Czinger 21C VMax: The Radical Vision of a Southern California Hypercar
For years, the automotive world has watched Czinger with a mix of awe and disbelief. Founded by Kevin and Lukas Czinger, this Southern California startup has consistently pushed the boundaries of what’s possible in modern automotive engineering, creating vehicles that defy convention and rewrite the rulebook. After years of anticipation, I finally had the opportunity to experience the Czinger 21C VMax on a three-day road rally, and the results were both exhilarating and humbling.
Factory Fresh: A Peek Behind the 3D Printing Curtain
The journey began at Divergent Technologies, the parent company of Czinger. As a journalist, I’ve visited some of the most advanced manufacturing facilities in the world, but the Czinger factory stands in a league of its own. Upon arrival, I was required to present my U.S. passport, a rarity for a car factory. This isn’t just a car manufacturer; it’s an advanced engineering firm that supplies parts to the Department of Defense, and while I wasn’t allowed to see all the military work, I caught a glimpse of what looked like a rocket component.
Lukas Czinger, the CEO of both companies, personally guided me through the facility. The highlight was witnessing the massive 3D printers in action. Lasers fused powdered aluminum into components that resembled lightweight bird bones, a technology that feels truly revolutionary. This process achieves what Lukas calls “Pareto optimal,” the point where any gram added or subtracted becomes detrimental to performance.
The Pareto Principle in Automotive Design
The Pareto principle, famously applied in business and physics, serves as a guiding philosophy for Divergent Technologies. Lukas explained how the software iterates hundreds of thousands of designs to find the strongest, lightest shape for a specific component. It’s like biological evolution accelerated to hyper-speed, where the weak are pruned and the survivors are the most efficient.
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Czinger 21C VMax: The Radical Vision of a Southern California Hypercar
For years, the automotive world has watched Czinger with a mix of awe and disbelief. Founded by Kevin and Lukas Czinger, this Southern California startup has consistently pushed the boundaries of what’s possible in modern automotive engineering, creating vehicles that defy convention and rewrite the rulebook. After years of anticipation, I finally had the opportunity to experience the Czinger 21C VMax on a three-day road rally, and the results were both exhilarating and humbling.
Factory Fresh: A Peek Behind the 3D Printing Curtain
The journey began at Divergent Technologies, the parent company of Czinger. As a journalist, I’ve visited some of the most advanced manufacturing facilities in the world, but the Czinger factory stands in a league of its own. Upon arrival, I was required to present my U.S. passport, a rarity for a car factory. This isn’t just a car manufacturer; it’s an advanced engineering firm that supplies parts to the Department of Defense, and while I wasn’t allowed to see all the military work, I caught a glimpse of what looked like a rocket component.
Lukas Czinger, the CEO of both companies, personally guided me through the facility. The highlight was witnessing the massive 3D printers in action. Lasers fused powdered aluminum into components that resembled lightweight bird bones, a technology that feels truly revolutionary. This process achieves what Lukas calls “Pareto optimal,” the point where any gram added or subtracted becomes detrimental to performance.
The Pareto Principle in Automotive Design
The Pareto principle, famously applied in business and physics, serves as a guiding philosophy for Divergent Technologies. Lukas explained how the software iterates hundreds of thousands of designs to find the strongest, lightest shape for a specific component. It’s like biological evolution accelerated to hyper-speed, where the weak are pruned and the survivors are the most efficient.
Beyond the military applications, Divergent supplies 3D-printed parts to nine automotive OEMs. While Aston Martin (DBR22 Roadster), Bugatti (Tourbillon), and McLaren (W1) have publicly acknowledged using the technology, the Ferrari F80’s control arms bear the unmistakable hallmarks of this additive manufacturing process.
Under the Carbon Fiber Hood
Czinger produces two variants of the same underlying machine: the high-downforce, track-focused 21C and the wingless, long-tailed VMax. For the inaugural Velocity Tour, a 500-mile road rally through California’s wine country, I was entrusted with a silver VMax.
The Jet-Fighter Experience
The cabin of the Czinger 21C VMax is more akin to a fighter jet canopy than a car’s interior. There’s glass less than a foot from either side of your head, offering unparalleled visibility. While I haven’t flown a jet fighter, I recently rode in an Extra 330LT stunt plane, and the similarity is striking. However, getting in and out of this car is an exercise in acrobatics. You must sit with your legs facing out on the massive sill, pull your knees up, and spin on your butt to tuck your feet into the footwell before sliding your head under the roof.
Hybrid Performance
The sills are significantly bulked out to accommodate batteries. The 21C VMax is a hybrid hypercar, with 2.2 kWh of battery power in each sill, for a total of 4.4 kWh. Unlike a plug-in hybrid, the motor is powered by the mid-mounted V-8 engine, which keeps the battery charged. These batteries can deliver 500 horsepower to the front axle, with one electric motor per wheel. The Czinger-designed 2.9-liter twin-turbo V-8 produces 750 horsepower on California’s 91-octane premium unleaded.
When filled with 100-octane race fuel, the engine’s output jumps to 850 horsepower. Czinger also claims the engine can run on ethanol, producing even more power, but the exact figures remain undisclosed; industry experts predict a 10 percent increase.
The Xtrac Transmission
Power is sent to the rear wheels via an Xtrac single-clutch automated semi-sequential gearbox. While similar to the Xtrac seven-speed Pagani uses in the Utopia, Czinger has not only 3D-printed the transmission case but also incorporated small 48-volt electric motors to execute shifts at lower speeds. This technology eliminates the lurching and surging that plagues most automated single-clutch gearboxes at low RPMs. The twin-barrel actuators work as advertised, making maneuvers into gas stations, restaurants, and hotel parking lots almost normal.
Track Time with the Pro
A typical practice with multi-million-dollar hypercars like Bugatti and Pagani is to have a professional driver sit with you to prevent you from crashing the $2.5 million vehicle. Czinger implemented the same protocol, stationing Evan Jacobs in the passenger seat. Thankfully, later that night, Jacobs assured the Czinger team I was no threat and was allowed to drive solo for the remainder of the rally.
We stopped at Laguna Seca for some parade laps. While non-Czinger employees aren’t permitted to drive the VMax on tracks, even at the slow pace of the rally, I was eager to get a ride. I climbed into the unique rear seat, bracing myself for the cramped experience. If you have large calves or feet, the back-seat experience is challenging. My XXL calves were wedged between the carbon-fiber tub and the seat, and my feet didn’t fit well, either. However, the visibility through the side glass is spectacular, and riding shotgun in the VMax was a novel way to experience Laguna Seca.
Jacobs at the Helm
As I have learned the hard way, even if you can’t drive, always take the ride. Jacobs convinced the Skip Barber Racing School staff to let him take the VMax for a couple of 6/10ths hot laps. The most intense lap I’ve ever experienced was riding shotgun in an Aston Martin Valkyrie LMH race car, where the braking forces nearly drained the blood from my extremities.
The Czinger VMax is now second on that list. Even without pushing the car to its limits and lacking the aggressive downforce of the rear wing, it was easy to understand how the Czinger 21C achieved the “California Gold Rush.” This accomplishment saw the car set five production-car track records—at Thunder Hill, Sonoma Raceway, Laguna Seca, Willow Springs, and the Thermal Club—in five days. Later, Czinger returned to Laguna Seca to not only beat its own record but reclaim the throne from a Koenigsegg Jesko Sadair’s Spear. That lap time, a ridiculous 1:22.30, is faster than the fastest MotoAmerica Superbike lap ever recorded at Laguna, which stood at 1:22.56.
Weight: The Enemy of Performance
Czinger claims the vehicle weighs approximately 3,600 pounds, which is incredibly light for a 1,250-horsepower hybrid. To provide context, the Ferrari SF90 Stradale Asseto Fiorano, the most powerful version of a three-motor twin-turbo V-8 PHEV, makes 986 horsepower and weighs 3,839 pounds. The new Lamborghini Temerario, another three-motor, twin-turbo V-8 (with less power but providing a good comparison), weighs 4,185 pounds.
It’s worth noting that the SF90 and Temerario are the two quickest gasoline-powered cars MotorTrend has ever tested—the Ferrari holds the 0-60 mph record, and the Lambo holds the quarter-mile record. If Czinger’s weight claim holds true, the unorthodox startup has beaten two Italian legends. This is a remarkable feat in itself, especially considering that Los Angeles is not known for supercar manufacturing expertise. In other words, L.A. is no Modena.
On the Road: Driving the VMax
The rally route consisted primarily of true back roads—tight, winding, and poorly maintained asphalt, not the ideal environment for hypercar road trips. Navigating to lunch and coffee stops and following the camera car meant a lot of time spent behind other vehicles. While I was slightly disappointed at the time, in retrospect, this experience is similar to what most owners will encounter while living with a Czinger.
The Daily Driving Experience
To my surprise, the VMax behaves much like any other hyper-exotic. You should empty your pockets before getting in, as the seats are tight. Don’t forget to use the restroom before you leave, as there are no cupholders. Mentally prepare yourself for constant attention, especially from males aged 16–24, who will inevitably stare, follow, wave, and rev their engines at you.
Surprisingly, the Czinger rides much better than I anticipated, and the team deserves applause for not making it overly stiff. Even the air conditioning works well. If I have one complaint about the VMax’s road-going capabilities, it’s the cabin noise. I’m not referring to the unique V-8 sound but rather a noticeable lack of sound-deadening material. This might be acceptable in a track-focused car like the 21C, but it’s an oversight in a road car like the VMax.
It becomes particularly evident when you’re inside