Driving the Czinger 21C VMax: A Glimpse into the Future of Automotive Hypercars
For years, automotive enthusiasts and industry insiders have keenly anticipated the arrival of Czinger vehicles. The Southern California-based company, founded by the father-and-son team of Kevin and Lukas Czinger, has captured the imagination of the world with its radical approach to hypercar design and engineering. It was with great excitement that I accepted the opportunity to drive the Czinger 21C VMax on a three-day road rally. While the performance-oriented 21C and the track-focused variants have certainly garnered attention, the VMax offers a unique perspective on what this innovative brand represents—a blend of cutting-edge technology, extreme performance, and futuristic design.
The idea was to explore something beyond the typical track test. While there is a compelling track story to tell, and the allure of a 3D-printed, alien-tech, seven-figure, 1,250-horsepower hypercar pushed to its absolute limits is undeniably strong, the real question for potential owners is: what is a center-steer, tandem two-seater like during a 500-mile journey? This test aimed to answer that very question, providing a comprehensive look at the everyday usability and long-distance comfort of this groundbreaking vehicle.
The Factory of the Future: A Glimpse Behind the Scenes
My journey began at the Czinger factory, an experience that set the tone for the entire adventure. It’s not every day that one needs to present a U.S. passport to enter a car factory, but Czinger is not your average automotive manufacturer. The parent company, Divergent Technologies, utilizes iterative artificial intelligence and massive 3D printing capabilities to produce incredibly lightweight yet strong mechanical components.
The need for identification stems from Divergent’s role as a supplier of parts to the Department of Defense. While most military hardware was covered during my visit, one item bore a passing resemblance to a rocket, hinting at the broad range of applications for their revolutionary technology. I was given a tour by Lukas Czinger, the young and visionary CEO of both companies. What I witnessed was deeply impressive. Peeking into one of the massive 3D printers felt like stepping into the future, as numerous lasers fused powdered aluminum into automotive parts that resembled delicate bird bones. The scale of this additive manufacturing operation is simply astounding, and it’s a sight that truly distinguishes Czinger from traditional car manufacturers.
Lukas explained that Divergent’s technology strives to reach the “Pareto optimal,” the point at which every gram added or subtracted negatively impacts the vehicle. He used a clear example: imagine an engineer designing a bracket to hold the remote reservoir for the car’s rear suspension damper. Given strict space constraints and required strength tolerances (denoted as X and Y), the software iterates through hundreds of thousands of designs to identify the lightest yet most robust structure possible. It’s essentially evolutionary biology on fast forward.
Beyond the Department of Defense, nine automotive OEMs currently utilize Divergent’s 3D-printed parts. While Aston Martin (DBR22 Roadster), Bugatti (Tourbillon), and McLaren (W1) publicly acknowledge this partnership, the control arms of the Ferrari F80 also strongly suggest their involvement. This broad adoption underscores the significance of Divergent’s innovations, positioning Czinger at the forefront of next-generation manufacturing.
The Heart of the Beast: Powertrain and Performance
Czinger produces two distinct versions of what is essentially the same hypercar: the high-downforce, track-focused 21C, named to celebrate the 21st century, and the aerodynamic, long-tailed VMax. Officially designated the 21C VMax, the name “21C” does not appear on the vehicle itself. For the inaugural Velocity Tour, a 500-mile road rally through the stunning wine country of Central and Northern California, I was entrusted with piloting a silver VMax.
The term “piloting” is used deliberately, as the cabin feels less like a traditional car interior and more like a jet fighter cockpit. Indeed, Czinger states that the experience is akin to being in a jet fighter. While I haven’t had the pleasure of piloting a jet fighter, I have had the opportunity to ride shotgun in an Extra 330LT stunt plane, and the resemblance is uncanny. In essence, there is glass less than a foot away from both sides of your head. The visibility is exceptional, yet the process of entering and exiting the vehicle is rather unconventional: you sit with your legs facing outward on the massive sill, pull your knees up and pivot on your butt as you tuck your feet into the footwell, and finally, slide your head under the roof.
One reason the sills are so large is the extensive battery storage they house. The 21C VMax is a hybrid hypercar, and each sill contains 2.2 kWh of battery power, totaling 4.4 kWh. The car is not a plug-in hybrid, so a motor powered by the mid-mounted V-8 engine keeps the pack charged. These batteries can deliver up to 500 horsepower to the front axle, which utilizes a separate motor for each wheel. The combustion engine is a Czinger-designed 2.9-liter twin-turbo V-8 that produces 750 horsepower on California’s 91-octane premium unleaded gasoline. By switching to 100-octane race fuel, the horsepower increases to 850. The small but potent engine can also run on ethanol, offering even greater power output, although Czinger has not released those specific figures yet—we anticipate a significant increase, perhaps around 10 percent.
The gasoline engine powers the rear wheels through an Xtrac single-clutch automated semi-sequential gearbox. This transmission is similar to the Xtrac seven-speed used by Pagani in the Utopia, but Czinger has gone a step further. Not only is the gearbox casing additively 3D-printed, but the car also employs small 48-volt electric motors to execute shifts more rapidly at lower speeds. This innovative solution effectively eliminates the common “drunken” lurching and surging that characterizes most automated single-clutch gearboxes at low speeds. The twin-barrel actuators perform as advertised, making low-speed maneuvers such as pulling into gas stations, restaurants, and hotel parking lots almost effortless. It’s a remarkable achievement that significantly enhances the driving experience in real-world scenarios.
Track-Ready: Performance on the Circuit
During the inaugural Velocity Tour, the passenger beside me throughout the entire day was a professional driver—a standard practice for high-end hypercars like Bugatti and Pagani. Czinger assigned pro driver Evan Jacobs to accompany me to ensure I didn’t inadvertently drive the $2.5 million machine off a cliff. Thankfully, later that evening, Jacobs reassured the Czinger team that I posed no threat to the car and that I was cleared to drive solo for the remainder of the rally.
We made a stop at Laguna Seca for some parade laps. However, Czinger prohibits non-employees from driving the VMax on racetracks, even at the extremely conservative pace dictated by the rally participants. As I have learned the hard way, even if you cannot drive, always accept the ride, and I squeezed myself into the bizarre rear seat. The first thing to note is that 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 fit uncomfortably as well.
Despite the tight quarters, the visibility through the side glass is phenomenal. Again, it evoked the sensation of a stunt plane and provided a remarkably novel way to experience a track—something I have done more than 1,000 times in various vehicles. This was especially true when Jacobs and I persuaded the Skip Barber Racing School staff (whose track day we had inadvertently crashed) to allow him to take the VMax for a couple of “6/10ths” hot laps.
The most thrilling hot lap I have ever experienced was riding shotgun in an Aston Martin Valkyrie LMH race car, during which I could feel blood pooling in my extremities under extreme braking. The Czinger VMax is now a close second, and remember, Jacobs was not driving at full capacity. Even at something well below the limit and without the aerodynamic assistance of the large rear wing, it was easy to understand how a Czinger 21C managed the so-called California Gold Rush. This legendary feat involved setting five production car track records—at Thunder Hill, Sonoma Raceway, Laguna Seca, Willow Springs, and the Thermal Club—in five days and driving from one track to the next without any major mechanical issues. Later, Czinger returned to Laguna Seca to not only beat its own record but to reclaim the top spot from a track-special Koenigsegg Jesko Sadair’s Spear. That lap time, a staggering 1 minute, 22.30 seconds, is quicker 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 remarkably light for a 1,250-horsepower hybrid vehicle. To provide some context, the Ferrari SF90 Stradale Assetto Fiorano, the highest-performance version of a three-motor twin-turbo V-8 PHEV producing only 986 hp, weighs 3,839 pounds. The new Lamborghini Temerario, another three-motor, twin-turbo V-8 (producing less power, but for
