Not too long ago, we previewed the Czinger 21C and was left mightily impressed with its 3D-printed construction and innovative chassis design. But back then, Czinger didn’t mention anything about the car’s monstrous electrified powertrain. We knew the Czinger 21C is a hybrid, but that was basically it.
However, the cat is out of the bag. From our perspective, the new Czinger 21C is changing the game on how supercars/hypercars are built.
Yes, Czinger 21C is a hybrid vehicle
How times have changed, huh? Ten years ago, hybrid vehicles were thoroughly anesthetized versions of gasoline-powered cars. In short, hybrids weren’t huge fun to drive at all, but the fuel economy numbers are hard to ignore.
But the Czinger 21C is a different kind of hybrid. For starters, it has a 2.88-liter high-revving and twin-turbocharged V8 motor with a flat-plane crank configuration – the same type you’ll find in the Chevrolet Corvette C8.R. This engine is mounted in the back and drives the rear wheels via a seven-speed automatic sequential transmission.
The electrified part is courtesy of two electric motors driving the front wheels, which effectively makes the Czinger 21 an AWD hypercar. With the gasoline V8 spinning at 11,000 rpm (normal cars run out of breath at 6,500 rpm) and the electric motors churning to maximum velocity, the Czinger 21C is producing 1,233-horsepower
And since it only weighs 2,755 pounds, it accelerates like a cheetah
Let’s do a short recap, shall we? The Czinger 21C has a racing-derived V8 engine and a pair of high-output electric motors. It’s also crafted using 3D-printed parts along with an ultra-lightweight chassis design – so light, in fact, that the frame weighs 90-percent less than a comparable steel chassis – for a total weight of 2,755 pounds (1,250 kg.).
And with 1,233-horsepower feeding all four wheels, the Czinger 21C is as fast as they come. In fact, Czinger claims the car only takes 1.9-seconds to reach 60 mph from a standstill. That’s around half a second faster than a Bugatti Chiron. Also, it destroys the quarter-mile in 8.1-seconds. The top speed is quoted at 268 mph.
Mind blown? Hold on to your seat. The Czinger 21C is so fast it only takes 29 seconds to go from zero to 248 mph (400 kph). In fact, it rushes to 186 mph from zero in only 15 seconds. Least to say if you need to go somewhere quickly, the Czinger 21C is up to the task.
Czinger will sell two versions of the 21C
We were already expecting two versions of the Czinger 21C as it debuts at this year’s Geneva Auto Show in March. If Czinger wants to leave a permanent mark, it needs to go racing. And with that, the California-based carmaker is pledging to build a more extreme racing version of the 21C.
From our understanding, the main differences between a stock and racing C21C are lesser weight and more downforce. Evidently, the race version has a large rear wing to generate a whopping 1,741 pounds (790 kg) of downforce at 155 mph whereas the stock version only produces 551 pounds (250 kg) of push at the same speed. Also, the racing model is lighter and tips the scales at only 2,6895 pounds (1,218 kg).
Rest assured, you still get that fantastic cabin with an inline seating configuration no matter which model you choose.
How much is Czinger 21C?
So, how much will all this madness cost? Apparently, Czinger is planning to only build 80 examples of the 21C, and the company is allocating 55 units for the roadgoing version and 25 units for the race model starting at around $1.7-million each.
We’ll know a lot more as the Czinger 21C officially debuts at the 2020 Geneva Auto Show.
