Plenty of new names have popped up on the hypercar scene in recent years, including Koenigsegg and Hennessey. Some established themselves along heavyweights like McLaren and Lamborghini, while others ended up being a blip on the radar. All have worked to push the limits of what is possible with an automobile.
Perhaps no manufacturer, though, has made a grander entrance than Czinger. As I write this, the company’s new Czinger 21C is coming off a stretch where it broke five track records in five days. Dubbed the “California Gold Rush,” this came on top of the prototype setting the production car record at Circuit of the Americas in 2024 and topping the charts at the Goodwood Hillclimb.
This assault on the record books has a lot of people talking, and it also has people wondering about the company responsible for it. So we decided to investigate Czinger Vehicles, in a nice way. Here’s everything you need to know about the people who founded Czinger, why their vehicles are different, and how the Czinger 21C quickly went from an unknown entity to a top dog.
The Men Behind Czinger Vehicles
At first glance, the name Czinger (pronounced “zinger”) might make you think the automaker is another overseas entry in the hypercar market. But not only is Czinger Vehicles 100% American, it’s also a family venture. Father and son duo Kevin and Lukas Czinger founded the company in 2019. As a subsidiary of Divergent Technologies, the company is headquartered in Torrance, California, a suburb of Los Angeles.
Both men behind Czinger have a track record of success. Kevin Czinger created Divergent Technologies in 2014 to supply revolutionary parts and manufacturing processes for the automotive and aerospace industries. He grew up working on cars and motorcycles for his older brothers, and previously founded and ran Coda Automotive, which designed lithium-ion phosphate batteries for electric vehicles and power storage. For good measure, Kevin has a law degree from Yale.
His son Lukas, meanwhile, is the textbook definition of a “whiz kid.” He also went to Yale, earning an electrical engineering degree. After a short stint in investment banking, he joined his father’s company as an automation engineer. Before Lukas’s 30th birthday, he had worked his way up to President and CEO of both Divergent Technologies and Czinger Vehicles.
A New Approach to Hypercars
The Czinger family has always been market disruptors, imagining how things can improve and making those ideas real. One reason Kevin started Divergent Technologies was that he realized much of the automotive industry was stuck following decades-old analog methods in preset, inflexible factories. The result was the Divergent Adaptive Production System, an end-to-end process that could manufacture anything without being limited by traditional technologies and techniques.
The same philosophy applies to Czinger Vehicles. As Lukas told Resident magazine, “It’s not just about making better cars—it’s about reinventing the entire process.” The hypercar arm gives the Czingers an in-house avenue to push the boundaries of their innovations and rediscover what’s possible.
Combined, Divergent Technologies and Czinger Vehicles have more than 60 patents related to automotive engineering, manufacturing, and materials science. These include AI-driven programming to make assembly more accurate, and a new UV-curing adhesive that is twice as strong as traditional adhesives, yet cures in a few seconds. Most notably, nearly every component is made using a 3D printer, and their printers use 12 lasers instead of the standard four. These processes make producing an automobile faster and more efficient, using up to 30% less energy than classic analog methods.
The Czinger 21C
As its first production vehicle, the Czinger 21C is the first expression of how these efforts translate to performance. The initial prototype was unveiled in 2021, with several more versions before the 21C officially entered production in 2025. Street-legal yet a hypercar in every way, this revolutionary car is made to dominate.
The hybrid powertrain pairs a twin-turbo V8 engine with two electric motors to generate 1,250 hp with a top speed of 219 mph. The 21C carbon fiber chassis is up to 40% lighter than a typical hypercar, which boosts the power-to-weight ratio and improves sustainability by using fewer raw materials. The sleek body, which includes a front splitter and rear diffuser conceived by a former Williams F1 aerodynamic specialist, creates over 4,400 lbs of downforce at 190 mph to keep the 21C glued to the road or track. Its tandem center-steer configuration has one front and one rear seat, which improves weight distribution for better stability. One of the few non-3D-printed parts is the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2R tires, a set of racing-inspired shoes that keep the 21C planted. Giant carbon-ceramic brakes will slow you down from those high speeds so you can drive aggressively into corners.
Czinger Vehicles has also designed two variations on the base 21C model. The Czinger 21C Max is the low-drag edition, which increases top speed to 253 mph at the expense of cornering speed. It also has a luxury interior that includes a storage area and luggage set. Then there’s the Czinger 21C Blackbird, which cranks the power up to 1,350 hp with a blackout style that pays tribute to the SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance plane, one of the fastest aircraft ever made.
Record-Breaking Runs
Of course, all those specs must translate to results to move the needle. Even though Czinger Vehicles’ primary goal is to call attention to their new ways of manufacturing and assembling cars, the best way to get eyeballs on those methods is with a hypercar that blows the established competition away.
This is part of why Czinger Vehicles set up the California Gold Rush. In early August 2025, Czinger brought the 21C to five of the Golden State’s most famous tracks: WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Sonoma Raceway, Willow Springs Raceway, Thunderhill Raceway Park, and The Thermal Club. To navigate each course, Czinger chose Joel Miller, a Hesperia, California native with over 40 starts in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and driver coach for the Indy Lights Championship Series.
The five-tracks-in-five-days journey was a rousing success. In some cases, the Czinger 21C narrowly beat the previous mark, such as shaving 0.70 seconds of the Sonoma Raceway top time. Other attempts soared past the standard, as Miller beat the Thunderhill mark by 3.39 seconds. Either way, a record is a record. RaceLogic telemetry and independent witnesses validated all five record times, so there would be no doubt or dispute. You can watch a 27-minute documentary about the odyssey on the official Czinger YouTube channel.
The Future of Czinger Vehicles
It’s hard to have a better debut on the hypercar scene than Czinger did. What’s next for the new king? In 2022, the company said it was working on a supercar SUV and a GT touring vehicle. However, shortly after completing the California Gold Rush, Czinger canceled those plans. Instead, for at least the next decade, they will focus on improving the 21C and adding new models, such as one with a classic two-seat arrangement.
Czinger CCO George Biggs said the reason for the shift was to streamline the company vision and avoid chasing market trends in favor of something more sustainable. For an automaker that’s new, small, and at least currently niche, I think that’s a smart move. Once Czinger Vehicles has established a firmer foundation, it might be time to expand. Until then, I’ll look forward to seeing how they can make the 21C even more incredible, and what other records may fall.
