This is the world’s first 3D printed hypercar. Called the Czinger 21C, just 80 will be made with each one commanding a purchase price of $1.7million.
That’s not cheap. But it’s also not the small-scale project with visions of grandeur hashed out in a shed with an Epson and a donor engine.
Built in Los Angeles, it’s manufactured using cutting-edge revolutionary technology tools and is powered by an in-house developed V8 hybrid drivetrain that produces more combined horsepower than a Bugatti Veyron and has a top speed of [gulp] 268 miles per hour.
World’s first 3D printed hypercar: Say hello to the Czinger 21C – the first high performance limited-run vehicle to be have an abundance of 3D printed parts
Czinger (pronounced with a silent ‘C’, like KFC’s famed chicken sandwiches) Vehicles has released the first full images of the 21C ahead of its global debut at the Geneva Motor Show early next month.
The headline news is that it’s 3D printed. Though not all of it.
The substantial sections of the chassis that are subjected to the highest loads are created using the revolutionary manufacturing process, which should – in theory – be cheaper and more precise to make than traditional production processes.
Recycling of these parts should be easier too, so it has the added benefit of being better for the planet than most fire-breathing hypercars.
These 3D manufactured components should also boost stiffness, meaning more rigidity to cope with the abundance of performance pulsing through the astronomically expensive four-wheeled print out.
Czinger (pronounced with a silent ‘C’, like KFC’s famed chicken sandwiches) Vehicles has released the first full images of the 21C ahead of its global debut at the Geneva Motor Show early next month
Just 80 21C models will be built, each one costing a staggering $1.7million
The headline news is that it’s 3D printed. Though not all of it. Substantial sections of the chassis that are subjected to the highest loads are created using the revolutionary manufacturing process
And it has potency on tap. The engine used is Czinger Vehicles’ own 2.9-litre twin-turbocharged V8 mounted in the middle of the chassis.
Maximum horsepower output of the unleaded-loaded powerplant is over 900bhp with a whaling 11,000rpm red-line.
Power is sent to the rear wheels using a seven-speed sequential gearbox, while supplementary watts are pumped into the front wheels.
The front axle has two electric motors that are powered by a 2kWh lithium-titanate battery, topped up with kilowatts by a rear-mounted motor generator for the best weight distribution.
In theory, 3D printed parts should be cheaper and more precise to produce than traditional manufacturing processes
We’re not sure where this guy is intending to put that surfboard? While Czinger hasn’t announced any boot dimensions (which are likely to be single-figure litres if anything) or a roof rack, we doubt it can carry such large objects
Recycling of 3D printed parts should be easier too, so it has the added benefit of being better for the planet than most fire-breathing hypercars
These motors not only make the 21C an all-wheel-drive hypercar, but adds another injection of horsepower to the equation – with the total sum amounting to a whopping 1,233bhp.
That’s more than a LaFerrari. More than a Mclaren P1. Heck, it gulfs the Bugatti Veyron. Only Bugatti’s latest Chrion – with 1,500bhp – can beat it in a head-to-head game of Top Trumps.
But while the power stats are huge, the weight figure isn’t.
In fact, it is in the realms of the 1:1 power-to-weight ratio that hypercar makers are constantly aching to achieve.
Tipping the scales at 1,250kg wet, it’s about the same weight as a Volkswagen Up city car.
The outcome is a bunch of performance figures that will turn your driving licence into an endangered item.
These 3D manufactured components should also boost stiffness, meaning more rigidity to cope with the abundance of performance pulsing through the astronomically expensive four-wheeled print out
Powering the Czinger 21C is a hybrid powerplant made-up of an in-house developed twin-turbo 2.9-litre V8 petrol engine and two electric motors. They combine to produce a whopping 1,233bhp
The Czinger 21C can hit 62mph from a standing start in a brain-frazzling 1.9 second and has a top speed of 268mph
Accelerating from a standing start to 62mph takes 1.9 seconds. That’s likely to be less time than it took your computer, phone or tablet to load this page.
The top speed is a monumental 432kph – or 268mph to us Britons.
Fortunately, Czinger promises you’ll be sitting comfortable as your propel yourself along a track (because you would lose your licence forever if you tried those speeds on public roads) at these brain-melting speeds.
The cockpit has been sculpted to provide the ideal seating position to drive, but also the optimal location with weight distribution in mind, with a second seat for the passenger located directly behind in a Maverick-and-Goose fighter-jet layout.
Maverick and Goose layout: The cabin is ultra aerodynamic as it’s shaped like a dart. This is thanks to a 1+1 seating position, with the passenger chair directly behind the driver’s
The brand has also confirmed there will be a ‘Lightweight Track Configuration’ with a circuit-ready aero kit that more than triples the downforce produced
This LA start-up car maker has produced a car with more power than a LaFerrari, Mclaren P1 and Bugatti Veyron
This gives the 21C an arrow-like pointed shape, that Czinger refers to as ‘line logic’.
‘Every opening (cut) line on the car connects two graphic or functional features, and strong, athletic surfaces flow and wrap around the car’s performance core,’ it claims.
The announcement document adds: ‘The shrink-wrapped body hugs the chassis, tightly sculpting the front and rear overhang around the wheels.’
There’s a dashing of comfort too, thanks to a tie-up with material-maker Alcantara – meaning the cabin should be coated in the soft-touch fabric. The LA car brand has also had the help of US furniture designers Vitra AG, which has crafted supportive chairs for you an your one passenger of choice.
The inclusion of 3D printed parts means it is super lightweight. In fact, tipping the scales at 1,250kg wet it’s about the same as a Volkswagen Up city car
Czinger has had to call on the services of Michelin to create a specific tyre to cope with the demands of all the power the 21C produces
Czinger has also collaborated with Michelin to develop 21C-specific tyres that can cope with the strain of the immense performance figures the car produces.
The brand has also confirmed there will be a ‘Lightweight Track Configuration’, too – just in case you don’t feel entirely comfortable using a one-of-80 vehicle with as much horsepower as an M1 tank on public streets.
It has a reduced weight of 1,218kg, a completely different aero kit that more than triples the downforce, which also means a lower top speed.
At a cut-down 236mph, you’ll probably agree it’s still plenty fast enough for most of us.
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