Jason And Tristan Return Home, And Tristan’s Mother’s Identity Is Revealed. GH Spoilers

Czinger 21C VMax: Engineering Madness at the Edge of Reality For years, the automotive world has buzzed with whispers of a revolutionary hypercar emerging from the heart of Southern California. The Czinger 21C VMax is not just another machine; it represents a bold vision of what the future of high-performance driving can be, albeit one bordering on sheer lunacy. Having long admired the company’s audacious approach, I recently had the rare privilege of experiencing a Czinger 21C VMax on a demanding three-day road rally, a journey that pushed the boundaries of what’s possible in automotive engineering. While the track capabilities are undeniably spectacular, the true test lay in discovering how this center-steered, tandem two-seater performs on ordinary roads. Factory Fresh: A Glimpse into the Future The experience began with a visit to the Czinger facility, a place so cutting-edge that entering it required a U.S. passport—a first for me. The parent company, Divergent Technologies, utilizes iterative artificial intelligence and massive 3D printers to create incredibly light and strong mechanical components, a technology that also serves the Department of Defense. One might even catch a glimpse of a rocket-shaped prototype during one’s tour, but the highlight was undoubtedly witnessing the precision of the 3D printers in action. Lasers fused powdered aluminum into automotive components that resemble the delicate architecture of bird bones, an awe-inspiring spectacle that feels like a direct peek into the future. Lukas Czinger, the young CEO of both Divergent and Czinger, explained that the company’s technology reaches the “Pareto optimal” stage, where a single gram added or subtracted becomes detrimental to performance. The process is akin to evolution accelerated, where software iterates through thousands of designs to find the strongest and lightest shape that fulfills specific engineering requirements. Beyond the military applications, Divergent supplies 3D-printed parts to nine automotive OEMs. While companies like Aston Martin (DBR22 Roadster), Bugatti (Tourbillon), and McLaren (W1) have publicly acknowledged using their technology, some industry insiders suspect the control arms of the Ferrari F80 are also 3D-printed. Under the Carbon Fiber: Power and Precision Czinger produces two distinct versions of essentially the same vehicle: the high-downforce track monster known as the 21C (named for the 21st century) and the wingless, long-tailed VMax. Technically, the latter is the 21C VMax, although the “21C” branding does not appear on the car itself. For the inaugural Velocity Tour, a 500-mile road rally through Northern and Central California’s wine country, I had the honor of piloting a silver VMax. The term “piloting” is used intentionally, as the cabin feels more like a fighter jet canopy than a traditional car interior. While I’ve never sat in a fighter jet, I did ride in an Extra 330LT stunt plane, and the similarity is striking. Both offer nearly 360-degree visibility with glass just inches away from your head. Getting in and out of the VMax, however, is a rather ridiculous process: you must sit with your legs facing outward on the massive sill, pull your knees up to your chest, turn your body while lowering your rear, and then slide your head under the roof. One reason the sills are so large is to accommodate the batteries that power the VMax, a hybrid hypercar. Each sill contains 2.2-kWh of battery power, for a total of 4.4 kWh. The car is not a plug-in hybrid; instead, a motor powered by the mid-mounted V-8 engine keeps the batteries charged. These batteries can deliver a staggering 500 horsepower to the front axle, which features one motor per wheel. The combustion engine is a Czinger-designed 2.9-liter twin-turbo V-8 rated at 750 horsepower on California’s typical 91-octane premium unleaded gasoline. When fed 100-octane race fuel, the horsepower increases to 850. While the V-8 can also run on ethanol for even higher power output, Czinger has yet to release these specific figures, though a 10 percent increase is anticipated. The gasoline engine drives the rear wheels through an Xtrac single-clutch automated semi-sequential gearbox. This transmission is similar to the seven-speed Xtrac used in the Pagani Utopia. However, Czinger not only 3D prints the transmission case but also employs small 48-volt electric motors to execute shifts more rapidly at lower speeds, effectively eliminating the jerky, surging feeling common to other automated single-clutch gearboxes at low revs. The twin-barrel actuators work as advertised, smoothing out the notoriously awkward maneuvers of navigating gas stations, restaurants, and hotel parking lots. Seriously, bravo to the Czinger team for this innovation. Track Time: The Speed of Sound One aspect of the experience that never felt normal was sharing the car with a professional driver for the entire day. As is common with many high-dollar hypercars, Czinger assigned a test driver (Evan Jacobs) to ensure I didn’t inadvertently crash the $2.5 million machine. Thankfully, Jacobs later assured the Czinger team that I was not a threat to the car, and I was allowed to drive solo for the remainder of the rally. We made a stop at Laguna Seca for some parade laps, but non-Czinger employees are prohibited from driving the VMax on racetracks, even at the restricted pace of the rally participants. As I’ve learned through experience, even if you can’t drive, you should always opt for the ride, and I scrambled into the unconventional rear seat. The first thing to note is that if you have large calves or feet, the back seat is not comfortable. My XXL calves were practically squeezed between the carbon-fiber tub and the carbon-fiber seat, and my feet felt cramped as well. However, the visibility through the side glass is absolutely incredible. It reminded me again of a stunt plane, offering a novel perspective on the track that I’ve never experienced in over a thousand laps. This was especially true when Jacobs and I convinced the Skip Barber Racing School staff to let him take the VMax for a couple of “6/10ths” hot laps. The most impressive hot lap I’ve ever witnessed was riding shotgun in an Aston Martin Valkyrie LMH race car, where the braking force was so extreme I could feel blood pooling in my extremities. The Czinger VMax now holds the second spot on that list, and remember, Jacobs wasn’t pushing the car to its limit. Even at a reduced pace and without the aggressive downforce wing, it was easy to understand how the Czinger 21C achieved the brand’s “California Gold Rush” feat. This involved setting five production car track records—at Thunder Hill, Sonoma Raceway, Laguna Seca, Willow Springs, and The Thermal Club—in just five days, driving the distance between each track. Later, Czinger returned to Laguna Seca to not only beat its own record but to reclaim the title from a track-special Koenigsegg Jesko Sadair’s Spear. The resulting lap time, a mind-boggling 1 minute, 22.30 seconds, is faster than the fastest MotoAmerica Superbike lap ever recorded at Laguna, a time of 1:22.56. Czinger claims a vehicle weight of approximately 3,600 pounds, which is remarkably light for a 1,250-horsepower hybrid vehicle. To put that in perspective, the Ferrari SF90 Stradale Assetto Fiorano—the highest-performance version of a three-motor twin-turbo V-8 PHEV that produces less power at 986 hp—weighs 3,839 pounds. The new Lamborghini Temerario, another three-motor twin-turbo V-8 (also with lower power output, but still useful for comparison), weighs in at a substantial 4,185 pounds. Now would be a good time to mention that the SF90 and the Temerario are the two quickest gasoline-powered cars MotorTrend has ever tested (the Ferrari for 0–60 mph and the Lamborghini for the quarter mile). If Czinger’s weight claims hold true, this unconventional Southern California startup has managed to outperform two Italian legends right out of the gate. That alone is remarkable, especially considering that Los Angeles is known for many things, but there isn’t a deep pool of supercar-building expertise. In other words, L.A. is hardly Modena. On the Road: The Daily Grind The route chosen for the rally consisted mostly of true back roads—tight, winding, and often poorly maintained. These are not the types of paved stretches that hypercar dream trips are typically made of. Plus, there was a lot of following the pack, navigating to lunch and coffee stops, and keeping pace with the camera car. At the time, I was perhaps a bit disappointed, but in retrospect, what I gained from this experience is probably similar to what most owners will encounter when living with a Czinger. To my surprise, the VMax behaved much like any other hyper-exotic. Take everything out of your pockets as the seats are tight, drink your water before getting in as there are no cupholders, and prepare yourself for the fact that almost everyone else on the road, especially males between the ages of 16 and 24, will be staring, following, waving, and revving their engines at you, often while shouting friendly obsc