3D-Printed Lamborghini Aventador SV Is A Cool Project You Can Drive

There are few 3D-printing projects as ambitious as the one taken on by Sterling Backus. Four years ago, with only a 1:10 scale model and a big 3D printer bought from Amazon, he set out to 3D-print a Lamborghini Aventador SV. Now, after years of hard work, the project is finally coming to fruition.

Backus used polylactic acid (PLA) - a thermoplastic derived from renewable, organic sources - for most parts of the car. He widened the car by eight inches in the rear and four inches in the front, but he didn't 3D-print everything. PLA's glass transition temperature is not great, making it unsuitable for parts that get hot in Colorado summers.

To make the 3D-printed parts structurally sound, he encapsulated them in carbon fiber and used propylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate (PMA) to chemically weld the pieces together. The top and bottom of the car are each three layers of carbon fiber.

Unbelievably, the body panels, door panels, rear engine cover, front fenders, and hood were all 3D-printed using a CR-10S printer, which was then replaced by a newer model by a company that saw Backus' Lamborghini video ad featuring his son. The interior parts were made from acrylonitrile styrene acrylate (ASA), a material widely used in the auto industry due to its excellent UV and weather resistance.

As for the frame, it's custom fabricated. The headlights from a real Aventador worth around $5,000 apiece wre donated by Lamborghini itself. Meanwhile, the windshield was from a Chrysler Pacifica minivan worth $4,000, and the glass was cut by a company called Chip Pros. The butterfly doors were the hardest part to make mechanically, but he managed to create real hinges with the help of a friend from Texas.