The Ultimate Test: Driving the Czinger 21C VMax in California’s Wine Country
The world of automotive engineering is currently in a state of thrilling revolution. At the forefront of this transformation stands the Czinger 21C VMax, a hypercar from a Southern California startup that promises the future of automotive technology while embodying a level of “utter madness” in its design and performance. This article delves into the experience of driving the 21C VMax on a challenging 500-mile road rally through California’s wine country, exploring its futuristic 3D-printed construction, revolutionary hybrid powertrain, and staggering performance capabilities that seem to defy the laws of physics.
Pioneering the Future: Czinger’s Revolutionary Manufacturing
Driving a Czinger for the first time is an experience unlike any other in the automotive world. This isn’t just a new supercar; it’s a glimpse into the future of how cars are designed, engineered, and built. The parent company, Divergent Technologies, utilizes artificial intelligence and massive 3D printers to create incredibly lightweight and strong mechanical components. The sheer innovation involved in this process is astounding, as it’s the same technology that supplies parts to the Department of Defense.
The manufacturing process itself is a marvel of modern engineering. A tour inside Divergent’s facility reveals massive printers zapping powdered aluminum into intricate automotive parts that resemble bird bones. This technology allows engineers to reach the “Pareto optimal,” where every gram is utilized to its maximum potential. Divergent’s software iterates hundreds of thousands of designs to find the perfect balance of strength and weight, effectively accelerating the evolutionary process of natural selection into a high-speed industrial reality.
Beyond military applications, Divergent supplies 3D-printed parts to nine automotive OEMs. While companies like Aston Martin, Bugatti, and McLaren publicly acknowledge this collaboration, the Ferrari F80’s control arms are also suspected to be products of this advanced manufacturing technique. This integration of cutting-edge technology into high-end automotive production sets Czinger apart as a pioneer in the industry, challenging traditional manufacturing methods with its unique approach to performance engineering.
The Czinger 21C VMax: Engineering the Impossible
Czinger builds two distinct versions of the 21C, both sharing a fundamentally similar architecture. The primary model, the Czinger 21C, is a high-downforce, track-focused machine named after the 21st century. The second variant is the Czinger 21C VMax, a wingless, long-tailed version designed for road use and high-speed cruising. The 21C VMax, despite its extreme performance, is intended to be a more practical choice for everyday driving, although what qualifies as “everyday” in this context is certainly unique.
During the inaugural Velocity Tour, a 500-mile road rally through Central and Northern California’s wine country, I was fortunate enough to drive a silver 21C VMax. The cabin experience is a standout feature of the car. Czinger describes it as being like being in a jet fighter, a comparison that holds true as you’re surrounded by glass with barely a foot of space between your head and the vehicle’s exterior. The visibility is exceptional, but the process of entering and exiting the car is certainly unconventional. You sit on the massive sill, pull your knees up and spin on your butt, tucking your feet into the footwell, and finally sliding your head under the roof.
One of the primary reasons the sills are so wide is that they are packed with batteries. The 21C VMax is a hybrid hypercar, with each sill containing 2.2-kWh of battery power, for a total of 4.4-kWh. The car is not a plug-in hybrid, as the motor-powered hybrid system utilizes a mid-mounted V-8 engine to keep the battery charged. These batteries can deliver 500 horsepower to the front axle, with independent motors for each wheel. The combustion engine is a Czinger-designed 2.9-liter twin-turbo V-8 that produces 750 hp on California’s standard 91-octane premium unleaded fuel. However, when running on 100-octane race fuel, the horsepower increases to 850 hp. The engine is also capable of running on ethanol, which allows for even greater power output, though Czinger has not yet released those figures, with predictions pointing to a 10 percent increase.
The gasoline engine drives the rear wheels via an Xtrac single-clutch automated semi-sequential gearbox. This gearbox is similar to the Xtrac seven-speed Pagani uses in the Utopia, but Czinger takes this design to the next level. Not only is the transmission case 3D printed, but Czinger also uses small 48-volt electric motors to provide faster gear shifts at lower speeds. This innovation virtually eliminates the “drunken” or “surging” feeling typically associated with other automated single-clutch gearboxes in low-speed situations. The twin-barrel actuators work exactly as advertised, making navigating through gas stations, restaurants, and hotel parking lots feel almost normal—a significant achievement for a vehicle of this caliber.
The Driving Experience: From Canyon Roads to Racetrack Glory
Driving the Czinger 21C VMax is a surreal experience. On the Velocity Tour, I spent a significant amount of time navigating winding back roads and following the pack. However, the car truly shines when put to the test on challenging terrain. The most unforgettable moments involved piloting the 21C VMax on twisty canyon roads, where I was able to unleash the full power of its powertrain.
The Czinger 21C VMax is a performance benchmark. It corners beautifully, with a prodigious amount of grip that allows drivers to push the car to its limits. However, the road rally through Northern California provided a realistic preview of what the 21C VMax can do on public roads. The car’s acceleration is so potent that the braking zone appears almost instantaneously. While I have driven EVs with similar power levels, the weight difference is stark; the 21C VMax feels significantly lighter and more responsive. Compared to the Ferrari F80, which produces similar power, the Czinger is simply a different breed of accelerative animal.
This performance, however, raises a question: Is the Czinger 21C VMax too much for public roads? The sheer speed and responsiveness can be overwhelming, even for experienced drivers. While it’s a dream to have such a powerful car, navigating the challenges of public roads with this much performance is difficult. Southern California’s larger and faster canyons, such as Angeles Crest or Highway 33, might provide a more suitable environment for the 21C VMax. It’s possible that in these settings, the 21C VMax would prove to be the perfect amount of power, rather than being too much. The debate on whether the 21C VMax is too much for public roads is likely to continue as the car gains wider acceptance among enthusiasts.
On the Racetrack
While the 21C VMax is built for road use, it has also demonstrated incredible track capabilities. The 21C, the track-focused version of the car, set five production car track records in five days across California’s most iconic tracks: Thunder Hill, Sonoma Raceway, Laguna Seca, Willow Springs, and the Thermal Club. Even more impressively, the 21C later returned to Laguna Seca to beat its own record, claiming the top spot from a track-special Koenigsegg Jesko Sadair’s Spear.
The 21C VMax also holds its own on the track, despite its lack of a rear wing. During the Velocity Tour, a professional driver was initially placed in the car to ensure safety, but eventually, the driver was cleared to drive solo after showing he was no threat to the vehicle.
Engineering Excellence and Performance Benchmarks
Czinger claims a vehicle weight of approximately 3,600 pounds for the 21C VMax, which is incredibly light for a hybrid hypercar with 1,250 horsepower. To put this into perspective, the Ferrari SF90 Stradale Asseto Fiorano—the highest-performance version of a three-motor twin-turbo V-8 PHEV that produces only 986 hp—weighs 3,839 pounds. The new Lamborghini Temerario, another three-motor twin-turbo V-8 that makes less power but serves as a good comparison point, pushes past the two-ton mark, weighing 4,185 pounds.
This makes the 21C VMax a remarkable engineering achievement. The 21C VMax has managed to beat two legendary Italian cars in terms of performance, despite being a relatively new player in the hypercar market. This is even more impressive when considering that Southern California, while known for many things, lacks the deep-rooted supercar building expertise that exists in Italy. In other words, Los Angeles is not exactly Modena.
Who is the Czinger 21C VMax for?
If you are looking at a $2.5 million tandem-seat hypercar, you are likely not buying your first ultra-performance vehicle. You probably have a garage full of exotic cars and might assume they are all basically the same. However, the Czinger 21C VMax offers something completely different.
Czinger is only building 80 units of the 21C VMax,
