We first got a look at the Czinger 21C last month, before its planned unveiling at the Geneva Motor Show, an unveiling which never happened because of coronavirus. The 21C is here now finally, having instead been unveiled in London this week. It looks like a supercar!
Which is not the special thing about it, since most supercars look more or less the same. Czinger is trying to stand out by doing things like 3D-printing some of the cars’ parts, which it says saves weight, while also being the kind of thing that would look interesting on a press release.
The car also has tandem seating, which is how they sit in the F-14 Tomcats in Top Gun, which Kevin Czinger, the founder of Czinger, said at the launch was an inspiration.
Here’s a photo of that:
And so yes, if you buy this thing you are Tom Cruise now, I think that’s how it works.
Anyway, Czinger says this will make 1,250 horsepower, go from zero to 62 mph in 1.9 seconds, and have a top speed of 268 mph, all very quick and fast if true. The power is hybrid, with a 2.9-liter twin turbo V8 engine Czinger says it built in-house, mated with two electric motors. A seven-speed automated manual is also equipped.
Just 80 will be produced, all in Los Angeles, to be sold at a cost of $1.7 million not including taxes, though if you’ve got $1.7 million you’re probably not worried about the taxes.
And! It will be street-legal, in both the U.S. and Europe, so it’s probably good for families.
The 3D-printing thing, one of the most interesting parts of the car, is apparently proprietary knowledge, so it’s too bad if you want to hear more about that. But see if you can decipher this, from Czinger’s press release.
In-house, revolutionary technology is used to custom design and optimise each 21C component to meet its function and form requirements. For example, the front upper control arm is hollow with a three-dimensional internal structure and uses proprietary, high-performance alloys specifically designed for the functionality of the component. As a result, its weight is a fraction of a traditionally tooled variant and it is significantly stronger, thereby reducing un-sprung mass and increasing performance.
This car weighs a little over 2,600 pounds, very light indeed, so whatever it is it’s apparently helping.
What I’m curious about is who might be interested in a car like this. Czinger doesn’t seem cool enough to get by on that alone, and potential supercar owners probably won’t be swayed by the 3D printing stuff, though the tandem seating is somewhat unique.
“Czinger vehicles will remain the cutting-edge expression of this technology,” Kevin Czinger said at launch, per MotorTrend. “With our existing resources, I can build a diverse variety of vehicles that are completely off the hook.”
I’m sure! I will say that the only other supercar I can recall with tandem seating was the Yamaha OX99-11, possibly the most obscure supercar ever made. That lineage could be worse.
We’ve also been asked to put more slideshows in stories, so if you prefer that form: