Czinger is deep in development of its 21C but the hybrid hypercar already looks to be outpacing the competition.
Czinger in July took a 21C prototype out to Laguna Seca Raceway and clocked a claimed fastest lap of 1:25.44, with racing driver Joel Miller behind the wheel. The company relied on multiple GPS locators to verify the time.
To put that figure into perspective, the fastest production car around Laguna Seca is currently the McLaren Senna, whose time of 1:27.62 was set in 2019 by famous hot shoe Randy Pobst. That’s a difference of more than 2.0 seconds on a circuit’s whose track length is only 2.238 miles.
Of course, the 21C has a big advantage over the Senna, and that’s a lot more power. While the Senna makes do with 789 hp, the 21C packs 1,233 hp. Czinger is even looking at a power upgrade that will lift the output to 1,331 hp. Czinger didn’t provide any specs for its 21C prototype, apart from the car wearing street-legal Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tires.
Power in the 21C is courtesy of a sophisticated powertrain that consists of a bespoke 2.88-liter twin-turbocharged V-8 and trio of electric motors. Two of the motors power the front wheels while the V-8, which features a flat-plane crank design, powers the rear pair via a 7-speed automated manual transmission. The third electric motor is mated to the V-8 and acts as a generator. It ensures the vehicle’s pair of fast-charging lithium-titanate batteries are always topped up.
Claimed performance specs include a 0-62 mph time of 1.9 seconds, a quarter-mile time of 8.1 seconds, and a top speed of 281 mph (with an available low-drag configuration). Those figures are better than what Rimac has claimed for its Nevera electric hypercar, and that top speed is just shy of the current record for production cars, the 282.9 mph set by the SSC Tuatara in January. Other claimed performance specs include 0-186 mph acceleration in 8.5 seconds, 0-248-0 mph acceleration in 27.2 seconds, and 1,355 pounds of downforce at just 100 mph.
Czinger 21C
Given the speed at which the car allegedly laps Laguna Seca, those performance claims could prove to be real. And Czinger is keen to take the car to other famous tracks, and no doubt Germany’s Nürburgring is on the list.
Czinger plans to build just 80 examples of the 21C, using 3D printing technology, and the first example is expected to be delivered later in 2021. Czinger is known to have at least three more models on the drawing board, with the first of these expected to arrive after 2023. These additional Czingers will be more attainable than the 21C but still exclusive offerings with extreme performance.
We should have more details on the run shortly as the company will showcase the 21C prototype during Monterey Car Week, which runs August 12-16 in Monterey, California. For our full coverage on the event, head to our dedicated hub.
