final model. The stickers also help distinguish the clever twin skin doors and I love the fact there is a rear diffuser under the car.

The set will also come with a small McLaren designer and his office, something that Callum is clearly particularly pleased about. The detail of the desk, from the Anglepoise lamp to the model car, are beautifully done. I promised that I would point out that I added the hair to this particular figure (I resisted drawing on sideburns too), so it might change for the final set...

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It's a mark of just what regard LEGO and the Speed Champions series are held in that brands are trusting Craig and his team with information about new cars long before they are released to the wider world. But, as we all know, children are the future so car manufactures want to inspire them with their cars from as young an age as possible. Inspiration works both ways of course - just witness the number of adults (Jethro included) that can reel off a list of Ninjago names with ease...

To see our video with all the details about the real 720S, just click here: drivetribe.com/p/eEj43-4zQf6MeACmSFj19g?iid=GII1ZjcBTd2UaQ6tovNZbA

And to see a gallery of the 720S, just click here: drivetribe.com/p/dcS6G3i3QsKH9L0NcrA8Hw?iid=aFQfm0t4RDKbPbf6kb5DOQ