Czinger 21C: Additive Manufacturing Was Used to Make the ‘Hypercar of the 21st Century’
Faster, more efficient and more innovative – these are the words that can be used to describe the Czinger 21C Max supercar presented by, as the name suggests, the US car manufacturer Czinger. At first glance, you might think that it is a racing car – but that is not actually the case! In fact it is a road-ready passenger car, conforming to US regulations. However, it’s not just the look of the Czinger 21C that’s special, but also the way it was made. With the help of additive manufacturing in combination with artificial intelligence, this car, which is equipped with large butterfly doors, could be made into this powerful and arguably unique vehicle.
What the manufacturing process produces using additive manufacturing and artificial intelligence is clearly visible, especially when opening the tailgate: instead of straight lines and carbon fiber beams, the engine compartment of the Czinger 21C resembles an almost organic arrangement. Weighing less than 1,500 kilograms and powered by a 2.9-liter twin-turbo V8 engine developed in-house by Czinger, the “hypercar of the 21st century” has an output of 932kW (or 1250hp) and revs in excess of 11,000 rpm. The car’s acceleration is also impressive. It is able to go from 0 to 250mph back down to 0 in approximately 27 seconds, beating the previous record of 31.49 seconds..
What Role Did AM Play in the Creation of the Czinger 21C Supercar?
If you want to produce such a car with these groundbreaking features and performance characteristics using additive manufacturing, then it is probably more than obvious that the necessary know-how is needed. Therefore, it is also important to know that in the case of Czinger, which was founded and is run by Kevin and Lukas Czinger – father and son – these two are also the chairmen of the parent company Divergent. Divergent is well-known within the additive manufacturing world. The main activity of the parent company deals with the automation of design and development processes – and it is exactly this knowledge that has been incorporated into the Czinger 21C.
AI was used to design the individual components, which were 3D printed in later steps. On the one hand, it not only determined what kind of G-forces could play a major role in the car in this regard, but by means of various simulations, the appropriate shape, size and weight were ultimately determined for each part. This allowed the Czinger 21C to become not only this powerful, but also lightweight car. As for the final printing step, the company says that all parts except those of the body, wheels, interior components, suspension and the powertrain will be made using additive manufacturing.
The company turned to laser powder bed fusion to produce the individual metal components. And thanks to the use of AI, no metal was wasted in this process either, as this is already optimized in the previous step to work as efficiently as possible. However, considering the car’s shapes and the fact that 3D printers also have limited build space, Czinger had to come up with something for his 21C: Adhesive was used that was developed in-house by the company’s researchers and cures within a few seconds. This means that already in the design process of the individual parts, there is no need to make sure that there are special points for attachment with other parts, as the ultra-strong adhesive can easily bond them together.
Lukas Czinger concluded, “We have created the world’s most technologically advanced hypercar. From the AI-driven design software used to engineer it to the patented alloys its structures are printed in, the 21C embodies more than seven years of development and hundreds of millions of capital investment. We are excited to introduce new segment defining models to our line-up in the years to come and establish Czinger as one of the great American automotive brands of our time.” In any case, it will be exciting to see if we will see such a supercar on the road in the near future. If you want to learn more about the Czinger 21C, click HERE.
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*Cover Photo Credits: Czinger