The Czinger 21C VMax: An Avant-Garde Driving Experience on the California Coast
For years, car enthusiasts have been captivated by the promise of advanced manufacturing in the automotive world. The Southern California-based company Czinger has emerged as a frontrunner in this revolutionary wave, pushing the boundaries of design and performance. Their latest offering, the Czinger 21C VMax, is not just a hypercar; it’s a testament to the possibilities of artificial intelligence-driven engineering and additive manufacturing. I recently had the opportunity to spend three days driving this avant-garde creation on a 500-mile road rally through California’s wine country, and the experience left me in a state of awe and profound admiration for the innovation behind this machine.
The 21C VMax is an extreme machine, a technological marvel built with a relentless pursuit of perfection. But what’s it actually like to live with? To climb into this otherworldly cockpit and traverse the twisty roads of the Golden State? The answer, in a word, is mesmerizing. The engineers and designers at Divergent Technologies, the parent company of Czinger, have crafted a vehicle that is as exhilarating as it is conceptually radical. This article delves into the experience of driving the 21C VMax, exploring the unique features of this high-performance hybrid, and uncovering the secrets of its 1,250-horsepower heart.
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The Czinger 21C VMax: An Avant-Garde Driving Experience on the California Coast
For years, car enthusiasts have been captivated by the promise of advanced manufacturing in the automotive world. The Southern California-based company Czinger has emerged as a frontrunner in this revolutionary wave, pushing the boundaries of design and performance. Their latest offering, the Czinger 21C VMax, is not just a hypercar; it’s a testament to the possibilities of artificial intelligence-driven engineering and additive manufacturing. I recently had the opportunity to spend three days driving this avant-garde creation on a 500-mile road rally through California’s wine country, and the experience left me in a state of awe and profound admiration for the innovation behind this machine.
The 21C VMax is an extreme machine, a technological marvel built with a relentless pursuit of perfection. But what’s it actually like to live with? To climb into this otherworldly cockpit and traverse the twisty roads of the Golden State? The answer, in a word, is mesmerizing. The engineers and designers at Divergent Technologies, the parent company of Czinger, have crafted a vehicle that is as exhilarating as it is conceptually radical. This article delves into the experience of driving the 21C VMax, exploring the unique features of this high-performance hybrid, and uncovering the secrets of its 1,250-horsepower heart.
Factory Fresh: The Frontier of Automotive Manufacturing
Visiting the Czinger headquarters in Southern California is an experience unlike any other in the automotive industry. It’s a place where the future of manufacturing is already a reality. As the parent company, Divergent Technologies, supplies parts to the Department of Defense, security is paramount, requiring all visitors to present identification. My tour of the facility was led by Lukas Czinger, the charismatic young CEO, who guided me through a world of additive manufacturing and artificial intelligence.
The facility houses massive 3D printers that transform powdered aluminum into intricate mechanical components that resemble bird bones. This process, known as additive manufacturing, allows for the creation of parts with unparalleled strength-to-weight ratios. As Czinger explained, the technology achieves “Pareto optimality,” where a gram added or subtracted negatively affects the outcome. This iterative process, powered by artificial intelligence, produces designs that are theoretically perfect for their intended function.
Divergent’s technology is leveraged by numerous automotive OEMs, with Aston Martin, Bugatti, and McLaren publicly acknowledging their partnership. While the company keeps other collaborations under wraps, some Ferrari F80 components bear the hallmarks of Divergent’s innovation. This commitment to pushing the boundaries of design and engineering has made Czinger a pivotal player in the evolution of the automotive landscape.
Under the Carbon Fiber: A Hybrid Hypercar of Exceptional Power
Czinger produces two versions of the 21C: the high-downforce, track-focused variant and the wingless, long-tailed VMax. For the inaugural Velocity Tour, a 500-mile road rally through California’s wine country, I had the opportunity to drive a silver 21C VMax. The name 21C refers to the 21st century, a testament to the car’s avant-garde design and futuristic technology.
The cabin feels less like a traditional interior and more like a fighter jet canopy, with glass surrounding the driver on both sides. The visibility is exceptional, but getting in and out of the car is a unique challenge. You must sit with your legs facing out on the massive sill, pull your knees up, tuck your feet into the footwell, and slide your head under the roof. This radical design might seem daunting, but it’s an integral part of the Czinger experience.
The sills of the 21C VMax house a hybrid powertrain. Each sill contains 2.2 kWh of battery power, totaling 4.4 kWh. The car utilizes a mid-mounted V-8 engine to power a motor on each front wheel, providing up to 500 horsepower to the front axle. The Czinger-designed 2.9-liter twin-turbo V-8 produces 750 horsepower on California’s 91-octane premium unleaded fuel. However, when running on 100-octane race fuel, the V-8’s output increases to 850 horsepower. The engine can also run on ethanol, which Czinger estimates will yield an additional 10 percent power boost, though these figures have not been officially released.
The gasoline engine is connected to the rear wheels via an Xtrac single-clutch automated semi-sequential gearbox. This transmission is similar to the Xtrac seven-speed found in the Pagani Utopia, but Czinger has enhanced it with additively 3D-printed components and small 48-volt electric motors that accelerate shifts at lower speeds. This innovation addresses the “drunken, surging feeling” common in other automated single-clutch gearboxes, providing a remarkably smooth experience at low speeds. This was evident as I navigated gas stations, restaurants, and hotel parking lots, finding the experience almost normal. Bravo to Czinger’s engineering team for this remarkable achievement.
Track Time: Pushing the Boundaries of Performance
Czinger, like Bugatti and Pagani, places a pro driver in the passenger seat of their high-dollar vehicles to ensure safety during early drives. I spent an entire day riding with pro driver Evan Jacobs, ensuring I wouldn’t accidentally drive the $2.5 million machine off a cliff. Later that night, Jacobs assured the Czinger team that I was no threat to the car and I was cleared to drive solo for the rest of the rally. We stopped at Laguna Seca for some parade laps, but non-Czinger employees are not allowed to drive the VMax on racetracks, even at the slow pace of the rally participants.
As I’ve learned the hard way through driving many cars, you can still enjoy the experience by riding shotgun. I climbed into the bizarre rear seat, but it’s important to note that individuals with large calves or feet may find the rear seating challenging. My XXL calves were wedged between the carbon-fiber tub and the seat, and my feet didn’t fit comfortably either. However, the visibility through the side glass is incredible, making for a novel riding experience. It reminded me of being in a stunt plane, and it’s a unique way to see a racetrack, something I’ve done countless times.
This was especially true when Jacobs and I convinced the Skip Barber Racing School staff (whose track day we crashed) 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 braking. The Czinger VMax is now second, and remember, Jacobs didn’t go full tilt. Even at something less than the limit and without the big-downforce rear wing, it was easy to understand how a Czinger 21C pulled off what the brand calls the California Gold Rush. That means it set five production car track records—at Thunder Hill, Sonoma Raceway, Laguna Seca, Willow Springs, and the Thermal Club—in five days and drove from each track to the next. Later on, Czinger returned to Laguna Seca to not only beat its own record, but to reclaim the throne from a track-special Koenigsegg Jesko Sadair’s Spear. That lap time, a ridiculous 1 minute, 22.30 seconds, is quicker than the fastest MotoAmerica Superbike lap ever recorded at Laguna, a 1:22.56.
Czinger claims a vehicle weight of approximately 3,600 pounds, pretty light for a 1,250-hp hybrid vehicle. To give you a bit of context, the Ferrari SF90 Stradale Asseto Fiorano—the highest-performance version of a three-motor twin-turbo V-8 PHEV that only makes 986 hp—weighs 3,839 pounds. The new Lamborghini Temerario is another three-motor, twin-turbo V-8 (that again makes less power, but you get the comparison) that pushes past the two-ton mark, coming in at 4,185 chunky pounds.
Now’s a good time to mention 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 claim turns out to be true, the unorthodox California startup has managed to beat two Italian legends with job one. That’s remarkable on its own but especially noteworthy considering that while Southern California is known for many things, there isn’t a huge pool of supercar building expertise to draw from. In other words, L.A. isn’t exactly Modena.
On the Road: Paved Paths and Unforgettable Views
The rally route primarily consisted of back roads, with tight, winding, and weathered pavement. It wasn’t the type of idyllic asphalt that hypercar dream trips are made of. There was a lot of following the pack, navigating to lunch and coffee stops, and staying alongside the camera car. While I might have been a bit disappointed at the time, in retrospect, I realized that this is essentially what most owners will experience while living with a Czinger.
To my surprise, the VMax drove much like any other high-end hyper-exotic. You should take everything out of your pockets as the seats are tight, drink your water before you get in as there