Czinger 21C VMax: When Hypercar Innovation Meets Automotive Insanity
The automotive world is constantly chasing the next big thing—a leap forward that shatters expectations and redefines what’s possible. Yet, as we hurtle toward a future of electric hypercars and AI-driven engineering, it’s easy to forget that the most breathtaking innovations often blur the line between genius and madness. Step inside the Czinger 21C VMax, and you’ll understand exactly why this $2.5 million machine feels less like a car and more like a flight of pure automotive delirium.
For years, the team at MotorTrend had a burning desire to get behind the controls of a Czinger. Our journey began with an appearance by founders Kevin and Lukas Czinger on The InEVitable podcast back in October 2022. That conversation hinted at something radical brewing in Southern California, so when the opportunity arose to embark on a three-day road rally behind the yoke-shaped wheel of the 21C VMax, I immediately seized the chance.
Yes, there are hypercar track stories to tell—and believe me, there are more to come—about the engineering behind a 3D-printed, alien-tech, seven-figure 1,250-horsepower monster built in the heart of California. But our mission was different. We wanted to experience the center-steer, tandem two-seater in its natural habitat: the open road, pushing the limits of automotive engineering over 500 miles. And what we found was something else entirely.
This crucial clue helped Kyle quickly pinpoint Jack’s location Young And The Restless Spoilers
Czinger 21C VMax: When Hypercar Innovation Meets Automotive Insanity
The automotive world is constantly chasing the next big thing—a leap forward that shatters expectations and redefines what’s possible. Yet, as we hurtle toward a future of electric hypercars and AI-driven engineering, it’s easy to forget that the most breathtaking innovations often blur the line between genius and madness. Step inside the Czinger 21C VMax, and you’ll understand exactly why this $2.5 million machine feels less like a car and more like a flight of pure automotive delirium.
For years, the team at MotorTrend had a burning desire to get behind the controls of a Czinger. Our journey began with an appearance by founders Kevin and Lukas Czinger on The InEVitable podcast back in October 2022. That conversation hinted at something radical brewing in Southern California, so when the opportunity arose to embark on a three-day road rally behind the yoke-shaped wheel of the 21C VMax, I immediately seized the chance.
Yes, there are hypercar track stories to tell—and believe me, there are more to come—about the engineering behind a 3D-printed, alien-tech, seven-figure 1,250-horsepower monster built in the heart of California. But our mission was different. We wanted to experience the center-steer, tandem two-seater in its natural habitat: the open road, pushing the limits of automotive engineering over 500 miles. And what we found was something else entirely.
The Future Is 3D Printed: A Tour of Divergent Technologies
My introduction to Czinger was unlike any other automotive encounter I’ve had in my career. I actually needed to show my U.S. passport just to enter the factory—and for good reason. Czinger isn’t just a car manufacturer; it is the consumer-facing division of Divergent Technologies, a powerhouse of advanced manufacturing that utilizes artificial intelligence and massive 3D printers to create components that are simultaneously incredibly light and staggeringly strong.
Divergent’s technology is so advanced, in fact, that it serves the U.S. Department of Defense. While touring the facility, I was given a privileged peek at one of the massive 3D printers in action, and it felt like stepping into a science fiction movie. More than a dozen lasers were zapping powdered aluminum into automotive parts that resembled delicate bird bones. It was a genuinely surreal experience to witness 3D printing in automotive manufacturing on such a scale.
Lukas Czinger explained the philosophy behind Divergent’s engineering: reaching Pareto optimality. This is the point where adding or subtracting even a single gram becomes a negative to the overall design. Imagine an engineer requesting a part, say, a reservoir for the car’s rear suspension damper. The software is fed the spatial constraints and the required load-bearing capacity. Using those parameters, the system iterates through hundreds of thousands of designs, seeking the strongest, lightest shape possible. It’s evolutionary design accelerated to warp speed. Beyond the DOD, Divergent supplies 3D printed automotive parts to nine OEMs, though only three are publicly acknowledged: Aston Martin (DBR22 Roadster), Bugatti (Tourbillon), and McLaren (W1). I wouldn’t be surprised if the control arms on the Ferrari F80 are also Divergent creations.
Anatomy of an Alien: The 21C VMax
Czinger builds two variants of what is fundamentally the same machine. First, there’s the 21C, a high-downforce track monster that shares the company’s name (shortened from the 21st Century). Then there’s the wingless, long-tailed VMax. While technically still referred to as the 21C VMax, the “21C” branding is conspicuously absent from the car itself.
For the inaugural Velocity Tour—a 500-mile road rally through the scenic wine regions of Central and Northern California—I was assigned a silver VMax. I use the word “piloting” deliberately, as the cabin feels far more like a jet fighter canopy than a conventional car interior. Czinger themselves compare the experience to being in a fighter jet. I’ve had the pleasure of a ride in an Extra 330LT stunt plane, and the similarity is uncanny. You are surrounded by glass; it’s less than a foot from either side of your head. The visibility is truly exceptional, even if the process of getting in and out of the center-steer hypercar is utterly ridiculous. You sit with your legs facing outward on the massive sill, pull your knees up and pivot your torso as you tuck your feet into the narrow footwell, and then slide your head under the carbon fiber roof.
One of the reasons the sills are so massive is because they are filled with batteries. The 21C VMax is a hybrid hypercar, with each sill containing 2.2 kWh of battery power, totaling 4.4 kWh. This is not a plug-in hybrid; the batteries are charged by a motor powered by the mid-mounted V-8 engine. These batteries can deliver a staggering 500 horsepower to the front axle, which houses a separate motor per wheel.
The combustion engine is a Czinger-designed 2.9-liter twin-turbo V-8, producing a formidable 750 horsepower on the 91-octane premium gasoline common in California. If you upgrade to 100-octane race fuel, the power jumps to 850 horsepower. The engine can also run on ethanol for even more power, but Czinger hasn’t released those figures yet; our prediction is a 10 percent increase.
The gasoline engine powers the rear wheels via an Xtrac single-clutch automated semi-sequential gearbox. This is akin to the Xtrac seven-speed gearbox found in the Pagani Utopia, but Czinger goes further: not only is the transmission case 3D printed, but they also employ small 48-volt electric motors to execute shifts more smoothly at lower speeds. This completely eliminates the lurching, drunken feeling common to automated single-clutch transmissions. The twin-barrel actuators work exactly as advertised, providing an incredibly refined low-speed experience. Navigating into gas stations, restaurants, and hotel parking lots felt almost… normal. Seriously, bravo to Czinger for solving this notorious hypercar problem.
Track Performance: A Stunt Plane on Asphalt
One aspect that definitely didn’t feel normal was the pro driver sitting behind me for the entire day. As is common with many high-dollar hypercars (Bugatti and Pagani often do the same), Czinger assigned a professional driver, Evan Jacobs, to ensure I didn’t accidentally destroy their $2.5 million machine. Thankfully, Jacobs later assured the Czinger team that I was no threat to the car, and I was cleared to drive solo for the remainder of the rally.
We made a stop at Laguna Seca for some high-speed parade laps, but for reasons that remain unclear, non-Czinger employees are not allowed to drive the VMax on racetracks, even at the brutally slow pace allowed during a road rally.
I’ve learned the hard way that even if you’re not driving, a passenger’s seat in a performance hypercar is still an exclusive experience. I scrambled into the bizarre rear seat. The first thing to note is that if you have large calves or feet, the back-seat experience isn’t ideal. My XXL calves were literally wedged between the carbon fiber tub and the seat structure, and my feet felt cramped. However, the visibility through the side glass is absolutely incredible. Again, it reminded me of a stunt plane and was a refreshingly novel way to experience a racetrack—something I have done more than 1,000 times.
This novelty was especially apparent 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 few “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 literally feel the blood pooling in my extremities under braking. The Czinger 21C VMax now ranks a very close second—and remember, Jacobs wasn’t even driving at full tilt.
Even at less than the limit and without the aggressive downforce from the rear wing, it was easy to understand how the Czinger 21C achieved what the brand calls the California Gold Rush. This refers to the feat where the car set five production car track records in five days—at Thunder Hill, Sonoma Raceway, Laguna Seca, Willow Springs, and the Thermal Club—and drove from each track to the next. Later, Czinger returned to Laguna Seca to not only beat its own record but to reclaim the throne from the Koenigsegg Jesko Sadair Spear.
That lap time—a staggering 1 minute, 22.30 seconds—is even faster than the fastest MotoAmerica Superbike lap ever recorded at Laguna, which stands at 1:22.56.
Czinger claims a vehicle weight of approximately 3,600 pounds, which is remarkably light for a 1,