Monterey debut for new Czinger 21C Spyder

11,000rpm, 1,267hp V8 hybrid was already quite exciting - now the canopy comes off

By Matt Bird / Friday, 14 August 2026 / Loading comments

Despite the hypercar weariness that will have afflicted all of us at some point in the ‘20s, there was always something extra special about the Czinger 21C. Because here was a ground-up exotic in the best sense of the phrase: no borrowed parts, innovative solutions sought wherever possible, immense power and a look like nothing else. When the engineering approach is that ‘a component's form is discovered through its function, not by the standards that have traditionally governed automotive design’, uniqueness is assured.

The 21C wasn’t a homage to anything or a celebration of days gone by, just one man’s vision of the ultimate mid-engined driving experience. From the anecdotes told by those lucky enough to have driven Lukas and Kevin Czinger’s eponymous creation, that’s exactly what they delivered.

But no supercar, however groundbreaking, is complete without a convertible version. This is Monterey Car Week, after all, and Czinger does hail from LA - it had to happen at some point. So, six and a half years after the 80-unit 21C was revealed (and just a few months since Czinger confirmed a UK presence), here’s the 21C Spyder.

Plenty is familiar. Power still comes from Czinger’s own 2.88-litre turbocharged V8, claimed to be the most power-dense homologated V8 in production: it makes 760hp (or 264hp per litre) on pump gas - imagine what it’ll do on 99 octane. There’s more than just the power to be excited by, too, the V8 revving to 11,000rpm and weighing just 105kg. Don’t forget the hybrid bit, either: there are two permanent magnet synchronous electric motors for the front axle, a third connected to the crank, and supply from 4.2kWh of battery for another 507hp. So 1,267hp, 691lb ft, 205mph - and a quarter-mile in 8.7 seconds. With 1,482kg of downforce at 150mph, said to be the most of any open road car. You’re looking at one of the fastest combustion-engined cars ever to be made in the United States.

This being Czinger, too, the Spyder isn’t just a case of taking the roof off an existing product. Or making a ‘fighter jet without the canopy’, in Czinger speak - this is definitely still a single-seat speedster. There are new innovations here, Czinger’s BioLogic Engineering - ‘human ingenuity unshackled from constraints and turbocharged by the most advanced toolset in the industry’ - meaning nothing stays still for long. Czinger speaks of Nodes; the approach created MegaNode for the coupe, integrating steering rack, motor housings, suspension bits and crash structure in a lighter arrangement, and now there’s BrakeNode.

Once more, that means more efficiently packaging existing components, the Spyder bringing together caliper, upright, and hydraulic fluid pathways in one bit of hardware. Fewer bits means less weight, here usefully reducing unsprung weight, and stopping distances are said to improve also. It even eliminates a failure point, without brake lines susceptible to damage. BrakeNode is an upgrade that will be available to existing Czinger customers.

We’re not done with Noding yet, either, as the Spyder’s interior boasts something called NeuralNode, which revises the layout for ‘open-top driving comfort.’ It’s more focused on the person behind the wheel than ever, with HVAC, wheel and major controls consolidated ‘into a central vehicle control system with an exoskeletal form that is both beautiful and functional.’ Yes, really, but at a time of Louis Vuitton Singers and Lamborghini Diablo restomods, there’s something quite refreshing about the 21C’s pared-back approach.

And let’s not forget the main appeal here: perhaps the most driver-focused exotic out there, without a roof to better hear a V8. Czinger is unabashed in its claim: ‘The sound of Czinger’s in-house V8 floods the cabin as it revs toward its 11,000 rpm redline—every cycle of the airbox now prominently heard through the roof-mounted intake—while the rush of wind on either side of the central seating layout makes clear this is an experience that is singular in automotive.’ Don’t forget the hydraulic steering, brake feel ‘tuned to closely resemble that of a racecar’ and sub-100ms gearshifts - this is surely going to be extraordinary. Street, Sport, Track and Track+ modes adjust the input of the electric, ride height, damper stiffness and regen.

Czinger hasn’t forgotten the hypercar essentials, though, with each of the 30 Spyders - so much rarer than the 21C - to be ‘tailored precisely to the client’s wishes.’ Each is going to cost $2.75m, or a smidge over two million, and is homologated for all 50 states. So, in theory, the Spyder could probably come here as well - there can’t be an issue with left-hand drive in a single seater. Wouldn’t that be something?