Driving 1,000 miles (1,609 km) of public road to set five official production car lap records in five consecutive days is no small feat – especially not for a car built with 3D-printed and machine-designed components. The Czinger 21C has just set a new benchmark for hypercar performance and endurance.
As a tribute to California’s car culture, the 21C broke lap records at five of the state’s most prestigious tracks: Thunderhill Raceway, Sonoma Raceway, Laguna Seca, Willow Springs Raceway, and The Thermal Club. The very car that achieved these times was displayed at this year’s Monterey Car Week.
Czinger calls the campaign the Gold Rush, led by Chief Engineer Ewan Baldry and a team of eight engineers who developed and built the 21C. “With the California Gold Rush campaign, we set out to redefine hypercar performance. Taking into equal consideration lap records and road endurance,” said Lukas Czinger, CEO and Founder of Czinger Vehicles.
Czinger Vehicles | California Gold Rush
The Czinger 21C achieved the following lap times:
- 1:48.30 at Thunderhill Raceway Park
- 1:35.05 at Sonoma Raceway
- 1:24.39 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca
- 1:19.73 at Willow Springs Raceway
- 2:03.17 at The Thermal Club
In doing so, it broke the existing records by 3.39, 0.70, 0.36, 1.35, and 10.33 seconds, respectively. In total, the 21C shaved 16.26 seconds from benchmark records. Each lap time was authenticated by RaceLogic using its VBox GNSS system and third-party witnesses. This achievement follows the hypercar’s earlier lap record at Laguna Seca.
A 25-minute documentary titled Gold Rush, directed by Italian-born, Los Angeles-based filmmaker Luca Brinciotti, captures the human side of the record run, from perseverance and setbacks to breakthroughs.
Czinger
“When the Czinger team called me and said five lap records in five days, I knew it would be intense,” said driver Joel Miller, a longtime Czinger development driver who piloted the car for every mile of the challenge. “Taking the car straight from the street to five circuits with varying temperatures and configurations is an amazing feat — one I’ve never heard of another manufacturer being bold enough to attempt.”
The tandem-seating hypercar is powered by an in-house twin-turbocharged 2.9-liter V8 engine paired with a 4.4-kWh battery pack, producing 1,350 horsepower. This is the same configuration used for the record runs, no extra tweaks required. The setup delivers a top speed of 253 mph (407 km/h), a figure likely approached during the campaign.
For a car featuring 3D-printed components, these specifications are remarkable. The design philosophy to reduce weight, increase strength, and cut both costs and lead times, is on full display here.
Czinger
This achievement underscores that a manufacturer doesn’t need decades of history to make a global impact. Founded just six years ago, Czinger Vehicles is already pushing the boundaries of motorsports innovation.
Differentiating itself through production methods, engine design, and identity, Czinger is carving a unique space in the hypercar market. “The car, now being proven to be as good as it is, shows the true breadth of capability that we have at Czinger,” added Lukas Czinger. It’s certainly one way to establish credibility.
Source: Czinger
