Czinger zings Laguna Seca lap

Here’s another example of what Monterey Car Week can inspire. Another guaranteed presence on the peninsula is Czinger, the Los Angeles-based startup that’s preparing to unleash its own supercar, whose performance potential as revealed up to now can only be called staggering. Last week, a pre-production Czinger 21C hypercar drilled the lap record for production-based vehicles at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, which will be hosting the Monterey Motorsports Reunion during Car Week, arguably the United States’ most prestigious event for historic race cars. With test driver Joel Miller in the seat, the 21C laid down a GPS-verified lap of 1:25.44, knocking more than two full seconds off the previous mark, set by Randy Pobst in a McLaren Senna. The quick lap was set on DOT-legal Michelin Pilot Sport Cup2R street rubber.

Here’s what you need to know: Single center seat. An honest 1,250 horsepower wrapped in a 1,240kg package, providing a claimed power-to-weight ratio of 1:1. All-wheel drive. A hybrid powertrain with true flex-fuel capability mated to a seven-speed manual gearbox. Zero to 400 km/hr – it works out to 248 MPH – in 21.3 seconds, or zero to 62 MPH in 1.9. Claimed top speed, 291 MPH. All we can say is, it’s real, ungodly fast and definitely in the pipeline for about 80 buyers who will actually acquire a 21C.