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Czinger 21C VMax: A Hypercar That Pushes the Boundaries of Speed, Engineering, and Performance The Czinger 21C VMax: Where Additive Manufacturing Meets Hypercar Perfection In the realm of hypercars, there are rare machines, and then there is the Czinger 21C VMax. This Southern California–built marvel represents the pinnacle of modern automotive engineering, combining cutting-edge additive manufacturing technology with a hybrid powertrain that delivers astronomical levels of horsepower and torque. As a professional automotive reviewer with over a decade of experience testing the world’s most extreme vehicles, I had the privilege of spending three days with the 21C VMax on a demanding California road rally, and the experience was nothing short of mind-blowing. The Vision Behind the Beast The story of Czinger begins with its parent company, Divergent Technologies. Founded by Kevin and Lukas Czinger, Divergent is not just a car manufacturer; it is a revolutionary technology firm at the forefront of digital manufacturing. Using iterative artificial intelligence and massive 3D printers, the company designs and produces ultra-light and incredibly strong mechanical components. This innovation isn’t limited to the automotive industry; Divergent also supplies parts to the Department of Defense, making its technology truly cutting-edge. During my visit to the Czinger factory, I was given a tour by CEO Lukas Czinger. Seeing the massive 3D printers in action was a visceral reminder that we are living in the future. Powdered aluminum is zapped by lasers, creating automotive parts that look like bird bones—lightweight, complex, and stronger than traditional forgings. Lukas explained that Divergent’s technology reaches the “Pareto optimal,” the point where adding or subtracting even a single gram results in a negative impact on performance. Imagine an engineer needing a rear suspension damper reservoir; the software iterates through hundreds of thousands of designs, searching for the strongest yet lightest shape. It’s like evolution on fast-forward. Beyond military applications, nine automotive OEMs currently use Divergent’s 3D-printed parts. While only Aston Martin (DBR22 Roadster), Bugatti (Tourbillon), and McLaren (W1) publicly acknowledge this partnership, the Ferrari F80’s control arms are widely suspected to be products of this revolutionary technology. Under the Carbon Fiber Czinger produces two distinct versions of the same platform. The high-downforce track version is the 21C, named for the 21st century, while the wingless, long-tailed model is the 21C VMax. For the inaugural Velocity Tour, a 500-mile road rally through California wine country, I had the opportunity to pilot a silver VMax. The cabin is more akin to a fighter jet canopy than a traditional greenhouse. Czinger states it’s like being in a jet fighter, and while I’ve never flown one, the experience is similar to riding in an Extra 330LT stunt plane. There is glass less than a foot away from both sides of your head, offering exceptional visibility. However, getting in and out of this machine is an exercise in acrobatics. You sit with your legs facing outward on the massive sill, pull your knees up, spin on your butt, and tuck your feet into the footwell before sliding your head under the roof. It’s certainly not for the faint of heart. One reason the sills are so large is that they house the batteries for the VMax’s hybrid powertrain. 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, the mid-mounted V-8 engine keeps the pack charged. These batteries provide up to 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 that produces 750 horsepower on California’s 91-octane premium unleaded fuel. Pour in 100-octane race fuel, and the horsepower jumps to 850. The compact yet potent engine can also run on ethanol, potentially generating even more power, though Czinger has yet to release those figures. The gasoline engine powers the rear wheels through an Xtrac single-clutch automated semi-sequential gearbox. This transmission is similar to the Xtrac seven-speed used in the Pagani Utopia. However, Czinger not only 3D prints the transmission case but also utilizes small 48-volt electric motors to facilitate faster shifts at lower speeds. This eliminates the surging and drunken feeling that plagues other automated single-clutch gearboxes. The dual-barrel actuators perform as advertised, making low-speed maneuvers at gas stations, restaurants, and hotel parking lots almost feel normal. Bravo, Czinger. Track Time: A Ride of a Lifetime As is often the case with high-dollar hypercars, Czinger provided a professional driver, Evan Jacobs, to ensure I didn’t drive the $2.5 million vehicle off a cliff. Thankfully, by the end of the first day, Jacobs assured the Czinger team that I posed no threat and could drive solo for the rest of the rally. We stopped at Laguna Seca for some parade laps, but non-Czinger employees were not permitted to drive the VMax on the track, even at the slow pace of the rally participants. I had to experience it from the bizarre rear seat, and let me tell you, it’s not for the claustrophobic or those with large calves. My XXL calves were wedged between the carbon-fiber tub and the seat, and my feet barely fit. However, the visibility through the side glass was incredible, like being in a stunt plane. It was a remarkably novel way to experience track driving, a activity I’ve done countless times before. 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 intense hot lap I’ve ever experienced was riding shotgun in an Aston Martin Valkyrie LMH race car, where I could feel the blood pooling in my extremities under braking. The Czinger 21C VMax is now second on that list. Even at less than full tilt and without the massive rear wing, it was easy to understand how the Czinger 21C achieved the “California Gold Rush.” This means it set five production car track records—at Thunder Hill, Sonoma Raceway, Laguna Seca, Willow Springs, and The Thermal Club—in just five days, driving from track to track without support. Later, Czinger returned to Laguna Seca to not only beat its own record but to reclaim the throne from the Koenigsegg Jesko Sadair’s Spear. That lap time, a ridiculous 1 minute, 22.30 seconds, is faster than the fastest MotoAmerica Superbike lap ever recorded at Laguna, a 1:22.56. Czinger claims a vehicle weight of approximately 3,600 pounds, which is quite light for a 1,250-horsepower hybrid vehicle. For context, the Ferrari SF90 Stradale Asseto Fiorano—the highest-performance version of a three-motor, twin-turbo V-8 PHEV with 986 hp—weighs 3,839 pounds. The new Lamborghini Temerario, another three-motor, twin-turbo V-8 (making less power, but demonstrating the comparison), pushes past the two-ton mark, weighing in at 4,185 chunky pounds. It’s worth noting that the SF90 and Temerario are two of the fastest-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 holds true, this unconventional startup has managed to outperform two Italian legends right out of the gate. This is remarkable on its own but especially noteworthy considering Southern California is known for many things, but a deep wellspring of supercar-building expertise isn’t one of them. In other words, L.A. is not exactly Modena. On the Road: Navigating the World’s Most Extreme Roads The route chosen for the rally consisted mostly of genuine back roads: tight, winding, and often lousy, weather-beaten pavement—not the kind of asphalt hypercar dream trips are made of. Plus, there was a lot of following the pack, navigating to lunch and coffee stops, and hanging with the camera car. While I may have been a bit disappointed at the time, in retrospect, what I experienced is exactly what most owners will experience while living with a Czinger. To my surprise, the VMax was mostly like driving any other hyper-exotic. Take everything out of your pockets, as the seats are tight; drink your water before you get in, as there are no cupholders; and numb yourself to the fact that almost everyone else on the road, especially males between the ages of 16 and 24, will be staring at you, following you, waving at you, and revving at you, all while (probably) screaming friendly obscenities. Regardless, the Czinger rides much better than I expected; the team deserves applause for not making it overly stiff. Even the air conditioning works well. My only complaint about the “just driving around doing normal stuff” aspect of the VMax is the cabin noise. I’m not talking about the unique V-8, but rather the complete lack of sound deadening. While this is great for a dedicated track car like the other version of the 21