Last month in the leadup to Monterey Car Week, startup Czinger Vehicles set a new lap record at the WeatherTech Laguna Seca Raceway, smashing the old mark by an impressive 2 s. On July 21, the company’s 21C hybrid-electric hypercar, with racing driver Joel Miller of Joel Miller Racing behind the wheel, set the record in a multi-GPS verified time of 1:25:44. The previous track record was held by the McLaren Senna, with driver Randy Pobst setting a time of 1:27.62 in 2019.

“As a blue-collar kid growing up in Cleveland, Ohio, I used to lie awake at night thinking about my racing hero, Jim Hall, his latest innovations, the technology-packed Chaparral cars his team built, and racing on the legendary Laguna Seca Raceway,” said Kevin Czinger, Founder and CEO, of Czinger Vehicles and manufacturing-tech company Divergent. “The era and the AI-based and sustainability-focused technologies available are different, but the animating spirit remains the same—living the American Dream at speed.”

Prior to founding Czinger Vehicles, Kevin Czinger was the Co-founder and CEO of Coda Automotive and Coda Battery. As an electric vehicle (EV) pioneer, he learned that how cars are made is a bigger economic and environmental challenge than how they are “fueled.” This led him to focus on revolutionizing car manufacturing by inventing a new production system that incorporates computational engineering, novel materials, additive manufacturing, and automation to radically reduce the materials, energy, and capital needed to build a car.

The record-breaking 21C, which ran on road-legal Michelin Pilot Sport Cup2R tires, was showcased at the company’s private Pebble Beach home during Monterey Car Week. The car was designed and will be assembled just down the coast in Los Angeles.

“To be able to achieve this lap time with a car that is going into homologated production is the result of some incredibly hard work from the Czinger team and, in particular, our ability to exploit the cutting-edge technology that we have access to through our close association with Divergent,” said Ewan Baldry, Chief Engineer, Czinger Vehicles. “The most exciting part is that we know we have more performance to come.“

The lap record represents just the first in a planned string of future performance record attempts, he said.

Czinger says that its proprietary manufacturing technologies, in-house developed powertrain, and unique design will guide its future family of vehicles.

One significant design decision for the 21C involved putting both the driver and passenger in a central tandem/inline position that the company says results in ultimate weight distribution, aerodynamics, and driver engagement. The car will be available in two specifications in lightweight high-downforce or low-drag configurations, and it is highly customizable both from a specification and personalization perspective.

Helping Czinger and Baldry in managing the company and designing/engineering its vehicles are Jens Sverdrup, Chief Commercial Officer; David O’Connell, Chief Design Officer; and Jon Gunner, Chief Technical Officer—with help from Lukas Czinger, VP of Operations, Automation and Manufacturing, Czinger Vehicles and Divergent.

 

Strong hybrid power

First revealed in June, the 21C production car showcases significant updates since its first public introduction in March 2020 (after the COVID-canceled Geneva Motor Show), including an updated width of 2050 mm (80.7 in).

With 1250 hp (932 kW) total power from its hybrid powertrain and a dry vehicle weight under 1240 kg (2730 lb), the car achieves a 1:1 power-to-weight ratio, says the company (mixing measurement systems). If that is not enough power, a 100-hp (75-kW) upgrade provides 1350 hp (1007 kW).

The “strong hybrid” powertrain delivers all-wheel drive and includes the world’s most power-dense production IC (internal combustion) engine, claims the company.

The mid-mounted 2.88-L twin-turbo V8 is engineered to use a range of fuels, including carbon recycled methanol and other “e-fuels,” so it can be run as a zero-emissions vehicle. Engine specs include an 80-degree bank, 73-mm (2.87-in) turbos, an 11,000-rpm redline, 84 x 65 mm (3.31 x 2.56 in) bore x stroke, and a 9.5:1 compression ratio.

The small vehicle architecture meant Czinger had to develop advanced thermal management solutions to manage the 21C’s extreme power levels in a compact engine compartment. This included developing Thermal Syphons that encapsulate the turbos and headers, pulling cool air from below the engine, and siphoning hot air out of the decklid.

Two high-output electric motors power the front axle and enable torque vectoring. The advanced axial-flux motors produce up to 370 N·m (273 lb·ft) and 150 kW (201 hp). An 800-V electric-drive system enables the batteries to be charged during operation both through regenerative braking and an MGU (motor generator unit) using a gear drive attached to the IC engine.

An ultra-light, sequential seven-speed automated manual transmission rounds out the powertrain.

The powertrain can propel the 21C to an impressive top speed of 281 mph (452 km/h) in an optional low-drag “Vmax” configuration. In high downforce configuration, the car has a more than 3:1 lift-to-drag ratio, with 615 kg (1355 lb) of downforce at 100 mph (160 km/h) and 2500 kg (5511 lb) at 200 mph (322 km/h).

The 21C’s quarter-mile acceleration time is 8.1 s, and it goes from 0 to 62 mph (0 to 100 km/h) in 1.9 s; 0 to 300 km/h (0 to 186 mph) in 8.5 s, and 0 to 400 km/h (0 to 248 mph) in 21.3 s.

 

Advanced production system

The 21C is planned to be the first model in a series of exclusive performance vehicles created in part using additive manufacturing technologies. Each component manufactured using additive technology is optimized for weight and performance—and is finished by hand.

The hypercar is designed, built, and manufactured using cutting-edge technology tools integrated into a patented production system. In addition to patented additive-manufacturing-driven processes, the system includes automated AI-based design and optimization software, high accuracy automated assembly, and novel performance materials. Czinger says that the technology enables its design and engineering teams to unlock performance and styling not before seen in the automotive industry.

For example, the front upper control arm is hollow with internal structures allowing it to achieve significant mass savings compared to a traditional tooled variant, thereby greatly reducing un-sprung mass.

The Czinger chassis not only has traditional structural and safety systems but also integrates functions like cooling, fluid routing, and exhaust sound management—the last never seen on a vehicle of this type, says the company. This multifunctionality is even more impressive given the extremely low overall chassis mass of 120 kg (265 lb).

The car will go on sale starting at $1.7 million, with production planned of just 80 units beginning deliveries in Q1 2023.