Yahoo Autos Czinger Sets 1st Official Production Car Lap Time at COTA
The father-and-son team of Kevin and Lukas Czinger say their 2.8-liter V-8-powered, 3D-printed 21C is the world's fastest street-legal hypercar — and now they have a lap time to prove it.
Earlier this summer, Czinger unleashed the 21C on the Circuit of the Americas as part of the car's testing and, with the help of track management and the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA), the 21C became the first official production vehicle lap time at the 3.41-mile track. This makes Czinger's lap time of 2:10.7 the first and fastest official street car lap at COTA.
Considering the car makes 1,350 hp from a twin-turbocharged V-8 and three electric motors, it's no shock that Czinger's indulgent hypercar managed to set a lap time akin to MotoAmerica's 1000-cc supersport class and NASCAR's Cup Series — but this announcement is significant beyond the California-based carmaker's impressive results. Czinger's lap is the first time COTA has set standards for production car criteria and officially validated a lap record, meaning the infamous racetrack now can serve as a benchmark — an American proving ground. It's not the Nürburgring, but the prospect of a lap-record fight on domestic soil is an enticing one.
This is not Czinger's first record of the year, either. The 21C bested the previous production car hill climb record at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in July, laying down a 48.82 second time on the 1.16-mile run. Rimac's Nevera was the previous record holder, with a hillclimb time of 49.32 seconds.
On site at the Quail, a Motorsports Gathering, the father-son duo are also celebrating their first customer delivery of a 21C Blackbird Edition — the SR-71-inspired version of the hypercar. The spy-plane-inspired model was first revealed at Monterey Car Week last year and is now ready for road use, according to Lukas Czinger.
"The delivery of customer car #1 marks the beginning of a new era in the automotive industry," Czinger said in a statement. "Sharing this milestone in California, our home state, holds special significance as we take pride in being designed and made in America. It is a momentous occasion to witness the 21C on the road and see our first customers behind the wheel."
Czinger's Los Angeles production headquarters is now up and running, with a set of standard operating procedures in place for its additive production processes. The results of this domestic production plan will be on display at the Quail, with Czinger showing off two new colorways of the 21C: a Rattlesnake Green livery and a Mojave Gold one.
"As we commence 21C production, we stand at the forefront of the Fourth Industrial Revolution," Kevin Czinger said. "This is one of the proudest moments of my life, marking a tipping point where the first 3D-printed car in production will catalyze profound and systemic changes in global manufacturing."
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