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The $2.5 Million Future: Deep Dive into the Czinger 21C VMax Hypercar For years, the automotive world has buzzed about Czinger’s revolutionary approach to hypercar engineering. This Southern California startup, armed with additive manufacturing and artificial intelligence, has been redefining what’s possible with weight, power, and aesthetics. As a veteran automotive journalist with a decade of experience tracking the bleeding edge of performance, I finally got my hands on the Czinger 21C VMax, and it was an experience that transcended typical road testing. The opportunity arose during a three-day road rally organized by Czinger, a journey designed to showcase the 21C’s versatility. While every automotive journalist has likely covered the “track monster” version of the 21C and its record-shattering performance at places like Laguna Seca, the more compelling question was: How does this 3D-printed behemoth, with its center-steer, tandem seating, and astronomical price tag, handle the real world of 500-mile journeys on public roads? Factory Fresh: Entering the Alien Tech Arena To enter the Czinger facility, I had to present my U.S. passport—an unusual requirement for a car factory, but an indicator of just how different this company is. The parent company, Divergent Technologies, utilizes iterative AI and advanced 3D printers to produce unbelievably light and strong mechanical components. This unique capability stems from Divergent’s role as a supplier to the Department of Defense, providing parts for defense contractors—or at least, that’s what the heavily covered hardware in one corner suggested. I was given a tour by Lukas Czinger, the young CEO of both companies, and the experience was nothing short of awe-inspiring. Peeking inside one of the massive 3D printers felt like looking into the future of manufacturing. Layers of powdered aluminum were fused into automotive components that looked like futuristic bird bones, a tangible representation of technology that seems more evolved than manufactured. Lukas explained that Divergent’s technology reaches what’s known as “Pareto optimality,” the point where any further addition or subtraction of a gram becomes detrimental to performance. For instance, if an engineer requires a bracket for a rear-suspension damper, the system is fed a target space and required load resistance. The software then iterates through hundreds of thousands of designs to find the absolute lightest and strongest configuration—a process akin to natural evolution accelerated to hyperspeed. Beyond their defense contracts, nine automotive OEMs utilize Divergent’s 3D-printed components. While Aston Martin, Bugatti, and McLaren openly admit to using their technology, the structural components in the Ferrari F80 look suspiciously like the work of Divergent. Under the Carbon Fiber: The Architectural Foundation Czinger produces two variants of the 21C platform, each catering to a specific driving philosophy. The high-downforce, track-focused 21C (named for the 21st century) and the wingless, long-tailed VMax. Technically, the latter is the 21C VMax, but the 21C branding is notably absent from the exterior design. For this inaugural Velocity Tour—a 500-mile rally through California’s wine country—I was entrusted with piloting a silver VMax. I chose the word “piloting” deliberately. The cabin feels more like a jet canopy than a conventional car greenhouse. Czinger itself describes the experience as akin to being inside a fighter jet, and having experienced a ride in an Extra 330LT stunt plane, I can attest to the striking similarity. The side glass is less than a foot from your head on either side, providing unparalleled visibility. The process of entry and exit, however, is frankly ridiculous: sit with your legs stretched out onto the massive sill, pull your knees up and pivot on your posterior while tucking your feet into the narrow footwell, and then duck your head under the roof. It’s a dance more suited to the cockpit of an F-16 than a luxury tourer. One of the primary reasons for the massive sills is their hidden purpose: they house the batteries. The 21C VMax is a hybrid hypercar, with each sill containing 2.2 kWh of battery power, totaling 4.4 kWh. This isn’t a plug-in hybrid; a motor powered by the mid-mounted V8 engine keeps the pack topped up. These batteries are capable of delivering 500 horsepower to the front axle, which features a motor per wheel. The combustion engine is a custom-designed 2.9-liter twin-turbo V-8 that produces 750 horsepower on California’s standard 91-octane premium fuel. When fueled with 100-octane race fuel, the horsepower increases to 850. Additionally, the engine is capable of running on ethanol, potentially pushing power even higher, though those figures are yet to be released. The Transmission of Tomorrow: Ditching the Drivetrain Jitters The gasoline engine sends power to the rear wheels via an Xtrac single-clutch automated semi-sequential gearbox. This gearbox is similar to the Xtrac seven-speed utilized in the Pagani Utopia, but Czinger takes it a step further. Not only is the transmission case 3D printed, but small 48-volt electric motors are integrated to execute shifts more quickly at lower speeds. This effectively eliminates the lurching, surging feeling that plagues conventional automated single-clutch gearboxes in low-speed scenarios. The dual-barrel actuators work as advertised, making low-speed maneuvers nearly identical to driving a standard luxury car. Pulling into gas stations, restaurants, and hotel parking lots felt surprisingly normal. Track Time: The Shadow of Experience What never felt normal was the constant presence of the man sitting directly behind me. As is common practice with ultra-high-end hypercars, Czinger assigned a professional driver (Evan Jacobs) to ensure I didn’t wreck their $2.5 million creation. Thankfully, later that night, Jacobs reassured the Czinger team that I was a non-threat to the car and granted me permission to drive solo for the rest of the rally. We made a stop at Laguna Seca for some parade laps, but for unknown reasons, non-Czinger employees were strictly prohibited from driving the VMax on the track, even at the agonizingly slow pace permitted during the rally. As I have learned the hard way over countless track days, when you can’t drive, ride. I squeezed myself into the unconventional rear seat. The first thing to note is that if you have large calves or feet, the rear-seat experience is rather uncomfortable. My XXL calves were wedged between the carbon-fiber tub and the carbon-fiber seat, and my feet didn’t fit comfortably in the footwell. However, the visibility through the side glass is extraordinary. Again, it evokes the feeling of a stunt plane and is a remarkably novel way to experience riding around a track—something I’ve done over 1,000 times in various performance vehicles. This was especially true when Jacobs and I convinced the Skip Barber Racing School staff (whose track day we were crashing) to let him take the VMax for a couple of “6/10ths” hot laps. The most impressive hot lap I’ve ever experienced was riding shotgun in an Aston Martin Valkyrie LMH race car, during which I could feel the blood pooling in my extremities under heavy braking. The Czinger VMax now ranks second on that list, and remember, Jacobs wasn’t pushing the car to its absolute limit. Even at significantly less than the redline and without the added downforce of the rear wing, it was easy to grasp how a Czinger 21C managed to achieve what the brand calls the California Gold Rush. That feat involved setting five production car track records in five consecutive days at Thunder Hill, Sonoma Raceway, Laguna Seca, Willow Springs, and the Thermal Club—while driving the car from each track to the next. Later, Czinger returned to Laguna Seca to not only beat its own record but to reclaim the crown from a track-special Koenigsegg Jesko Sadair’s Spear. The lap time, a ridiculous 1 minute, 22.30 seconds, is faster than the fastest MotoAmerica Superbike lap ever recorded at Laguna, which stood at 1:22.56. Czinger claims a vehicle weight of approximately 3,600 pounds, which is remarkably light for a 1,250-hp hybrid vehicle. To provide context, the Ferrari SF90 Stradale Assetto Fiorano—the highest-performance version of a three-motor, twin-turbo V-8 PHEV producing 986 hp—weighs 3,839 pounds. The new Lamborghini Temerario, another three-motor, twin-turbo V-8 (though producing less power, it’s a useful comparison) pushes past the two-ton mark, weighing in at 4,185 pounds. Now is a good time to mention that the SF90 and Temerario are the two quickest-accelerating gasoline-powered cars MotorTrend has ever tested (the Ferrari for 0–60 mph and the Lambo for the quarter mile). If Czinger’s weight claims hold true, the unorthodox California startup has managed to outpace two Italian legends with its very first model. This alone is remarkable, especially considering that while Southern California is known for many things, there isn’t a deep well of hypercar manufacturing expertise to draw from. In other words, Los Angeles is hardly the next Modena. On the Road: