A 19-year old Romanian inventor, backed up by an Australian investor whom he met on the internet, built a life size, functional car completely made of LEGO pieces.

Young Raul Oida from Deva in Hunedoara county, who previously built a jet engine for a mountain bike, built the LEGO car in Romania, and then shipped it by plane to Australia, to investor Steve Sammartino (both inventor and investor in pic). Oida had met his Australian sponsor on the internet, and secured the USD 125,000 needed to build this project.

The Romanian used 500,000 LEGO pieces to build the car, which can now run fueled only by air, and which can reach a maximum speed of 30 kilometers per hour.

This is not the first project the Romanian – Australian duo create. Oiada also made a LEGO replica of a space shuttle. Together they sent a giant helium balloon, camera, GPS and Lego shuttle from a field in Lauda-Königshofen, Germany. The craft made it 22 miles into space

Oaida previously invented a propulsion system which can be easily installed on two – wheeled vehicles. He installed the engine on his personal bike, which can now reach a speed of 41 kilometers per hour.

Oaida built the engine in three years, by using his own money, as well as sponsorships. It cost him EUR 5,000, and most of it came from foreigners who choose to help him and donated money to his project.

The young inventor “was following in the footsteps of his fellow Romanian Henri Coanda, a famed inventor,” according to the international media.

Oaida, who recently finished high school, is yet to sign up for university. He spends 12 hours a day in the tool shop he built for himself. On his Twitter account, he says he is busy building his own spaceship.

editor@romania-insider.com