This story is as unusual as it is simple … In mid-2019, the American physicist – Sterling Backus revealed that for over a year, together with his twelve-year-old son Xander, they has been building a fully functional and full-size copy of Lamborghini Aventador SV. Of course, the main role in the work played 3D printers, which were responsible for manufacturing the body parts and a number of additional equipment elements. The mainstream media got interested in the topic and, as a consequence, Lamborghini himself learned about the case. At the end of the year Italian manufacturer decided to repay the Backus family for such spectacular devotion to the brand in an equally spectacular way. On the occasion of Christmas, the car built from elements created on 3D printers was replaced by … the original Aventador model!
Such a generous and original gift is part of the Lamborghini Real Lover campaign, during which selected fans of the Italian manufacturer are rewarded for special devotion to his brand. The case of Sterling and Xandar Backus did not require long discussions about whether he qualified enough for the award … The project is truly unique, especially when you consider the resources available by the father and son.
The car frame was designed and made from scratch by Backus. Of course, its construction did not use 3D printers, only traditional manufacturing techniques, such as welding or CNC milling of selected elements. The engine is not original – it was replaced by the LS1 from Corvette in 2003 and works with an inverted gearbox from the Porsche 911. All body panels, headlights, rear lights, interior fittings and ventilation holes were printed from thermoplastics. Backus used ASA, ABS, PETG and CF nylon (carbon-doped nylon) to create the parts most exposed to weather conditions, physical forces or chemicals (e.g. gasoline), while from PLA produced body parts that were additionally coated with fiber coal or Kevlar. The work used 3D printers Creality CR-10S and Creality CR-105S 3D and QIDI Xpro.
Elements that could not be printed due to the too complicated shape, or the cost of their production was too high, were simply purchased. Some of them are even original spare parts from Lamborghini, which proved to be relatively cheap (especially used ones).
By mid-2019, Sterling and Xandar Backus used about 220 spools of filament, so it can be assumed that eventually their counter stopped at about 300 pieces. Production costs are over $ 20,000.00 – a lot for a 3D printer project, little for a Lamborghini.
Either way, the Backus family doesn’t have to worry about it yet – their investment has paid off in a gigantic way. This was the official handover of the car: