Huge redesign of 919kW Czinger 21C hypercar delivers even wilder performance.
American hypercar startup Czinger has given us our closest look yet at the production version of its first model: the 21C, which will be on roads in 2023.
Originally created to battle it out with the likes of the McLaren Speedtail and upcoming Aston Martin Valkyrie, the Czinger 21C stunned when it was revealed with its wild one-plus-one seating and fighter jet styling.
But, in the pursuit of greater performance, its creators have prompted an entire redesign.
Releasing five new renderings of the production car that will be revealed in a couple of weeks, Czinger chief commercial officer Jens Sverdrup revealed to Automotive Daily that in the transition from concept to production hypercar “almost everything changed” on the 21C.
So much is now different, says the senior exec, the American hypercar brand was forced to file at least another 100 patents for pioneering new tech, on top of the 350 already registered when developing last year’s concept.
The narrow concept has been widened for the production car to a generous 2050mm width (12mm wider than a Bugatti Chiron.) The unusual 1+1 driver-ahead-of passenger seating arrangement remains, but after three years of testing on both road and track, engineers wanted a wider tyre for more mid-corner grip.
With this the 21C’s entire exterior has been redesigned. With a wider body, stylists and engineers could further optimise air-bending to significantly boost downforce.
With more room, an even more sophisticated suspension arrangement could be packaged, improving handling and, thanks to revised ‘active’ feature, the American hypercar can alter how high it rides benefiting downforce and handling even further.
What hasn’t changed is the car-maker’s novel ultra-lightweight aluminium-carbon-fibre chassis that ensure the 21C, even in production trim, still only tips the scales at a featherweight 1240kg (dry), providing the hallowed 1:1 power-to-weight ratio.
The engine is a twin-turbocharged 2.88-litre V8 unit that can run on eco-friendly, carbon-neutral bio-methanol fuel. Also, somewhat unusually for a startup company, the unit has been developed completely in-house. It has a redline of 11,000rpm – and generates 950bhp on its own.
It’s supported by a pair of 112kW electric motors on the front axle, which offers a combined maximum output of 919kW.
A new power kit will also be offered that adds an extra 75kW, with the extra power generated from both the V8 and the hybrid’s electric motors.
Czinger says it sourced the batteries for the hybrid system from an unnamed Formula 1 team. Up to 20km on electric power alone is possible.
In low downforce trim top speed is now claimed to be 452kmh, while 0-100kmh remains 1.9 seconds. As for performance from launch to standstill, 0-300kmh-0 takes 13.8 secs.
Downforce has been raised to 615kg at 160kmh and a mighty 2500kg at 320kmh. If that somehow isn’t enough, Czinger says it will make an even more extreme version with an even more intensive aerodynamic package, although it won’t be road-legal.
To prove its performance, Czinger is rumoured to be readying a 21C that will set a series of production car lap records at race circuits around the world, including California’s Laguna Seca and possibly the Nurburgring.
The new US car brand said it will also verify its 452kmh top speed at an event in the future.
With engineers making the final touches, Sverdrup said that his firm now has Bugatti in its sights when it comes to fit, finish and levels of build quality, with the engine bay now claimed to have been redesigned to resemble a Patek Philippe watch.
With early press drives set to begin at the end of summer, Czinger says the development of 21C should be finished before the end of this year, but the lengthy homologation process to ensure the US hypercar is road legal on all global markets could delay first deliveries until early 2023.
Pricing for the Czinger 21C is confirmed to be $2.05m (AUD$2.64m).
John Mahony