By Jordan Aquistapace – August 14, 2026
Meet the New Czinger 21C Spyder, a 1,250HP Open-Air Hypercar
Six years ago, Czinger first wowed the automotive world with the digital reveal of the 21C, cementing its place in the hypercar realm with a four-wheeled creation that seemed to unlock an entirely new species and driving experience. Today, that legacy continues as Czinger Vehicles just debuted the new 21C Spyder as the next chapter of its story, here at Monterey Car Week, just hours north of its headquarters in Los Angeles, CA. Czinger has never been particularly interested in following suit and fitting itself into a mold, and the new 21C Spyder is yet another way to convince the world why. The latest version of the California-built hypercar takes everything that made the 21C such a unique and fascinating car in the first place and removes the roof. That sounds simple enough, but Czinger didn't just chop the top off and call it a day. Lukas Czinger and the team used the Spyder as another opportunity to rethink and improve some areas of the 21C, including a completely new brake system and a redesigned cockpit. The biggest change hiding behind all that carbon fiber is Czinger's new BrakeNode system. Instead of having the caliper upright and hydraulic lines as separate parts, Czinger combines them into one core component. The in-house manufactured design sheds over six pounds of unsprung weight and increases stiffness by as much as 30%. Up front, the brakes use titanium pistons and carbon ceramic rotors measuring 16.1 inches, while the rear rotors measure 15.3 inches. Czinger says the setup can also reduce stopping distances by up to 15%.Take the roof away, and the 21C's fighter-jet influence becomes even more baked into its DNA. The driver still sits directly in the center, with the passenger behind, and the whole exposed cabin gives the car an unmistakable appearance from almost every angle. A 22-pound carbon-fiber hardtop can be removed when the weather calls for it, while a dedicated roof mount allows owners to carry it inside the car on their drives. The Spyder also shares some serious aerodynamic gains. At 150 mph, it produces 3,267 pounds of downforce without the roof, climbing to 3,307 pounds with it installed. A massive 76-inch rear wing does its part, but much of the work is actually happening underneath the car, where a full-length diffuser and side splitters turn the underbody into one giant aerodynamic channel.Power comes from Czinger's 2.88L twin-turbo V8, an ingeniously compact engine that revs all the way to 11,000 rpm. The combustion part of its formula makes 750 horsepower by itself, while two electric motors on the front axle and a third motor connected to the crankshaft bring total output to 1,250 horsepower. Power is managed through a seven-speed single-clutch transmission, with the electric motors filling in the blips between shifts. The numbers that come out the other end are just as impressive: 0 to 60 mph in 1.9 seconds, an 8.7-second quarter mile and a 205-mph top speed. There are four drive modes, too, meaning the 21C Spyder is completely in tune with its intent. Street mode can rely on the front electric motors at lower speeds, while Sport and Track gradually turn up the aggression. Track+ drops the car 25mm and stiffens the dampers by 50%, which is probably the point where public roads start to feel like the wrong place to be driving it.Czinger plans to build just 30 examples of the 21C Spyder, with pricing starting at $2.75 million. Each one will be assembled at the company's Los Angeles facility and personalized down to an almost ridiculous degree, including the colors of individual 3D-printed components, carbon fiber, upholstery and stitching. That's really the appeal of the 21C. Plenty of hypercars have big power, big wings and big price tags, but Czinger is taking a noticeably different route to get there. The 21C Spyder is unique, incredibly complicated and probably unlike anything else you'll see on any road or track. At a time when hypercars are becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish from one another, that's probably its biggest advantage. Source: Czinger Vehicles