Czinger has taken its already bonkers 21C hypercar and done the obvious thing: removed the roof. Meet the 21C Spyder, an open-top version of the American hypercar with a central driving position, an 11000 rpm V8 and a whopping 1250 bhp.
The 21C Spyder gets a manually removable roof along with a few engineering and design changes to create an open-air version of the hypercar. The biggest party trick, however, remains the seating arrangement. The driver sits right in the middle, with a single passenger seat directly behind. It gives the 21C a fighter-jet-like cockpit and allows Czinger to retain a narrow cabin while giving the driver a proper central driving position.
Inside, the 21C Spyder is every bit as unconventional as the rest of the car. The cockpit is wrapped around the driver, with a compact steering wheel, digital displays and exposed carbonfibre elements giving it a proper race-car feel. There’s very little unnecessary decoration, with Czinger keeping the focus on the driving experience. The fighter-jet-like canopy and low seating position also make the whole cabin feel more like a cockpit than a conventional supercar interior.
Behind the tandemly-seated driver and passenger sits a 2.88-litre twin-turbocharged V8 that revs all the way to 11000 rpm. It works with three electric motors — two powering the front wheels and another integrated into the powertrain — to produce a combined 1250 bhp. Power is sent through a seven-speed sequential transmission only to the rear wheels.
Czinger has also used the Spyder as an opportunity to showcase its unusual approach to engineering. The 21C is built around a carbonfibre monocoque, while several structural and suspension components are produced using the company’s additive-manufacturing technology. Czinger uses advanced 3D printing techniques to create complex components that would be difficult or impossible to manufacture using conventional methods.
The 21C Spyder can sprint from 0 to 100 kph in a claimed 2.1 seconds and has a top speed of around 400 kph. Only 30 examples of the 21C Spyder will be built worldwide, with prices starting at $2.75 million (Rs 22 crore in the USA). That makes it considerably rarer and more expensive than your average hypercar, but then there’s nothing particularly average about the 21C Spyder. What makes it particularly interesting is how different its recipe is from the usual hypercar formula. Central seating, a 3D-printed construction, a 2.88-litre V8 screaming to 11000 rpm, three electric motors and now no roof — the 21C Spyder is about as far removed from an ordinary supercar as you can get.
And frankly, if you’re going to spend big money on a hypercar, you might as well have the wind in your hair while chasing the staggering 11000 rpm redline.
