Will Nick and Billy’s clues lead them to the abandoned mental facility? Y&R Spoilers

Czinger 21C VMax: Hypercar Madness Meets Touring Perfection For years, the automotive press has been captivated by Czinger, the enigmatic Southern California startup founded by father and son duo Kevin and Lukas Czinger. Having hosted the Czingers on our podcast, the opportunity to experience the elusive 21C VMax was seized immediately. The initial plan was to document the hypercar’s performance on a 500-mile road rally. While a track story is certainly compelling—and we certainly have one for you—the primary objective was to understand what this $2.5 million, 1,250-horsepower, 3D-printed, center-steer, tandem two-seater feels like when pounded against the absolute limit of performance. But as we discovered, the heart of the 21C lies not in its track prowess, but in its revolutionary touring capability, redefining the very concept of a long-distance hypercar. Factory Fresh: A Glimpse into the Future of Manufacturing Visiting a car factory rarely requires a U.S. passport, but Czinger is, in a word, different. The parent company, Divergent Technologies, utilizes iterative artificial intelligence and massive 3D printers to engineer and produce remarkably light and strong mechanical components. My U.S. identification was required due to Divergent’s contracts with Department of Defense suppliers. While all military equipment was shielded during my visit, one component bore a striking resemblance to a rocket. Lukas Czinger, CEO of both companies, provided a tour of the factory that was nothing short of awe-inspiring. Peeking inside one of the enormous 3D printers felt like a glimpse into the future. More than a dozen lasers fused powdered aluminum into automotive parts that resembled delicate bird bones—a truly surreal spectacle. Lukas explained that Divergent’s technology pushes components to the “Pareto optimal” boundary, the point at which even a single gram of added or subtracted material becomes detrimental. Consider the design of a suspension damper remote reservoir. Engineers provide a specific volume and force requirement; the software then iterates through hundreds of thousands of designs to identify the strongest, lightest configuration. It is, essentially, evolution on fast-forward. In addition to the DOD, nine automotive OEMs utilize Divergent’s 3D-printed parts. Aston Martin (DBR22 Roadster), Bugatti (Tourbillon), and McLaren (W1) publicly acknowledge their partnership, and while unconfirmed, the Ferrari F80 control arms bear a striking resemblance to Divergent’s handiwork. Under the Carbon Fiber: A Hybrid Hypercar Czinger produces two variants of the 21C, which share the same underlying architecture. The high-downforce track model is the 21C, named for the 21st century. It is paired with the wingless, long-tailed VMax. Technically, the VMax is a model within the 21C line, though the 21C designation does not appear on the car itself. For the inaugural Velocity Tour, a 500-mile road rally through Central and Northern California’s wine country, I was piloting a silver VMax. I chose the word “piloting” deliberately. The cabin feels less like a greenhouse and more like a jet fighter canopy. While I have never flown in a jet fighter, I have experienced the interior of an Extra 330LT stunt plane, and the similarities are undeniable. In short, the glass is less than a foot from either side of your head. The visibility is exceptional, yet the process of ingress and egress is, frankly, ridiculous. You position yourself with your legs out on the wide sill, draw your knees upward, and pivot your body as you guide your feet into the footwell. Then, you slide your head under the roof. One reason the sills are so wide is that they are stuffed with batteries. The 21C VMax is a hybrid hypercar, with each sill containing 2.2 kWh of battery capacity, totaling 4.4 kWh. The car is not a plug-in hybrid; a motor powered by the mid-mounted V8 keeps the battery charged. These batteries can deliver 500 horsepower to the front axle, which utilizes a motor on each wheel. The combustion engine is a custom-designed 2.9-liter twin-turbo V8 that produces 750 hp on California’s 91-octane premium fuel. Switching to 100-octane race fuel boosts horsepower to 850. The small but mighty engine can also run on ethanol, producing even more power, although Czinger has yet to release these figures; we predict a 10% increase. The gasoline engine drives the rear wheels through an Xtrac single-clutch automated semi-sequential gearbox. This transmission is similar to the seven-speed Xtrac unit used in Pagani’s Utopia, but Czinger not only 3D-prints the transmission case but also employs small 48-volt electric motors to facilitate faster shifts at lower speeds. This eliminates the surging, drunken feeling characteristic of most automated single-clutch transmissions at low speeds. The twin-barrel actuators function precisely as advertised in low-speed situations, a feature I was grateful to discover. Maneuvering into gas stations, restaurants, and hotel parking lots felt almost normal. Seriously, bravo, Czinger. Track Time: Pushing the Limit What never felt normal was the individual sitting behind me for the entire day. As is customary with many ultra-high-end hypercars (think Bugatti and Pagani), Czinger assigned a professional driver (Evan Jacobs) to ensure I didn’t drive the $2.5 million machine off a cliff. Fortunately, Jacobs later assured the Czinger team that I posed no threat to the vehicle and that I was cleared to drive solo for the remainder of the rally. We stopped at Laguna Seca for a few parade laps, but for reasons unclear, non-Czinger employees are not permitted to drive the VMax on racetracks, even at the painfully slow pace permitted during the rally. As I have learned through hard experience, even if you can’t drive, you can still ride along. I scrambled into the bizarre rear seat. The first thing to note: if you have large calves or feet, the rear-seat experience is not ideal. My XXL calves were literally wedged between the carbon fiber tub and the carbon fiber seat, and my feet were equally cramped. However, the visibility through the side glass is absolutely incredible. Once again, it reminded me of a stunt plane—a novel way to experience a track experience I’ve had more than 1,000 times. This was especially true when Jacobs and I convinced the Skip Barber Racing School staff (whose track day we essentially crashed) to allow him to 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 the blood pooling in my extremities under hard braking. The Czinger VMax now ranks second, and remember, Jacobs did not push the car to its absolute limit. Even at a fraction of its potential and without the high-downforce rear wing, it was easy to understand how the Czinger 21C achieved the “California Gold Rush.” This means setting five production car track records—at Thunder Hill, Sonoma Raceway, Laguna Seca, Willow Springs, and the Thermal Club—in five days, driving between each venue. Later, Czinger 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. The 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-hp hybrid. To put this into context, the Ferrari SF90 Stradale Assetto Fiorano—the highest-performance version of a three-motor, twin-turbo V8 PHEV that produces only 986 hp—weighs 3,839 pounds. The new Lamborghini Temerario is another three-motor, twin-turbo V8 (which produces less power, but provides a relevant comparison) that exceeds two tons, tipping the scales at a chunky 4,185 pounds. Now is a good time to mention that the SF90 and Temerario are the two 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 holds true, the unconventional Southern California startup has managed to eclipse two Italian legends with its debut offering. This is remarkable on its own, especially considering that while Southern California is known for many things, it does not possess a deep pool of supercar manufacturing expertise. In other words, Los Angeles is not exactly Modena. On the Road: The Touring Experience The chosen route for the rally consisted mostly of genuine back roads. Tight, winding, lousy, weather-beaten pavement—not the type of asphalt that inspires hypercar dream trips. Plus, there was a lot of following the pack, navigating to lunch and coffee stops, and hanging with the camera car. While I was perhaps a bit disappointed at the time, in retrospect, what I experienced is akin to what most owners will experience while living with a Czinger. To my surprise, the VMax was mostly like any other hyper