The Czinger 21C Set Five Track Records in Five Days, With 1,000 Miles Driven in Between originally appeared on Autoblog.
The idea
It is an unfortunate reality that a high number of supercars and hypercars rarely grace the pavement they were designed to conquer. They are more likely to end up as garage candy, blessing the eyes of those fortunate enough to be invited to whatever private collection they're a part of. The California-based automaker Czinger aims to change that. Sure, their car looks otherworldly in the finest way possible, boasts 1,250 hp, and will be limited to only 80 units, but the team wants to prove that their street-legal hypercar is as good at regular road duties as it is at setting speed records.
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The execution
Driver Joel Miller, CEO & Founder Lukas Czinger, and members of the Czinger team, led by Czinger Vehicles Chief Engineer Ewan Baldry, set out on a 1,000-mile road trip from Northern to Southern California to set five lap records at five tracks in five days. In between Thunderhill, Sonoma Raceway, Laguna Seca, Willow Springs, and The Thermal Club, the 21C hit important California landmarks like The Golden Gate Bridge, Blackbird Airpark, Box Canyon Road, and, of course, In-N-Out Burger. I imagine an Animal Style Double Double tastes better from within the cockpit of a Czinger.
It wasn't a painless journey, of course, as not many are. When the 21C bottomed out at Thunderhill, a cracked casing resulted in a near-immediate loss of coolant. What initially started as panic quickly turned into split-second ingenuity, as Czinger called upon an emergency delivery from their Area 21 headquarters in Los Angeles and executed a flawless overnight rebuild in order to hit the road again the next day. At Laguna Seca, the car had an intimate meeting with a tire wall, resulting in an age-old repair strategy used by racers and mechanics worldwide: ample duct tape.
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The success story
The entire journey was captured in a short film titled "California Gold Rush," directed by Italian automotive filmmaker Luca Brinciotti. While I was lucky enough to watch it at a private viewing during Monterey Car Week (and believe me, I got goosebumps), you, dear viewer, can watch it from the privacy and comfort of your home. Get the popcorn, though, it's that good.
“With the California Gold Rush campaign, we set out to redefine hypercar performance. Taking into equal consideration lap records and road endurance. We believe that a hypercar must perform over multiple dimensions and technical innovations are only worthwhile when proven in the real world,” said Lukas Czinger, CEO & Founder of Czinger Vehicles. “The driving force behind any technological leap is a mission-driven, resilient, and exceptionally capable team. The California Gold Rush documentary celebrates the individuals behind the 21st century. I could not be prouder of what our team accomplished.”
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Final thoughts
More than anything, I think the California Gold Rush campaign and the Czinger 21C itself are symbolic of the passion behind automotive ownership and the enthusiasm it inspires. Whether it's taking the car we've spent countless time and tears on to the track, or reviving that rusty project truck the world has turned its back on, our love of cars pushes us to break our limits, embark on new journeys, and constantly take bold steps outside of our comfort zone.
The Czinger 21C is an automotive jewel, and it doesn't take more than a single look to reach that conclusion, but Lukas and the team behind the car's production are able to see beyond that. Yes, it's gorgeous, yes, it's beautiful, and yes, it'll probably appreciate significantly on a long enough timeline, but it's still a car beneath all of that. Cars should be driven, and having a car like the 21C that can be driven to the track, break records, and then be driven back home is a rare feat. Lukas told me in an interview that this idea of a hypercar that needs no track prep to be an incredible weapon is one of the goals behind Czinger, and that he hopes future owners will take note of the California Gold Rush's accomplishments and seek such adventures in their own examples.
As for this particular 21C's future, Lukas tells me it'll likely spend time in the company's personal collection as an unrestored testament to what Czinger can do. Seeing such significant battle scars on a car of this caliber in person proved more than anything that those at Czinger are automotive enthusiasts, and to that, I raise a toast.
The broken records are as follows:
Thunderhill Raceway Park: 1:48.30, -3.39 seconds off previous record
Sonoma Raceway: 1:35.05, -0.70 seconds off previous record
WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca: 1:24.39, -0.36 seconds off Czinger’s own previous record
Willow Springs Raceway: 1:19.73, -1.35 seconds off previous record
The Thermal Club: 2:03.17, -10.33 seconds off previous record
The Czinger 21C Set Five Track Records in Five Days, With 1,000 Miles Driven in Between first appeared on Autoblog on Aug 19, 2025
This story was originally reported by Autoblog on Aug 19, 2025, where it first appeared.
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