• The 21C Spyder is the third variant of the Czinger hypercar, following the 21C HDF and 21C VMax.
• A 750-hp twin-turbo V-8 is combined with two electric motors on the front axle for a combined 1250 horsepower; 60 mph arrives in a claimed 1.9 seconds.
• Czinger plans to offer 30 units of the Spyder, starting at $2.75 million.
Despite the increasing possibilities of space tourism, the idea of an open-air spaceship remains firmly in the sci-fi category. Until science catches up to comic strips, the closest you can get to a convertible rocket ship is the 2028 Czinger 21C Spyder.
The Spyder joins the original 21C, the longtail 21C Vmax, and the record-breaking 21C HDF. Of the three, it’s closest in spirit to the HDF, making use of the same aerodynamic package, only now with a removable roof panel. The roof and some additional A-pillar reinforcement add a mere 22 pounds to the Spyder, for a final weigh-in of 3571 pounds (dry). The Spyder also manages identical downforce numbers to the HDF while the roof is in place (a mind-boggling 3307 pounds). With the roof off, the Spyder still puts down 3267 pounds, making it a seriously stuck-down drop-top.
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Like other iterations of the 21C, the Spyder wears a long, low, carbon-fiber body, and uses an unusual center-seat in-line cockpit that puts the passenger behind the driver like a human backpack. It makes for an awkward entry and exit, but once inside, the driver has a wide view of the racetrack or scenic road.
New on the Spyder is a redesigned instrument panel that replaces touchscreen elements with physical controls. Czinger’s secret weapon is its partnership with manufacturing company Divergent Technologies, which specializes in generative AI design and testing and additive manufacturing (commonly known as 3-D printing). Unlike the home printers that your niece might be using for school science projects, Czinger’s printers sinter powdered metal into complex forms that could never be machined through traditional processes.
The result is components like the Spyder’s “NeuralNode” dashboard, an all-in-one structure that supports a digital instrument panel, climate-control vents, a wide oval steering wheel, and glowing pods containing infotainment and performance controls. It’s elegant in the way of a skeleton, combining matte metal bones with soft chocolatey leather and copper-hued carbon fiber. It seems unlikely that anyone driving a 21C Spyder would bother with the radio when there’s a high-revving V-8 just a few feet behind the open window, but the Czinger is a fully functional street car, and as such includes phone connectivity and a 650-watt, eight-speaker stereo system.
We’re curious to see how 650 watts hold up against 750 horsepower revved up to an 11,000-rpm redline. Among the many choices Czinger made on the 21C that feel like taking the hard way is the decision to design its own V-8, rather than work with Cosworth or another established engine company. Czinger took this path partially to ensure that its car can pass stringent California emissions rules, but also to control the size and packaging of the drivetrain.
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The resulting engine is just 2.9 liters (176 cubic inches) and weighs only 231 pounds. Two turbos pump the power to 750 horses, which moves through a seven-speed, single-clutch Xtrac transmission. Electric motors smooth out the shifts and up the overall power to 1250 horsepower and 691 pound-feet of torque. The motors also allow the car to be driven on electric power immediately upon start-up, while the combustion engine and catalytic converters warm up to operating temperature for ideal emissions control.
The combustion engine powers the rear wheels, but the hybrid system can move energy to the front wheels as needed, and the electric motors at the front axle provide immediate torque and all-wheel traction. Czinger says the Spyder can hit 60 mph in 1.9 seconds, and cross the quarter-mile mark before your vision clears in 8.7 seconds. Top speed is promised at 205 mph.
Extreme performance from Czinger’s cars is not new. The 21C HDF holds track records at five of California’s major circuits. What is new for the Spyder, and can be retrofitted on previous models, is what Czinger calls the “BrakeNode.” Using the same additive manufacturing techniques found in the dash and other structural elements of the 21C, the BrakeNode is the wildest component on what is already a radical design.
If a nest of paper wasps worked in aluminum alloy, the result might be something like the rounded, tangled tubes of Czinger’s brake system. The traditional brake setup includes separate components for the caliper, mounting brackets, and hydraulic lines. Czinger’s 3-D-printing wasps have integrated all the elements into one structure, which curves around carbon-ceramic rotors (16.1-inch in the front and 15.3-inch in the rear) and reduces unsprung mass by 1.5 pounds per corner. It also increases stiffness, which results in better pedal feel and reduced stopping distance. New five-spoke staggered 20- and 21-inch wheels wrapped in Michelin rubber feature an open design to showcase the new technology.
Czinger’s unique design and manufacturing are visible all over, and under, the 21C Spyder. From the supports in the engine bay to the control arms and anti-sway Z-bar, the underside of the Czinger looks like it was grown in a vat rather than assembled in a factory. The Spyder uses a dual A-arm pushrod suspension with adjustable dampers that allow for four different ride settings, from the mildest Street to the extreme Track+.
Only 30 customers will get to experience the open-top Spyder, and each car will be built to the individual desires of the buyer. Czinger offers color and material customization on the interior, on every part of the chassis, pedals, and grilles, as well as for paint and carbon-fiber components. Putting an open-top spaceship in your garage will set you back $2.75 million, but will guarantee that there’s nothing similar in any of your neighbor’s collections.
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Like a sleeper agent activated late in the game, Elana Scherr didn’t know her calling at a young age. Like many girls, she planned to be a vet-astronaut-artist, and came closest to that last one by attending UCLA art school. She painted images of cars, but did not own one. Elana reluctantly got a driver’s license at age 21 and discovered that she not only loved cars and wanted to drive them, but that other people loved cars and wanted to read about them, which meant somebody had to write about them. Since receiving activation codes, Elana has written for numerous car magazines and websites, covering classics, car culture, technology, motorsports, and new-car reviews. In 2020, she received a Best Feature award from the Motor Press Guild for the C/D story "A Drive through Classic Americana in a Polestar 2." In 2023, her Car and Driver feature story "In Washington, D.C.'s Secret Carpool Cabal, It's a Daily Slug Fest" was awarded 1st place in the 16th Annual National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards by the Los Angeles Press Club.