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The Czinger 21C VMax: A Vision of the Future, Bottled in California For years, the automotive world has whispered about Czinger. Not just as a new hypercar brand, but as a radical rethinking of what a road car can be. When the opportunity arose to drive the 21C VMax—a halo car embodying the fusion of 3D-printed radicalism and blistering hybrid power—the choice was simple. While the raw track potential of the standard 21C is undoubtedly electrifying, the true test of automotive innovation lies in its usability. How does this alien-tech, seven-figure marvel perform when navigating the mundane realities of a 500-mile road rally? The answer, much like the car itself, is utterly surreal. Factory Fresh: An Encounter with Divergent Technologies Before even setting foot in the carbon-fiber chassis of the 21C VMax, one must understand the parent company: Divergent Technologies. It is here that the future of manufacturing is being forged, not in traditional assembly lines, but through artificial intelligence and additive manufacturing. Walking into the Divergent facility felt less like a factory tour and more like being granted access to a classified advanced-research lab. The level of security, evidenced by the need for a U.S. passport—a first in my career of reviewing automobiles—only heightened the sense of intrigue. Divergent, after all, is not just about cars; it serves as a critical supplier to the Department of Defense, crafting structural components that push the boundaries of strength and weight. During my guided tour with CEO Lukas Czinger, the sheer scale of the operation was staggering. The heart of this revolutionary approach lies within their massive 3D printers. These colossal machines perform a mesmerizing ballet of high-powered lasers, tracing designs that fuse powdered aluminum into intricate structures resembling the delicate bones of a bird, yet possessing the tensile strength to withstand forces that would pulverize conventional materials. Lukas explained that Divergent’s technology reaches what he calls the “Pareto optimum”—a state where any deviation, whether adding or removing a single gram, results in a net loss of efficiency or performance. The process is a hyper-accelerated version of evolution. Engineers feed the software targeted requirements—such as a remote reservoir bracket needing to handle specific forces within a defined space—and the AI iterates through hundreds of thousands of permutations until the mathematically perfect form emerges. Beyond the military applications, nine automotive OEMs currently utilize Divergent’s 3D-printed components. While Aston Martin (DBR22 Roadster), Bugatti (Tourbillon), and McLaren (W1) have publicly acknowledged this partnership, the Ferrari F80’s control arms bear the unmistakable hallmarks of this same pioneering technology. This isn’t just manufacturing; it’s a philosophical shift in how structure and speed are engineered. Under the Carbon Fiber: The Mechanics of Madness Czinger produces two distinct variants of the same underlying platform. First, the standard 21C, the high-downforce track weapon—named in celebration of the 21st century. Second, the 21C VMax: a sleek, wingless, long-tailed evolution designed specifically for road use. For the inaugural Velocity Tour, a 500-mile journey through the rolling hills and sun-drenched valleys of Northern California’s wine country, I was entrusted with the silver VMax. The term “piloting” is used intentionally. The cabin of the 21C VMax feels less like a greenhouse and more like a jet fighter’s cockpit. While I haven’t experienced the interior of a full-fledged fighter jet, the resemblance is striking. The feeling of being encased in glass, with the world inches from the driver’s head, is both exhilarating and slightly intimidating. The visibility is phenomenal, yet the ingress and egress are, to put it mildly, ridiculous. The process demands precise choreography: position yourself on the massive side sill, haul your knees up to your chest, pivot your body like a dancer, and tuck your feet into the narrow footwell before sliding your head under the canopy. It is a theatrical ritual required to access one of the most exclusive automotive experiences on the planet. The oversized sills are not merely structural; they house the car’s hybrid power source. The 21C VMax is a hybrid hypercar, with each sill containing a 2.2-kWh battery pack, totaling 4.4 kWh. This is not a plug-in hybrid; the energy is generated by the mid-mounted V-8 engine. These batteries can deliver up to 500 horsepower to the front axle, with independent electric motors driving each wheel. The combustion engine is a bespoke 2.9-liter twin-turbo V-8 developed in-house by Czinger. On California’s standard 91-octane premium fuel, it produces a staggering 750 horsepower. Upon filling the tank with 100-octane race fuel, the output escalates to 850 horsepower. Furthermore, the engine is designed to run on ethanol, promising even greater power—though these figures are pending official release, industry forecasts anticipate a roughly 10 percent increase in output. Power is routed to the rear wheels via an Xtrac single-clutch automated sequential transmission. While superficially similar to the seven-speed Xtrac unit used in the Pagani Utopia, Czinger’s implementation is revolutionary. Not only is the transmission housing 3D-printed using Divergent’s additive manufacturing, but it incorporates small 48-volt electric motors to execute shifts with lightning speed, particularly at lower velocities. This innovation completely eliminates the typical drunken lurching and surging that plagues automated single-clutch gearboxes in slow-speed environments. The twin-barrel actuators perform exactly as promised; during navigation through gas stations, restaurant parking lots, and hotel entrances, the VMax felt surprisingly civilized. The car performed its low-speed duties with a smoothness that defies its extreme nature. Track Time: The Raw Edge of Innovation While the road experience was enlightening, the presence of a professional driver sitting behind me for the entire day served as a constant reminder of the car’s extraordinary capabilities. Similar to practices at Bugatti and Pagani, Czinger included a factory driver, Evan Jacobs, to ensure the $2.5 million machine remained on the pavement. Thankfully, Jacobs later vouched for my abilities, allowing me to drive solo for the remainder of the rally. We made a stop at Laguna Seca for some parade laps, but Czinger policy restricts non-employees from driving the VMax on track, even at the reduced speeds required by the rally participants. As I have learned the hard way, even if you cannot drive the car, you must ride in it. Climbing into the rear seat was another exercise in physical contortion. For those with larger calves or feet, the experience is challenging. My XXL calves were literally compressed between the carbon-fiber tub and the carbon-fiber seat, and my feet found little respite in the tight footwell. However, the visibility through the side glass was spectacular. It mirrored the experience of riding shotgun in an Aston Martin Valkyrie LMH race car, where the inertia under heavy braking makes you feel like your internal organs are migrating south. The Czinger VMax now holds the second spot on that list, and remember, Jacobs was not pushing the car to its absolute limit. Even at speeds well below the car’s redline and without the aid of the downforce-generating rear wing, it was easy to comprehend the feats achieved during the “California Gold Rush.” This event saw the standard Czinger 21C set five production car track records across five different tracks in five days—Thunder Hill, Sonoma Raceway, Laguna Seca, Willow Springs, and the Thermal Club—driving between each venue. Later, Czinger returned to Laguna Seca to not only break its own record but to reclaim the throne from the track-special Koenigsegg Jesko Sadair’s Spear. That lap time, a jaw-dropping 1 minute, 22.30 seconds, is faster than the fastest MotoAmerica Superbike lap ever recorded at Laguna, which stands at 1:22.56. It is a performance milestone that pushes the very boundaries of what is mechanically possible. Czinger claims a vehicle weight of approximately 3,600 pounds, which is incredibly light for a 1,250-hp hybrid. For context, the Ferrari SF90 Stradale Assetto Fiorano—the pinnacle of the three-motor, twin-turbo V-8 PHEV platform, producing only 986 hp—weighs 3,839 pounds. The new Lamborghini Temerario, another three-motor, twin-turbo V-8 hybrid (making less power, but serving as a benchmark for hyper-exotic weight), exceeds the two-ton mark at 4,185 pounds. Now is the time to highlight a critical point: both the SF90 and the Temerario are the two quickest gasoline-powered cars MotorTrend has ever tested (the Ferrari for 0–60 mph and the Lambo for the quarter mile). If Czinger’s weight claims hold true, this unconventional Southern California startup has managed to outperform two Italian legends on their home turf. This alone is remarkable, but it is even more noteworthy considering that Los Angeles, while famous for many things, is not traditionally a hub for supercar manufacturing expertise. In short, L.A. is not exactly Modena. On the Road: The Reality of a Road Rally The route chosen for the Velocity Tour consisted primarily of true back roads. Tight, winding, and poorly maintained asphalt—not the pristine canvas typically envisioned for hypercar dream trips.