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The Czinger 21C VMax: A 1,250-HP Rocket of the Future Built in Southern California For years, the automotive world has been whispering about Czinger, the enigmatic Southern California startup building hypercars that blur the lines between science fiction and automotive reality. The Czinger 21C VMax is the latest product from this visionary company, and after spending three days on a rally that traversed the winding roads of California wine country, one thing is clear: this isn’t just another hypercar; it’s a statement about the future of automotive engineering. I finally had the chance to sit behind the yoke-shaped steering wheel of a Czinger, an experience I’d been looking forward to since meeting founders Kevin and Lukas Czinger on The InEVitable podcast in 2022. The goal was to explore what makes this 3D-printed, alien-tech, seven-figure hypercar tick when pushed to the absolute limit. However, the true test wasn’t just about the track performance; it was about understanding how this center-steer, tandem two-seater performs during a real-world road rally. Factory Fresh: A Glimpse into Divergent Technologies Before getting behind the wheel, I needed to visit the Czinger factory, a visit that required a U.S. passport. This might sound strange, but Czinger is anything but typical. The parent company, Divergent Technologies, uses advanced artificial intelligence to design and manufacture incredibly lightweight and strong mechanical components. I was granted access because Divergent supplies parts to the Department of Defense, and while most of the military equipment was covered during my visit, one component bore a striking resemblance to a rocket. Lukas Czinger, the young CEO of both companies, gave me a tour of Divergent’s manufacturing facility. What I witnessed felt like a preview of the future: dozens of lasers zapped aluminum powder, creating automotive parts that looked delicate, almost organic, like bird bones. It was a surreal and unforgettable sight. Lukas explained that Divergent’s technology achieves what’s known as “Pareto optimality,” the theoretical maximum performance efficiency. At this point, any change, whether adding or removing a single gram, results in a performance decrease. Take, for example, the engineering of a remote reservoir for the car’s rear suspension damper. The software iterates through hundreds of thousands of designs to find the optimal shape that can withstand specific forces within a confined space. This process is akin to evolution happening at warp speed. In addition to military applications, Divergent supplies 3D-printed parts to nine automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). While Aston Martin (DBR22 Roadster), Bugatti (Tourbillon), and McLaren (W1) are the only ones who publicly admit to this partnership, the Ferrari F80’s control arms are strong suspects. Under the Carbon Fiber Hood Czinger manufactures two versions of what is essentially the same vehicle: the high-downforce 21C and the wingless 21C VMax. The former is named after the 21st century and is designed for peak track performance, while the latter is a road-focused variant. I had the opportunity to drive the silver VMax during the inaugural Velocity Tour, a 500-mile road rally through Central and Northern California’s wine country. The cabin feels less like a traditional car interior and more like a fighter jet canopy, as Czinger emphasizes. I’ve never been in a jet fighter, but I have experienced a ride inside an Extra 330LT stunt plane, and the similarities are striking. There is glass less than a foot away from both sides of your head, offering incredible visibility. However, getting in and out of the VMax is a ridiculous process. You sit with your legs extended, pull your knees toward your chest, pivot your body, tuck your feet into the footwell, and finally slide your head under the roof. One reason for the enormous sills is the battery storage. The 21C VMax is a hybrid hypercar, with each sill housing a 2.2-kWh battery pack (totaling 4.4 kWh). This is not a plug-in hybrid; a motor powered by the mid-mounted V-8 engine keeps the pack charged. Those batteries power the front axle, which features a motor for each wheel, collectively providing 500 horsepower to the front axle. The combustion engine is a Czinger-designed 2.9-liter twin-turbo V-8, producing 750 hp on 91-octane California premium unleaded. When running on 100-octane race fuel, the horsepower increases to 850. The small yet powerful engine can also run on ethanol, which Czinger claims produces even more power, though they haven’t released the specific figures yet (we predict a 10 percent increase). The gasoline engine sends power to the rear wheels via an Xtrac single-clutch automated semi-sequential gearbox. This unit is similar to the seven-speed gearbox used by Pagani in the Utopia, but Czinger not only 3D-prints the transmission case but also utilizes small 48-volt electric motors to smooth out low-speed shifts. This eliminates the lurching sensation that plagues all other automated single-clutch gearboxes at lower speeds. The twin-barrel actuators work as advertised in low-speed situations, as I was thankful to discover. Maneuvering into gas stations, restaurants, and hotel parking lots felt almost normal, which is remarkable for a car of this caliber. Track Time: Pushing the Limits of Speed One aspect that never felt normal was the driver sitting behind me. As is common practice with high-dollar hypercars like those from Bugatti and Pagani, Czinger assigned a professional driver, Evan Jacobs, to ensure I didn’t crash the $2.5 million vehicle. Thankfully, Jacobs later assured the Czinger team that I was not a threat and could drive solo for the remainder of the rally. We stopped by Laguna Seca for some parade laps, but Czinger does not allow non-employees to drive the VMax on racetracks, even at the slow pace required for the rally. As I’ve learned the hard way, even if you can’t drive, you should at least experience the ride. I scrambled into the bizarre rear seat, and the first thing to note is that it’s not comfortable for those with large calves or feet. My XXL calves were jammed between the carbon-fiber tub and the seat, and my feet didn’t fit well. However, the visibility through the side glass is incredible. Again, it reminded me of a stunt plane and was a unique way to experience riding around a track—something I’ve done more than a thousand times. 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 experienced was riding shotgun in an Aston Martin Valkyrie LMH race car, during which I could feel blood pooling in my extremities under braking. The Czinger VMax is now second, and remember, Jacobs was not driving at full throttle. Even at a pace below the limit and without the large downforce rear wing, it was easy to understand how a Czinger 21C achieved what the brand calls the California Gold Rush. This achievement refers to the five production car track records set in five days: at Thunder Hill, Sonoma Raceway, Laguna Seca, Willow Springs, and the Thermal Club, with the car driving from each track to the next. Czinger later 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 faster than the fastest MotoAmerica Superbike lap ever recorded at Laguna (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 put this into perspective, 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 producing less power but in a similar class, weighs 4,185 chunky pounds. Now is a good time to mention that the SF90 and Temerario are the 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 proves true, this unconventional startup has managed to beat two Italian legends on its first attempt. This is impressive enough on its own, but it’s even more remarkable considering that Southern California isn’t exactly known for its supercar-building expertise. In other words, Los Angeles is not exactly Modena. On the Road: The Czinger Experience The route chosen for the rally consisted mostly of true back roads: tight, winding, and weathered asphalt—not the type of roads 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