He's building his 3D-printed Lamborghini in his backyard: a part costs 1,50$ at Lamborghini, while the same part costs 20$ at Volkswagen

The Lamborghini Sterling Backus’s 3D-printed creation certainly never stops evolving. After four years of work, thousands of hours of printing, and a budget of about $20,000—nearly 17,000 euros—the American engineer could easily consider his incredible project complete. But that would be to misunderstand him. In his latest video, he has set himself a new goal: to make his creation even closer to a real Lamborghini Aventador. And to do that, it now needs original parts… but also components from Volkswagen!

A Lamborghini that's getting closer and closer to the original

We've already told you the story of this amazing supercar, which was born out of a conversation between a father and his son while playing the video game *Forza*. Sterling Backus then set out to build your own Lamborghini in your backyard, thanks in part to several consumer 3D printers.

Since then, the car has been running, caught Lamborghini's attention and Sterling even turned down an offer of $100,000 to part with it. But today, his attention is focused on the many small details that still reveal its handcrafted origins. His new project mainly involves the entire area under the front hood. Sterling now wants to achieve a much more «OEM» look—in other words, one much closer to what you’d find on a genuine Aventador fresh off the assembly line at the Sant’Agata Bolognese factory.

In particular, this involves reusing part of the metal frame he had built. Some components had been welded and modified as construction progressed, and he now feels that the fit is no longer precise enough. The integration of the headlights, for example, reveals gaps that he wants to correct.

Genuine Lamborghini parts… when they’re affordable

To improve the result, Sterling is now sourcing several original panels. In particular, he is waiting for a part he purchased in the United Kingdom at a price he considers reasonable. And when a part becomes too difficult or too expensive to find, his go-to solution remains available: the scanner and the 3D printer.

The amateur builder also plans to adjust the position of the steering rack, which is currently too close to the ground. The fuel tank could also be lowered slightly to free up more space in the front trunk, with the idea of eventually being able to store the roof there. Even the windshield wiper system is set to be upgraded with the installation of a mechanism more similar to that of a genuine Lamborghini.

Surprise: The Aventador shares a part with the Volkswagen Jetta

But the most amusing discovery concerns the hood latch system. While searching for a part that matched the one on the Aventador, Sterling realized that the mechanism used by Lamborghini comes from… a Volkswagen Jetta. This is particularly interesting when you compare the prices. According to him, buying the lock with a Lamborghini part number would have cost him about $150, with part of the mechanism sold separately. The equivalent part for the Volkswagen Jetta? About $20 for the whole thing. A difference that obviously amused him greatly, and which also highlights the many synergies within the Volkswagen Group, to which Lamborghini has belonged since the late 1990s.

The Project That Refuses to Be Finished

Sterling still needs to find some of the mounts required to install the new parts and is already planning further modifications. In particular, he wants to lower the seats and gradually continue transforming the front of the car. The goal, therefore, is no longer simply to have a 3D-printed supercar that looks like a Lamborghini on the outside. After pulling off the improbable feat of building it in his backyard, Sterling Backus is now focusing on the details to give it a finish that’s even closer to the original. And when a Lamborghini part is too expensive, a Volkswagen Jetta can apparently sometimes come to the rescue.