We meet the father and son team behind the impressive 21C and learn how they plan to revolutionize the automotive industry.

The Czinger 21C may not have the most evocative name in the pantheon of hardcore, ultra-exclusive hypercars, but it certainly raised eyebrows when it was unveiled in February 2020, thanks to its dizzying performance stats and airliner-inspired seating arrangement. combat. and 3D printed components. Or maybe it was because it looks like something out of this world.

Since then, the Los Angeles-based start-up’s first car has broken lap records at the legendary Laguna Seca Raceway and Circuit of the Americas. And even when on static display, the £1.5 million speed machine left a big impression on attendees at the 2022 Goodwood Festival of Speed.

But while the 21C is busy taking on the likes of the Aston Martin Valkyrie and Mercedes-AMG One, the technology used to create the radical hybrid hypercar has much broader applications, as pointed out by the father-and-son team responsible for creating the car. He tells us.

Kevin and Lukas Czinger’s car brand was established in 2019, with the 21C demonstrating the capabilities of the manufacturing system developed by the duo and their other company, Divergent. But this wasn’t going to be another diva with scissor doors to pose in, because the goals for 21C were to “break all the track records and all the speed, acceleration and braking records,” says Kevin.

Engine and performance

At the heart of the 21C is a 2.88-litre twin-turbo V8 engine that was developed entirely in-house, has a redline of 11,000 rpm and alone produces 937 hp. Czinger then combined the world’s most power-dense engine with two electric motors on the front axle that combined produce 296 hp, for a total of 1,233 hp. Plus all-wheel drive and torque vectoring, of course.

However, 21C is not just about brute force; Thanks to an ultra-lightweight aluminum and carbon fiber chassis, plus a host of AI-designed and 3D-printed components, the Czinger tips the scales at 1,250kg, achieving an elusive 1:1 power-to-weight ratio.

The result is a 0-62mph time of just 1.9 seconds, with 0-186mph in 13.8 seconds, and if you keep your foot planted you’ll hit 205mph, according to Czinger (i.e. in the road-focused version). track, but more). about that later. However, if the standard 1,233 hp isn’t enough for you, Czinger can increase the power output of both the V8 engine and the electric motor for a total of 1,333 hp, which should shave a little more off the 0-100 km acceleration. /h.

Czinger also claims that you can cover up to 12 miles on battery power alone in the 21C, thanks to the US model’s regenerative braking unit and motor generator that is used to recharge the 2.8 kWh battery, while the More environmentally conscious adrenaline junkies can run the monster V8 on eco-friendly, carbon-neutral biomethanol fuel.

Design

In person, the 21C is a much more subtle machine than it appears. It may be 12mm wider than a Bugatti Chiron, but the Czinger’s curves and rounded edges mean there’s a genuine sense of sophistication to its styling. The notion that form follows function is clear, compared to some of its rival hypercars, whose appearance is full of shock and awe.

Naturally, for a car that takes a new approach to everything, the 21C’s seats aren’t your usual side-by-side seating. While Gordon Murray Automotive’s McLaren Speedtail and T.50 have space for three people, the 21C has a 1+1 passenger layout. But it wasn’t used just because it’s “very bad,” as Lukas explains. “The first reason is function,” he says, “to reduce the front surface area of the windshield and use more fender area for downforce.

“The second reason was to be able to carry a passenger. You don’t just want to have a single seater, so you have the 1+1 arrangement, where the back seat of this car is actually very, very nice. “It is an emotional experience and you are also very attached to the driver, so it is a shared experience.”

While the production car you see here looks very similar to the one revealed two years ago, the 21C has gone through significant changes since its debut; It was widened from 1,850 mm to 2,050 mm and within three months was given completely new front and rear frames and a new suspension system.

“Technology lends itself to making changes much more quickly,” says Lukas. “To me, this car, for a normal OEM, using normal technology would have taken seven to ten years to create, but we created it in a fraction of that time because we were able to iterate much faster.

“This car has essentially taken seven to ten iterations and it has all been done very quickly, thanks to our ability to capture track data, simulate and change the car and source fundamentally new parts very quickly. “It’s not like we got it perfect on our first try, but compared to the time it would take an OEM, we probably cut it 10 times.”

3d print

That technology is called Divergent Adaptive Production System (DAPS), which Kevin and Lukas created before getting into the hypercar game. It combines AI-based design software, 3D printing and automated assembly into an end-to-end manufacturing solution.

Basically, engineers and designers input critical requirements for a specific component into a computer, which can design parts that use the least amount of material possible. Once the design is finalized, it is sent to a metal 3D laser printer that can produce the parts quickly.

Individual parts are assembled into larger structures, such as subframes, using robotic arms in an automated assembly cell. Kevin says these cells take just five minutes to assemble a 12-piece rear subframe, while a 22m x 22m assembly cell could make up to 150,000 subframes a year. Another advantage is the ability to reprogram these cells to produce another car very quickly, if demand for a particular model suddenly increases, for example.

The final results are impressive skeletal components, which Kevin proudly shows us. “These things seem biological,” he explains. “When a system adds and subtracts against a set of load cases to achieve maximum material and energy efficiency, it is like nature. Nature, through trial and error, is competing brutally for material and energy efficiency, and we are doing the same here.”

Established brands are already recognizing the benefits of this new manufacturing system, and the Aston Martin DBR22 sprinter will use a 3D-printed aluminum rear subframe that will come already assembled by Divergent.

The company plans to eventually have printing and assembly centers around the world, producing parts for millions of cars, not just expensive supercars. Lukas also envisions Divergent’s technology being used by startups as well as established brands and, potentially, companies that outsource all of their body manufacturing to Divergent. If they succeed, it could fundamentally change the way cars are built. But for now, let’s go back to the 21st century.

“Quite a few” of the 80 examples being produced have already been sold as we speak, and all are going to carefully selected buyers. Lukas says: “Some of them are the biggest collectors in America and Europe who already have a huge range of hypercars and they really want this one because it represents a new level of performance for them.

“But we’re also seeing people who are new to the hypercar scene and are captivated by the technology. “They know this car is a turning point in automotive history as we move toward a new way of manufacturing, and the 21C captures that moment in time.”

They predict that all examples will be ready by the end of the year, with deliveries beginning at the end of 2023. In June 2022, orders were split 50:50 between the high downforce configuration we know and the low downforce configuration. drag version revealed during Monterey Car Week in California. There are several differences between the two variants; For example, the 21C V Max ditches the large rear wing and front dive planes to reduce drag and reach an estimated top speed of 253 mph, 3 mph faster than the McLaren Speedtail.

More Czinger models to come

However, despite its achievements, Czinger’s team has made it clear that the 21C will be discontinued at the end of its 80-unit production run, and the brand is already working on a variety of new models. Next up is the four-seat Hyper GT, a concept version of which made its debut alongside the 21C V Max in August. The gullwing car uses the 21C’s twin-turbo flat-plane crank V8 and two electric motors, although exact performance figures are still under wraps for now.

Lukas reveals that we will see a Czinger EV at some point, but he won’t go into details or provide a timeline for when the company’s first electric car will arrive.

Similarly, although the father-and-son team informs us that they’ve been working with major car brands on new applications for Divergent’s potentially revolutionary manufacturing system, they remain tight-lipped when we ask which brands will employ it next. . However, they confirm that they are working with brands in the United Kingdom and that there are already intentions to open a factory in Great Britain.

Normally, sharing your plans to revolutionize the way we produce cars would justifiably be met with a healthy dose of skepticism and many raised eyebrows. But the 21C demonstrates the nearly limitless capabilities of the Czingers’ patented technology, not to mention the budding automobile brand it has spawned. And the information we were able to glean from Kevin and Lukas during our brief time with them left us excited for what’s to come.