$20K And A 3D Printer Is All You Need To Build Your Own Lamborghini

Lots of people are still divided on the utility of 3D printers. Sophisticated models can be particularly costly, up to around $500,000 or even more depending on the model, according to FormLabs, while a more basic one might set you back $200 or so. As with any other purchase we make, it mostly comes down to budget and exactly what we expect to get out of the device. As Wonder World reports, though, physicist Sterling Backus had a lofty goal in mind for his 3D printer: to develop the world's only 3D-printed Lamborghini, with a total budget of $20,000. 

Considering the kinds of prices that the most expensive Lamborghini models of all time have sold for, that would be quite the bargain Lambo. Or an absurdly expensive full-sized model, depending on how you choose to look at the whole situation. Still, Wonder World goes on; Backus's goal was to create "a full-scale Lamborghini Aventador-inspired supercar in his own backyard, using a simple 3D printer he bought off Amazon." The endeavor took not only a cool $20,000 but also a grand total of four years. The end result was certainly stunning, though, and by the look of it, one of the coolest possible uses of all that free time. Not to mention a beautiful tribute to one of Lamborghini's most formidable and beautiful vehicles. Here's the inspiring story of a man, a CR-10S putting in , and some Lamborghini spare parts generously donated by the raging bull themselves. And also, crucially, the reason why Lambo lawyers aren't circling as eagerly as sharks around the proud Backus and his magnificent creation. 

It's fascinating to think about how 3D printers actually work. If you simply want to print a ball or an object that's just a shape, you'll have it in moments. On the other hand, when we're admiring the beautiful, gleaming bodywork of a freshly washed car, that's all we're seeing: the exterior, not the many different moving parts that make up the entire machine. The first thing to note about such a huge-scale project is why Backus embarked on it in the first place. Put simply, his son convinced him. "It's interesting, we were playing a video game, funny enough, my son and I [...] Forza," he said, Wonder World reports. "We got into a Lamborghini Aventador in the game, and he thought that was a fantastic car and so he asked me if we could build one." Gathering all the enthusiastic dad energy he could possibly muster, he set about the task. Not simply making a small model, but an actual-size replica with an engine that really runs. 

The first step was , upon which would rest a combination of "an inverted Porsche 911 six-speed manual" and .  This meant that the machine offered up to approximately 600 horsepower. This passion project, then, wasn't just about making a full-size model that looks the part but which actually drives. Despite the scale of the challenge, he was armed with and the incredible technical ability to shape and construct each body panel himself. After all, Backus is not simply a hobbyist, but Dr. Backus, , an engineering and physics expert.

Backus explained to 3D Printing Nerd that "we started printing in PLA. We got the model from a little toy that we used some calipers to put it into SolidWorks." A 1:10 scale model of an Aventador was used. The dynamic duo had , and it put in some incredibly long shifts: More complicated parts like , and the 3D printing extended to trickier elements like the . 

The PLA used . Unsurprisingly, Backus had an ingenious solution to this: the vehicle's body, , is "laminated, actually encapsulated, in carbon fiber." PMMA epoxy was used on each small section of a panel. Fantastic as the project is, the truly astonishing part was the response from Lamborghini. In December 2019, the brand included the car, along with Backus' family, in a video that showed them temporarily replacing the model with a real Aventador as a "Christmas gift." The clip appropriately closes with the message "Lamborghini is for real lovers." 

The steering wheel, Backus noted to 3D Printing Nerd, is a genuine one, which the brand's director of marketing promised to provide on seeing the Audi one the vehicle originally had. This is the only place in the vehicle where the famous raging bull logo is on display, and that, plus the widebody flair that was added to the body, makes the model distinctive enough not to rip off the elegant original. Speaking to SHIFT Colorado in March 2024, Backus noted that it was still a work in progress. , though, the vehicle is indeed fully functional and drivable.