Czinger Vehicles has unveiled its 21C Spyder hypercar - and it features a lot of 3D printed parts.
The California automotive company says its latest model - which it plans to make only 30 of, starting at $2.75 million - has eschewed standard automotive manufacturing cues and taken its 'BioLogic' structural design inspiration from bone and function-first.
Of those redesigned components is BrakeNode, a fully integrated, topology-optimised, additively manufactured braking system made from Czinger's proprietary Z301 aluminium alloy. It consolidates the suspension upright, brake caliper, and hydraulic fluid passages into a single structure while reducing stopping distance by up to 15%. The system replaces the 21C's current 3D printed suspension upright with a reduction in total unsprung mass across the vehicle by a further 2.7 kg due to extensive use of reinforced hollow structures.
In a press release, Czinger said 23% of 21C Spyder is additively manufactured using processes developed by sister company Divergent Technologies, which announced the development of its proprietary Monolith One 12-laser metal 3D printing system earlier this summer. Several of those printed parts make up the 21C's BioLogic Chassis including MegaNode (which comprises the steering rack, electric motor housings, front suspension components, and front crash structure), side and rear crash structures, rear subframe, and rear suspension components.
Czinger has also built a bespoke compact 2.88L twin-turbo V8 hybrid powertrain, which features 'extensive use of additively manufactured components' including the exhaust and intake manifolds, catalyst assembly, and thermal management system, making the engine around 45 kg lighter than the average hypercar.
The car also features what is thought to be a world first gearbox casing, which has been topology-optimised and 3D printed to deliver structural performance while minimising mass, resulting in a torque capacity of 750 Nm per kg.
It's also the first open top Spyder and features a removable carbon fiber hardtop roof, which can be stored on its dedicated BioLogic Roof Mount that is made up of 3D printed aluminium and carbon fibre parts.
Meanwhile, the car's suspension is a dual A-arm pushrod system with inboard springs and electronically adjustable dampers. The control arms have been additively manufactured to satisfy load, stiffness, and aerodynamic requirements simultaneously while also achieving a 20% reduction in weight.
From the driver's seat, the dashboard has been consolidated into a central vehicle control system with an exoskeletal form and supports a redesigned lightweight, 3D printed steering wheel. The cabin also features new additively manufactured phone and key mounts, and speaker grilles.
Founder & CEO Lukas Czinger commented, “We started Czinger to build the next era of automotive performance. Not a faster version of cars that have come before, but something fundamentally new. A hypercar designed from the ground up and built using technology the automotive world had never seen. That car is the 21C, and with 21C Spyder, we're going even further, amplifying the driver's connection to the car, debuting world-first technology, and introducing an all-new cockpit experience. The 21C Spyder delivers a drive with no equal.”
