Czinger 21C VMax: A Week of Driving a 1,250-HP Hypercar That Might Be Too Much for the Road
For years, the automotive world has buzzed about Czinger, the Southern California company that builds hypercars using AI-driven additive manufacturing. Our editors have long wanted to experience these vehicles firsthand, and in October 2022, we had a chance to speak with the father-and-son founders, Kevin and Lukas Czinger, on The InEVitable podcast. That conversation led to a unique opportunity: a three-day road rally in a Czinger 21C VMax.
While there is certainly a track story to tell—and we’ll cover that—the real question was: What is it like to drive a seven-figure, 3D-printed, 1,250-horsepower hybrid hypercar on public roads? The answer, as we discovered, is a thrilling, dizzying experience that stretches the limits of what automotive engineering can do.
The Future Is Built in Southern California
Our journey began at Czinger’s factory, and if you haven’t seen one of these facilities, it’s unlike any traditional car manufacturer you’ve visited. The parent company, Divergent Technologies, uses advanced AI to design and produce incredibly light yet strong mechanical components. My visit required a U.S. passport, as Divergent supplies parts to the U.S. Department of Defense (though the military hardware we saw was covered during the tour).
Lukas Czinger, the young CEO of both companies, gave me a tour of a massive printer that felt like a glimpse into the future. Lasers zapped powdered aluminum into automotive parts that resembled bird bones—strong, intricate structures that traditional manufacturing methods simply can’t create.
Lukas explained that Divergent’s technology pushes the “Pareto optimal”—the point where any weight change, up or down, becomes a negative. Engineers use AI to iterate hundreds of thousands of designs, targeting the lightest, strongest shape for specific components. This isn’t just automotive technology; nine automotive OEMs use Divergent as a supplier. While only Aston Martin (DBR22 Roadster), Bugatti (Tourbillon), and McLaren (W1) publicly admit it, the control arms on the Ferrari F80 look like strong suspects.
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Czinger 21C VMax: A Week of Driving a 1,250-HP Hypercar That Might Be Too Much for the Road
For years, the automotive world has buzzed about Czinger, the Southern California company that builds hypercars using AI-driven additive manufacturing. Our editors have long wanted to experience these vehicles firsthand, and in October 2022, we had a chance to speak with the father-and-son founders, Kevin and Lukas Czinger, on The InEVitable podcast. That conversation led to a unique opportunity: a three-day road rally in a Czinger 21C VMax.
While there is certainly a track story to tell—and we’ll cover that—the real question was: What is it like to drive a seven-figure, 3D-printed, 1,250-horsepower hybrid hypercar on public roads? The answer, as we discovered, is a thrilling, dizzying experience that stretches the limits of what automotive engineering can do.
The Future Is Built in Southern California
Our journey began at Czinger’s factory, and if you haven’t seen one of these facilities, it’s unlike any traditional car manufacturer you’ve visited. The parent company, Divergent Technologies, uses advanced AI to design and produce incredibly light yet strong mechanical components. My visit required a U.S. passport, as Divergent supplies parts to the U.S. Department of Defense (though the military hardware we saw was covered during the tour).
Lukas Czinger, the young CEO of both companies, gave me a tour of a massive printer that felt like a glimpse into the future. Lasers zapped powdered aluminum into automotive parts that resembled bird bones—strong, intricate structures that traditional manufacturing methods simply can’t create.
Lukas explained that Divergent’s technology pushes the “Pareto optimal”—the point where any weight change, up or down, becomes a negative. Engineers use AI to iterate hundreds of thousands of designs, targeting the lightest, strongest shape for specific components. This isn’t just automotive technology; nine automotive OEMs use Divergent as a supplier. While only Aston Martin (DBR22 Roadster), Bugatti (Tourbillon), and McLaren (W1) publicly admit it, the control arms on the Ferrari F80 look like strong suspects.
Understanding the Czinger Lineup
Czinger builds two versions of essentially the same car. The Czinger 21C is a high-downforce, track-focused beast (named after the 21st century), while the 21C VMax is the wingless, long-tail road version. Note that the “21C” designation doesn’t appear on the VMax itself.
For the inaugural Velocity Tour, a 500-mile road rally through California’s wine country, I piloted a silver Czinger 21C VMax.
The reason I say “piloted” is because the cabin feels more like a jet fighter cockpit than a traditional greenhouse. You sit between the two seats, with glass less than a foot from each side. While I’ve never flown a jet, I have ridden in an Extra 330LT stunt plane, and the comparison is apt. The visibility is incredible, but getting in and out is an experience in itself: Sit with your legs facing out on the massive sill, pull your knees up, spin on your butt, and tuck your feet into the footwell. It’s a dance that requires some practice.
The Hybrid Powertrain: V-8 Meets Electric Power
One reason the sills are so substantial is that they’re packed with batteries. The Czinger 21C VMax is a hybrid hypercar, with 2.2 kWh of battery power in each sill (4.4 kWh total). It’s not a plug-in hybrid; a motor powered by the mid-mounted V-8 engine keeps the pack charged.
Those batteries deliver 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 producing 750 horsepower on California’s 91-octane premium fuel. Using 100-octane race fuel, the horsepower jumps to 850. Czinger also offers ethanol fuel options, predicting a 10% increase in power.
The V-8 sends power to the rear wheels via an Xtrac single-clutch automated semi-sequential gearbox. This is similar to the Xtrac seven-speed Pagani uses, but Czinger 3D prints the transmission case and uses small 48-volt electric motors to smooth out low-speed shifts. This technology eliminates the “drunken surge” common in other automated single-clutch transmissions.
Track Testing: The Czinger 21C VMax in the Heat
For the initial laps at Laguna Seca, I rode shotgun with Evan Jacobs, a professional driver who ensures owners don’t drive the $2.5 million cars off a cliff. Thankfully, Jacobs later assured the Czinger team I was safe, and I was allowed to drive solo for the rest of the rally.
While non-Czinger employees can’t drive the Czinger VMax on tracks, even at a slow rally pace, I got a chance to ride along. If you have big calves or feet, the rear seat isn’t comfortable. My legs felt wedged between the carbon-fiber tub and seat, and my feet fit poorly. However, the visibility through the side glass is incredible—a novel way to experience a track, which I’ve done more than 1,000 times.
Jacobs took a couple of 6/10ths laps. The most impressive hot lap I’ve ever experienced was in an Aston Martin Valkyrie LMH race car, where I felt the blood pooling in my extremities under braking. The Czinger 21C VMax is now second, and remember, Jacobs wasn’t even at full speed.
Even at less than the limit and without the big downforce wing, it’s easy to understand how the Czinger 21C VMax achieved the “California Gold Rush.” The car set five production car track records in five days—at Thunder Hill, Sonoma Raceway, Laguna Seca, Willow Springs, and the Thermal Club. Czinger later returned to Laguna Seca to reclaim the title from a Koenigsegg Jesko Sadair’s Spear. The lap time of 1 minute 22.30 seconds is quicker than the fastest MotoAmerica Superbike lap ever recorded at Laguna (1:22.56).
Weight Savings: A Key to Performance
Czinger claims a vehicle weight of approximately 3,600 pounds, which is light for a 1,250-hp hybrid. For context, the Ferrari SF90 Stradale Assetto Fiorano (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, comes in at 4,185 pounds.
While the SF90 and Temerario are the two quickest gasoline-powered cars MotorTrend has ever tested, Czinger appears to have beaten them with job one. That’s remarkable for a startup in Southern California, a region not known for supercar manufacturing.
The Road Experience: Can a Hypercar Survive the Real World?
The rally route consisted mostly of true back roads—tight, winding, imperfect pavement that isn’t exactly a hypercar dream trip. We spent a lot of time following the pack, navigating to lunch and coffee stops, and hanging with the camera car.
While I was initially disappointed, I realized this is what most owners will experience. The VMax behaves mostly like any other hyper-exotic. Remove everything from your pockets because the seats are tight, drink your water before you get in as there are no cupholders, and accept that everyone else on the road will be looking at you, following you, waving, and revving.
The ride is much better than expected, and the air conditioning works well. My main complaint? The cabin is loud. Not the unique V-8 sound, but a complete lack of sound deadening. That’s great for the track-focused 21C, but annoying in a road car.
It’s especially noticeable during long drives. I know weight is the enemy of performance, but how much does sound-deadening foam weigh? 10 to 50 pounds? It would make a significant improvement to the daily driving experience.
Getting to the Good Part: Driving the Czinger 21C VMax
We finally reached some proper California canyon roads, and I got to open up the Czinger 21C VMax. As soon as I hit the throttle, the braking zone appeared. Like warp drive, the car seems to bend the road rather than roll over it.
This is the first time I’ve ever said this in my career, but I think this car might be too much for public roads. Typing that feels wrong, but every time I accelerated, the braking zone appeared. The acceleration is intense, but the braking response is instantaneous, as if the car is anticipating the turn before it appears.
While it corners beautifully and has incredible