Czinger To Challenge Hypercar Elite With 2 Incredible New Models

The Goodwood Festival of Speed is currently underway, and we have plenty of interviews set up for the entire weekend.

First, we sat down with Lukas Czinger, son of Kevin Czinger, founder and CEO of Czinger Vehicles and Divergent 3D. The men behind the Czinger C21 – a crazy 3D-printed hypercar that has dominated Laguna Seca and set new standards for production technology and performance – aren’t stopping at just one car, however, and have bold plans for the coming months, let alone years.

Lukas revealed to CarBuzz that Czinger is so far ahead with its 3D printing technology that it has printed pistons and a head at its R&D lab. Both of which were designed entirely by artificial intelligence. But before we get to that tasty morsel of information, Lukas Czinger provided more insight into the company that found fame by 3D printing its first hypercar.

Czinger junior went to Yale to study electrical engineering but ended up working in the finance sector in San Francisco.

One day, Lukas took the day off to watch his dad speak at a tech conference. He outlined a vision for automotive manufacturing in the future, and the speech just stuck in Czinger junior’s head. Lukas later phoned his dad looking for a job, even though he already had a high-paying position with a great future. Before long, he joined the team at Divergent 3D, which would eventually become the parent company of Czinger vehicles.

Knowing the above is crucial to understanding the development of the automotive department.

Divergent 3D was focused on three things; creating design software, creating the hardware the company could print with, and creating an assembly system for the chassis.

That became known as the Divergent Adaptive Production System, which Divergent sources out to other manufacturers. Czinger mentions a well-known British manufacturer using a 3D printed rear subframe, which will be used on a production car going out to customers this year.

Czinger is currently working with eight large OEMs, though nondisclosure agreements keep it from naming said manufacturers.

The main idea is to have hundreds of micro-factories scattered around the globe and license its software so anyone can use it. Unlike other boutique manufacturers, Czinger is not simply relying on the 21C to rake in cash. If this idea works, the 21C and other models will likely be nothing more than fun side projects that rake in a few bucks.

Czinger is also known for using artificial intelligence as part of its design process. “After we’ve done the design and packaging, which is the human aspect, we have several figures to work with,” said Czinger. He mentions knowing the weight the frame needs to support, how stiff it should be, and what crash load it should be able to support.

“All of these high-level requirements are fed into the software stack. The software then runs various simulations with different materials. So it’s doing millions of calculations in a manner of hours without any human involvement,” said Czinger.

It’s no small wonder so many OEMs are interested. What used to take months of development can now be done within hours, thanks to what Divergent 3D has created. “In two or three years, it will be down to minutes,” said Czinger.

Lukas Czinger started with the company when it consisted of just 12 people. After proving himself as an engineer and working his way through the ranks, he was promoted to Kevin Czinger’s right-hand man. The company had grown to 200 people by then, but it wasn’t done yet.

To show what it was capable of, Divergent 3D decided to hire 60 of the brightest minds from the automotive industry to build the 21C. That’s right, folks. If you thought the 21C was meant only for the ultra-rich, you’re wrong. It was built to grab headlines, which it did beautifully.

We wondered why Czinger went the hybrid route instead of following the current EV hypercar craze. It designed its own 2.9-liter V8 in-house, which is another stunning achievement. Why go through the effort?

“At the price point we’re at, the customer still wants the combustion element. Our customers are drawn by the sound and the feel, and the fact that they know it’s going to go away eventually,” said Czinger. “We also wanted to build the ultimate road and track car, and a BEV won’t last on a track. The 21C can go for eight hours straight.”

While chatting to us, Czinger also confirmed that a longtail version is coming and that it would be more road-focused. The longtail is about eight inches longer with a similar body style and a more luxurious interior. The powertrain will be carried over as is, which means 1,250 horsepower at 11,000 rpm.

The longtail will have the same back-to-back seating configuration, but the ground clearance will be slightly higher to clear speed bumps, and it will have more luggage space. That means the C21 will be offered in three configurations, as the brand has already confirmed a widebody option for its customers.

What’s next for Czinger? For the 21C, it used artificial intelligence to create the chassis and suspension. The next model will push the boundaries of AI. The computer will be in charge of the powertrain, brakes, and EV systems, combined with the existing 3D printing technology.

“In our R&D department right now, we’ve got printed pistons and a head,” said Czinger.

Czinger’s next model will be unveiled at Pebble Beach this year alongside the longtail. “It will be a four-seat GT car with a single door on each side,” he tells us. To us, that sounds like a direct rival to the Koenigsegg Gemera. The filthy rich are, indeed, spoiled when it comes to family cars.

Czinger will build more than 80 GTs, but it will still be a low-volume car. According to Czinger, it won’t ever be in the business of making affordable cars. “We always want to be at the forefront of technology, and that’s expensive,” said Czinger.

The technology will filter down via Divergent 3D to OEMs with which it has a partnership. So you might hate the idea of a $2 million hypercar, but there is a decent case to be made that it will benefit the average car buyer in the long run.

There are a lot of similarities between Lukas Czinger and Mate Rimac. Czinger is just further behind on the same path, building software and technology for OEMs before ultimately landing a job as the CEO of a major alliance like Bugatti-Rimac. He may not be there yet, but

Expect to see Lukas Czinger’s name on the list of the most influential people in the automotive industry within the next few years, and expect to see this technology making big waves not very far in the future from now.