Czinger reveals full production-spec 21C

Looking like a cross between a jet fighter and an endurance racer, the 21C is seen here in final production form and spec. Over the car we saw last year, it’s apparently grown a little in width (now 2,050mm). It still boasts all the numbers any self-respecting hypercar should boast, including a huge price tag and standstill to 248mph in 21.3 seconds – along with its USP of a two-seat in-line cabin under that aircraft style canopy. In this car not only the driver sits in the centre but the passenger as well.

The dream of serial automotive nut and entrepreneur, ex-Goldman Sachs director Kevin Czinger, the hybrid powered machine sets out to emulate Koenigsegg not just in performance but in quality, craftsmanship and how it is put together in Los Angeles, much of it using artificial intelligence (AI) to optimise component design. On the Czinger team are some people who used to work for Koenigsegg.

When we spoke to Jens Sverdrup, Czinger’s Chief Commercial Officer, just nine months ago he said development had cost around $200 million to that point, with no deposits taken – the 21C was originally to be launched with some fanfare at the cancelled 2020 Geneva Motor Show. By now we can only presume that Mr Czinger is rather keen to get some of that money back and hear from potential owners.

The starting price for a Czinger 21C is around £1.5 million. For that you get not just Le Mans prototype looks but a mechanical spec that wouldn’t disgrace La Sarthe either. There’s a twin-turbo 2.88-litre flat-plane crank V8 behind the seats that revs to 11,000rpm and powers the rear wheels, while up front there’s an electric motor for each wheel, torque vectored of course. Total system power is 1,250PS (932kW).

A claimed dry weight of 1,240kg means a formidable 1:1 power-weight ratio and that guarantees some impressive stats if Czinger’s claims are substantiated: a quarter mile time of 8.1 seconds, 0-62mph in 1.9 seconds, 0-186 mph in 8.5 seconds and 0-248 mph in 21.3 seconds. Czinger says it can accelerate 0-186mph and back to standstill in 13.8 seconds. No question, it’s in the top rank of road cars.

The carbon body looks like one giant aero device optimised for maximum downforce and with a claimed two and a half tonnes – twice the weight of the car – of downward pressure at 200mph that is clearly the case. Not great for top speed perhaps but Czinger is offering the car in an optional low-drag form, presumably with less aggressive rear wing, that allows the 21C to hit 281mph.

Some ambitious claims then for the first hypercar from Los Angeles. A Californian Koenigsegg? Or a hypercar full of LA hype? Here’s hoping we see the 21C in action soon and get an answer.