---
title: 'Czinger 21C: The 11,000 RPM American Hypercar Shaking the World | Jay Leno''s Garage'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=1MSMR2B1-FQ'
video_id: '1MSMR2B1-FQ'
date: 2026-06-28
duration_sec: 2863
---

# Czinger 21C: The 11,000 RPM American Hypercar Shaking the World | Jay Leno's Garage

> Source: [Czinger 21C: The 11,000 RPM American Hypercar Shaking the World | Jay Leno's Garage](https://youtube.com/watch?v=1MSMR2B1-FQ)

## Summary

This video features Jay Leno driving and discussing the Czinger 21C, an American-made, 3D-printed hybrid hypercar. The conversation covers its manufacturing process, regulatory compliance, and driving experience.

### Key Points

- **3D-Printed Manufacturing** [1:02] — The entire vehicle is 3D-printed using powder bed fusion and digital integration, enabling an optimally lightweight and strong structure.
- **Fully Legal in the US** [1:23] — The car is street-legal in all 50 U.S. states, a rare feat for a small-volume supercar.
- **Extensive Regulatory Testing** [3:08] — Over 40 crash tests were performed to meet stringent safety and emission standards globally.
- **Two Models: V-Max and High Downforce** [3:49] — Two variants: V-Max (top speed over 250 mph) and High Downforce (limited to ~220 mph but track-focused).
- **Innovative Transmission** [8:37] — A single-clutch 7-speed AMT, but combined with EV torque-filling, it feels like a dual-clutch without the weight penalty.
- **Hybrid Powertrain: 500 hp EV + 750 hp V8** [9:06] — 500 hp from front electric motors (EV-only mode) + 750 hp from the V8 for total 1,250 hp.
- **Tiny, High-Revving V8** [12:25] — The engine is a tiny 2.88L V8 that produces 750-850 hp, with a redline of 11,000 RPM.
- **Emissions Solution: Heated Catalyst** [17:18] — The car has a heated catalyst system that preheats the catalytic converter using the electric drive before starting the V8, to pass cold-start emissions.
- **Central Driving Position** [21:03] — The driver sits in the center, giving an unobstructed view and a fighter-jet-like experience.
- **Positive Driving Experience** [44:18] — Jay Leno found the car incredibly easy and enjoyable to drive, with no 'kit car' feel, praising its compliance and direct steering.

## Transcript

You know, it's just so easy to drive.
You know, a lot of times when you build
when you drive, not necessarily
prototypes, but sometimes one or two all
supercars, it's kind of a kit car feel
to it. I don't get any of that here.
None of that.
>> Well, Jay's got the hang of it now. You
know, I don't know why I assumed the red
line was like uh you know 6500 or 700.
It's 11,000.
All right, that that's a sale right
there. Love you. Thank you.
One minute of Jay Lel's Garage. The cars
we're featuring today, two amazing
Americanbuilt supercars. They're amazing
for a a really unique reason, and I will
tell you that in in just a second what
that is. It's called the Zinger. This is
a company I've been following for a long
time. We were kind of there at the
ground floor when they started. This is
big-time manufacturing. It's really
sophisticated. It's literally a 3D
printed car.
>> Correct. The entire vehicle is designed
here. And that entire powertrain between
the electric motors and the V8 are
printed and integrated into the
structure using a digital system.
>> And every promise they made has been
kept. And it's truly an amazing
automobile. These are for sale. You can
buy them in California or any state in
the United States. That's to me is what
makes it amazing. But we'll find out
more. Let's meet the founder and CEO,
Lucas Zinger. Lucas, come on in, my
friend.
>> Good to see you, J.
>> Oh boy, this is just an amazing
accomplishment. And and the thing that
makes it amazing to me is every supercar
that comes here, well, we're waiting for
certification. It'll be legal in
California in six week and they never it
never comes. It's a tough standard to
meet. I mean the most exotic most exotic
Europeans who can't meet at all, they
don't even try.
>> And you built this car and you built
your own engine, which to me is is the
heart of, you know, when I see a a major
automobile manufacturer and they're
using somebody else's motor, why don't I
just buy one of those cars? To me, the
motor is the heart. It's the soul of the
automobile. and you design built your
whole engine and it meets carb all
testing all emissions that's truly an
amazing feat. So I can you know it's fun
to design it and make it go fast and put
a manual gear and all those kind of
things but the fact that you can
actually do the business part of it get
it to meet every
>> goofball some good some bad rule
it's it's just amazing. So I pat you on
the back for that. It's yeah it's really
impressive. when you buy this, you have
no problems with the DMV.
>> Well, wait a minute. There's only 15
numbers in the uh in the in the
>> Yeah. Yeah. Well, we set out to build an
American OEM, right?
>> And the secret is if you're building an
OEM, you have to go through the full
regulatory side. And that is actually
the hardest part, right? It's actually
much easier to design and build a fast
car than is to certify it for road use,
both in terms of emissions and safety.
So we did over 40 crash tests with this
car, went through California carbon
emissions, and we're globally
homologated. So you can sell this in
Europe, you can sell this in the Middle
East, you can sell this in Asia as well.
And that development means that you
actually have the engineering capability
to create a car that is now inside an
American area.
>> I would guess contentwise, this is
probably the most American car built in
this country. Isn't it fair to say?
Pretty close,
>> I would say. So I would say so
>> because you do everything right right
down the street here in Torrance,
California.
>> We're based in Torrance. We engineer the
car. We manufacture the car. So it's
both engineered and built here in
California.
>> Now we have two cars. Both of these are
are legal. This is the downforce model,
which I guess we would call the track
model if you were. And this is the road
version. Basically same engine, same
performance, pretty close.
>> Yes. Same architecture underneath in
terms of strong hybrid three electric
motors, big V8 in the back in terms of
output but small in terms of size. So
very power dense V8 and they share that
platform but uniquely different in the
body in the aerodynamic performance. So
V-Max will do over 250 mph,
>> right?
>> 21C high downforce, we're limited to
about 220 with the big wing, the front
splitter, but we'll set every track
record in California while being road
leak. Yeah, but you can go around
corners a little bit better.
>> Yeah, exactly.
>> Yeah. And if you're doing 220 in
California, you're going to jail. So, I
I got to go with this model here.
>> Here's the amazing part. Why don't we
start with the frame?
>> Yes.
>> You know, it it's so funny. It looks to
me as if somebody just poured liquid
metal. And
>> this is all 3D printed. Correct.
>> Yeah. Well, this is what a loaded word
but perfect part looks like. So this is
a design where you're looking
holistically at the requirements for the
car and engineering to that specific
load case to that specific set of
requirements and then having a
manufacturing process where you can
actually put material just where you
need it right
>> and you don't need to put any other
material because the manufacturing
process allows for that geometry to be
created. So we take requirements in we
engineer to the prao optimal structure
so the most efficient structure it can
possibly be and then we additively
manufacture using powder bed fusion.
This is laser melting of powdered
aluminums and steels and titaniums. It's
the most advanced way to make a metal
part in the world. Then we robotically
assemble it to a very close tolerance.
>> Now is this a powder coat or is this the
natural metal finish?
>> That's the natural metal finish.
>> Okay. So it doesn't need painting or
rust proofing or any
>> No. So we have a very low silicon
content in our material. So we actually
do incredibly well with corrosion. This
is a material that can see almost marine
environments.
>> This is a patented material.
>> Yes, this is an aluminum based alloy. So
about 90% aluminum, 10% other elements,
but no rare earth materials in there.
>> And it has both the elongation, right?
Our crash bumper itself is printed,
right,
>> to take energy and absorb it, but then
also it has the necessary stiffness and
durability to take the high cornering
forces, the pothole cases, etc. So, it
has both the material properties
required.
>> Well, here's the thing I find
fascinating here.
You can disassemble it. You know, a lot
of times I'll see people that make a
chassis
>> and it gets bent in an accident or
damage and that's it. Sorry, you need a
new chassis. Mhm.
>> You know, the car is total. Basically,
this this obviously unbolts
>> so you can get the Well, let's forget
the motor in and out.
>> Yeah. So, you think about a product, not
just a technology, right? We're making
something that we want our customers to
enjoy that we need our dealers to be
able to service and therefore access is
designed in, but designed in upfront.
So, the software and the engineering
team is looking where do I create those
split lines for service, but where can I
also split the part in a low load area.
So I'm not adding mass to that plane. So
engine service, the rear frame on the
bottom drops out as well. And then we
have a very nice connection to the
carbon fiber monco as well.
>> This hole just unbolts it. Yeah, this is
great. And I can see where you put extra
>> Mhm.
>> extra metal here, for lack of a better
word. Yes.
>> Uh just to add a bit more structural
rigidity. Yeah, that's really
>> these points right here, they actually
hook straight into the rear wing on the
21C high downforce. And these will take
about 5,500 pounds of downforce at 200
miles per hour.
>> Boy, that's pretty amazing. Yeah. The
suspension, of course. Very nice.
>> Yes. Inboard push rod suspension, double
A arm there. All additively
manufactured.
>> Now you do your own rotors.
>> So we are not doing our own rotors, but
our own calipers. So when you look at
the wheel carrier plus the caliper on
this chassis, this is something we call
the brake note.
>> And it's far lighter. It's higher
performing and it's going to be on the
future Zinger vehicles. So, it's not on
either of these yet, right?
>> But coming in the future, you will
actually see Zinger have its own brake
system on these cars.
>> So, when I order one, it'll have those.
>> Yes, sir.
>> Okay.
Well, I you know, I'm I'm I'm just so
impressed with this. It really is. And
it's fun that it's Americanmade and I
don't have to learn a foreign language
to talk to the engineer and it's great.
And we're talking dual clutch gearbox,
>> single clutch,
>> single clutch,
>> but with the EV system, you're
essentially torque filling on the shift
and you've got a twin barrel on that
sevenspeed AMT. So when you're driving,
and we'll drive later, you'll see it
doesn't feel like a single clutch. It
feels closer to a DCT, but with the
weight saving of a single.
>> Now, the EV does not spin the wheels,
right?
>> It spins the front wheels.
>> Oh, it spins the front wheel. Okay.
Okay. So, we do 500 horsepower out of
the front axle, and it's an independent
electric drive for each front wheel. And
then we do another 750 horsepower out of
the V8. So,
>> how does how do you drive the
>> Yeah. So, in here is where our EV motor
will sit. And you'll essentially see,
you know, this is just the chassis, but
you'll see a push rod come out of
>> into the EV motor. I see. Okay.
>> Yeah. So, we're not seeing all the bits,
>> right? That's confusing. Okay. Is it
all-wheel drive all the time?
>> So, yes, you have four drive modes. You
can actually go in EV only and you can
be frontwheel drive. When you come into
sport mode or track mode, then you have
power on all four corners. V8 driving
the back wheels and the EV motors
driving the front wheels
>> and a seven-speed gearbox.
>> And a seven-speed uh automated and
manual transmission gearbox. and
actually a really significant gearbox in
that it was a casing designed by us,
additively manufactured by us and then
the gears and the actuation was done in
partnership with X-Track and it's the
first electro hydraulic actuated gearbox
in the market and it's the first that
has this twin barrel design where your
shift times are very very fast.
>> Very impress Yeah. It's just a beautiful
looking It doesn't look like any chassis
of anything I've ever seen before. And
that's that's the divergent part, right?
That's the
>> Yes. So, Divergent supplies this chassis
to Zinger, but Zinger really helped
pioneer that technology,
>> right? Right. Cuz I remember seeing this
and it was built in a factory not much
bigger than this room.
>> Yes. Yes.
>> And I was like, well, how how is that
possible?
>> So, we've built out what we call area 21
now, which is where we build the 21C,
and you'll have to come see it. It's
about 70,000 square feet now, so it's
grown a bit. That's where we do the full
general assembly of the vehicle and
we've delivered over 20 cars out of that
facility now.
>> Oh, that's great. And again, I hear no
problems. I hear no, I got a zinger and
the wheel fell off and they won't, you
know, I mean, cuz you know, just by the
nature of having this TV show, being a
car guy, I hear everybody's complaint,
you know, and and a lot of problems.
Some you believe, some you go, how's
that even possible? But I've never heard
that. I' I I've met owners at car shows.
How do you like it? Great. Any problems?
No.
>> Okay.
>> We intend to keep it that way. And that
comes from a focus of both motorsport
but OEM engineering and then a lot of
aerospace engineering. And if you're in
the space industry or the defense
industry, you know, failure is not an
option, right? And that bled into our
culture as well.
>> And it must be frustrating to you to
hear from skeptics all the time because
because you can't blame people being
skeptic. I mean, I grew up in the era
when, oh, Jaguar come out with a V12,
Jaguar 220, but now it's got a V6. I got
no the Vector. Oh, it's got to be the
most powerful. What vector? But, you
know, I mean,
>> a lot of hopes and dreams die when it's
time to do the work.
>> Yeah. I mean, that's the truth. It's a
business has a lot of dreamers and a lot
of engineers. And when you have more
dreamers than engineers, that's where
that's that's where the
>> product suffer very quickly from there.
>> Okay, let's get back to uh the motor.
Now you build your own engine cuz motor
means electric, doesn't it? So, so let's
say engine. How many cubic inch? How
many liter?
>> We're 2.88 L. So we're under three
liter.
>> Yeah. That's nothing, is it?
>> Yeah. It's incredibly small. And the
reason for that is the unique layout. We
went for this inline seating, driver,
passenger, inline. And we want to be in
front of the rear axle because we still
want to be a mid-enine car, right?
>> And that means where the engine can sit
in this package is incredibly narrow.
So, you're looking at about three lers
of space, and we designed the 2.88 L to
deliver, but you need a lot of power,
right? This was a car that was all about
road driving, but we also wanted to be
able to set these track records. So, we
knew we'd have to get at least 700
horsepower out of that V8. We've gotten
750 in our base car and 850 on our
Blackbird edition.
>> So, it's 2.8 L,
>> four valve, 4 cam.
>> Four valve, 4 cam. Correct.
>> Okay. Designed inhouse.
>> Designed inhouse from scratch. and all
the way through California carbon
embissions.
>> I don't even know how that's possible.
It's just amazing to me how frustrating
it must be to build something and then
it doesn't pass and then you got to go
do it again. Just the massinations you
go through. Just crazy.
>> Iteration and resilience. Yeah. And
really people, right? The team is what
what brings this to life at the end of
the day.
>> To me, that's the heart, like I said, of
an automobile. You know, TVR, I I kind
of had a thing going with them for a
while because they built their own
motor. the speed six and turned it
sidewards and and good for you. You
built your own motor. You're not just
putting a boutique car, Brembo brakes,
somebody's motor, somebody else's. You
know, it's it's great that you build it
from scratch. Let's get back to the car.
This high downforce model intrigues me
here because
>> obviously this is for somebody who's
going to be going to the track on a
regular basis.
>> Yes.
>> Yeah. If you're if you're running 250 on
the street,
>> you're not going to be out there very
long. This green carbon fiber is just
unbelievable.
>> We call that rattlesnake green.
>> Rattlesnake green.
>> Yep. It's got a California heritage to
it. But we actually broke the Goodwood
hill climb record in this spec for the
first time. Really?
>> So this green color became quite famous
after that hill run. And now we've got a
lot of customers that are looking for
the same exact on their car.
>> Yeah. I've done that Goodwood hill
climb.
>> And you go fast but not that fast. So
downforce doesn't really play a role,
does it? say with the amount that we
have on this car, anything over about 60
mph, you are going to start seeing the
impact. So that first turn even, we're
seeing some impact um from the downforce
kit here. Even when we drive later, I
think you'll feel the difference of
having the rear wing and the front
splitter on this car versus the V-Max.
>> And how much downforce is that?
>> So we're doing over 3:1 lift to drag.
And on the rear wing, we get about 5,500
lb of downforce at 200 mph. So, it's an
incredible amount that's loaded on the
rear of the vehicle, but the whole a
surface of the car and the ground
effects are designed for this arrow
package. Now, this rear wing fastened to
the chassis.
>> Yes. So, there's pins that hard mount
into the back of that addively
manufactured structure and it's a direct
hard connection.
>> Yeah. Cuz I I sometimes see cars and if
this is mounted to the rear body
structure, I go, "Well, well, f is that
going to first?" You know, they're never
going to get fast enough to. And it's
it's going to break.
>> Yeah.
>> Yeah. So, this is like the GTD Mustang.
It's It's
>> firm. Yeah.
>> It's very firm. And talking about fixed
arrow and functional arrow, I'm going to
invite you, Jay, to test that front
splitter.
>> Stand on the splitter.
>> Stand on it, sir.
>> See, if this is one of those karate kid
movies, I'd be the bully and you' be the
karate kid. And hey,
>> and I would go, "Hey, wait a minute.
What?"
>> And I'm going to join you on there. Boy,
that's pretty amazing.
>> So, that is full function, right? Form
follows function.
>> And that's how you can take thousands of
pounds of downforce.
>> Wow. That's Yeah. Yeah. That's That's
pretty amazing. That's Wow. All right.
>> I can't get over this green. It really
rattlesnake green, huh?
>> Yeah. So, the full body is carbon. Every
single panel. So, even the painted cars,
they're full carbon underneath. And we
use the carbon for the aeros surface,
right? The structural load is going into
the chassis, right? through the wing,
through the splitter, and this is really
just giving you your profile. All your
crash is really coming through that
additively manufactured structure as
well.
>> I have another question about California
carb. If you have this thing, how many
miles do you have to run the engine? How
many miles you have to do? Do you have
to run like 50,000 mile? I mean, what do
you have to do?
>> For California carb emissions, you
mostly need to show in all drive modes
that you're within the emission
standard. So, actually the hardest part
is not the distance part. Yes, there's a
durability for thousands of miles,
right? But there's also the initial
startup of the vehicle. The startup is
actually
>> one of the most tricky corner cases of
emissions. So, when you first turn the
car in on after it's been sitting, what
is the immediate emissions profile? And
there we've gone to actually a heated
catalyst system. So, our EV drive will
start up first. We'll heat the cat and
then we'll start our V8.
>> And all of that together then gets us
through the emissions profile. And how
long does that heat take it? Just a few
seconds.
>> Just a few seconds.
>> Oh, that's Boy, that's pretty cuz I'm
thinking you're sitting there for 5
minutes, you know.
>> No. No. And of course, you can drive
immediately cuz you've got 500
horsepower on the front wheels.
>> Right. Right. That's the stuff I always
find fascinating. It's all the just
those little details that kill every
supercar.
>> And then they have another one. They
call it the shed test. It's like a
torture for your car. They take the car
after it's run for a long time, they put
it in an emissions shed and they leave
it there at high temperatures for three
days or so while they're reading the
emission profile off the car and they're
reading even, you know, your rubber
seals, anything that could be
evaporating into the air. And it's an
incredibly low bar that they've set,
right? So any sort of emissions that
come off of the car will have you fail
that shed test.
>> Yeah. I remember reading that a 1977
Ford LTD parked on the street with the
engine shut off puts out more emissions
than whatever the new vehicle just
things like that. People don't even
realize
>> how hard it
>> Yeah. Yeah.
>> It's gotten incredibly efficient and the
regulations are incredibly strong.
>> Yeah. You know, that's what I loved
about the Japanese back during the 70s
when you know all the American company.
Oh, we got lobbyists. We can't afford to
meet these emission. And the Japanese
just said tell us what the standard is.
went to Japan, came back with that what
was that CVCC engine they had
>> and and passed all the tests. Just tell
us what what does it need to do?
>> Tremendous engineers.
>> Yeah. Just wonderful. Well, the same
thing here and the fact that it's
>> it's done first as opposed to Yes, we
will be doing that in the future as soon
as you you've done all that and you
bring the finished product here ready to
go. No questions asked. You can buy it
right now. You can drive away. You know,
it's it's fantastic.
>> It's all about accountability, right?
Especially as you said, there's a lot of
dreamers out there. There's very few
that have made it to this point and we
really wanted to make sure the
production car was a full fulfillment of
that promise because we already have the
odds against us. We need the car to
demonstrate exactly what it can be.
>> Yeah. And I don't mean to imply that
people are crooks or they're trying to
pull us in. It's just that
>> they just didn't take the engineering to
that
>> ninth tenth degree whatever it might be
and it has to be done. Tell me about
these wheels. Are these aluminum, carbon
fiber,
>> magnesium?
>> These are aluminum spoke and carbon
fiber barrel. So, they're actually a
two-piece wheel. And this is a 20-in
wheel in the front on about 9 and 1/2 in
of rubber. And then we run a 21 in in
the rear on about 12 1/2 in of rubber.
>> Okay. Same on the
>> same spec on the V-Max.
>> Okay. Now, that has what like it looks
like arrow wheel disc or something.
>> Yes. So that is the high speed in terms
of top speed car. So you'll do over 250
in the V-Max. Okay?
>> You'll do about 220 in the high
downforce car, but of course your
cornering capability is much improved.
>> Now something I've been told like those
wheels probably cool the brakes better
than the open wheel, don't they?
>> It all depends on also where the air
flow is going from inside of the wheel,
right? How are you channeling that in
and out? And yes, we look at all that
CFD work and make sure that each of
these wheel packages gets as much
cooling air without chopping up the air
for the rear tire.
>> Well, it's very very impressive. Well,
let's uh let's open them up and take a
look at the interior. OB it's front to
back seating. I just can't wait for guys
to take their wires out. How you doing
back there, honey? You all right? You
know, it makes me laugh. But, you know,
sitting in the center,
>> yeah,
>> just from years of driving my F1, your
Apillars are back here. So you have an
unobstructed view of the road and it
really is a perfect because you're right
in the center. You know, you know, so
many cars now driving the Viper or
something like I got one wheel on the
yellow line. Where am I? You know,
>> it's a driver focused experience and the
passenger is there as co-pilot like in a
fighter jet. So you actually have a
really fun route experience. Yeah,
>> you do as a driver.
>> Yeah. Well, it's great.
>> Well, both of these are road cars.
Obviously, it's street legal in every
respect. I would probably go with the
non downforce only because I I know I'm
standing on the splitter, but believe
me, I would figure out a way to break
it. You know, you're just you're trying
to part what what So, I I would probably
go with this. What? Let's start this
this one first if we could.
>> You know what I would do when
>> I would order mine with those wheels. I
would get I would get this with the
regular sort of low splitter for lack of
a better word. Uh, and it it just looks
more efficient to me. I mean, the wing
is great, but it just attracts police
and other interesting people.
>> There's an elegance to this car. Have a
little bit of luggage compartment in the
back there as well. So, there's a little
bit more practical.
>> So, you can take a trip, honey. It's
practical.
>> Well, let's open up. The door is right
here right?
>> Yes. You can come in either side. So,
I'll join you in that.
>> Okay.
Oh, wow. There we are.
And much like the F1, sit down, swing
your legs around.
>> Sit down, use the sill as a bench.
>> Okay.
>> Then swing your legs in.
>> This is great for old guys.
>> Oh, actually, yeah, it's quite actually
not bad at all.
>> Yeah, with the two-step, you don't have
to get in any sort of funky position.
Yeah. And now you're well situated.
>> There you are. And you've got seat
controls on the lower left there.
>> Right here.
>> Yeah, right there. Up there if you'd
like to move it around.
>> No, that's all right. Actually, it feels
pretty good.
>> Wheels got manual adjustment.
>> And you have an unobstructed view of the
dash. That's good.
>> I'll close you in here once. Yeah. Just
pull down on that hard and she'll come
down.
If you press the brake and hit engine
start on the top right there,
hard press on the brake.
Engine's fired on.
>> This is very good.
>> Now you're in your fighter jet,
>> right?
>> You're ready for takeoff here. 1250
horsepower and ready to rip.
>> Oh, I see. And this comes in.
>> So, you got adjustment there.
>> And how do you lock it down
>> below the wheel? There's just a manual
lock in kind of right under the wheel
column. A little bit more forward, I
believe. Is it way down? Oh, way down
here. And you got air conditioning. And
there we go.
>> And you got air conditioning. Car comes
with Apple CarPlay as well. So, you got
your phone integration.
>> And you've got the good air
conditioning.
>> No options on it.
>> When we drive, you'll see you've got
your various drive modes. You're right.
You're in street right now. I press that
mode button.
>> You'll come into sport mode. Now, you've
got four-wheel drive. The V8 is on. And
then we've got our track mode, which is
kind of like a sport plus.
>> And what is the nor the the normal
non-sport mode is what? Frontwheel all
>> street. Street is just EV for us. So
street will have you 500 horsepower EV
power only.
>> Gotcha.
>> It'll use the V8 as a generator, so
you'll constantly keep up your charge
and it's a very relaxed driving
experience. Sport is then much more
engaging. And the V8's powering the rear
wheels. And that track mode, you start
putting in your shift times. And then
track plus, you're actually dropping the
whole car by over an inch. And you're
really just suited for the track. Very
good.
Does that feel
a little bit more situated? So you're
sitted central,
>> which is a position we all love. You've
got good integration of creature
comforts AC actually coming out from an
addedly manufactured vent.
>> You've got a Morell partnership on the
speaker system so you can listen to
music while in here. You hear a lot of
the car but not so much that you need to
wear,
>> you know, earbuds or something to cancel
out the noise. So it is a drivercentric
experience. It's a car that makes you
pay attention. We ultimately tried to
build a car that has a ton of character.
You feel that in the interior as well,
but then you have Apple CarPlay, AC
functions and controls. And you can see
full adjustability of the wheel and the
seat as well, so you can get comfortably
packaged.
>> Yeah. Very good.
>> And right here, you see that same
aluminum alloy that we use on the
chassis comes through into our kind of
central node. It's actually the first
fully additively manufactured and
integrated wheel as well. and then a
large use of high modulus carbon fiber
all throughout. This safety cell is
actually a single piece. So, a lot of
times you'll see a separate roof from a
bottom of the chassis or monok. This is
a single monok roof um and tub all
integrated into one. So, it's actually
an incredibly advanced composite center
section of the vehicle.
>> Is this thermostatic this? So, this has
um various tints that we apply or
coatings um against the sun, but really
it's also a great view. When you're
driving on the road, you can look up at
the sky. You feel like you're in a
greenhouse. Uh and it's a very positive
experience. We really went after this
cockpit of a fighter jet type styling
with the top glass as well.
>> And I adjust my rear mirror as
>> So, your mirror adjustment.
>> Yeah. Is on the sides there. You press
it down once and that makes it active.
press on top of it and now you should be
able to adjust in and out.
>> So, yeah.
>> Oh, yeah.
>> Oh, now we just fold it up.
>> Okay. Yeah.
>> So, you have the folding function and
then you've got the individual
adjustment function as well.
>> Now, to get it back out, what do I do?
>> So, press it once very fast. And now you
should be able to
>> get it down as well.
>> So, yeah, full adjustability,
>> stable mirror system.
>> Very nice.
>> Let's take her out for a drive.
>> All right. Heat. Heat.
Heat.
Heat.
Heat.
Heat.
Heat. Heat.
Yeah, you figure out how much car there
is when you're sitting in the middle
here. So, when I go around corners, I'm
just watching to make sure I don't touch
those fenders on the curb. But, you get
used to it pretty quick.
I love the fact that you can put the
window all the way down.
You get a lot of thumbs up in this car,
gentlemen.
Boy, this motor just loves to rev. You
can feel it. Soon as we get out of this
traffic, we can open it up a little bit.
You know, I first got involved in this
project 10 years ago. They were just
kind of building the factory and showing
us the 3D printed pieces and we're going
to 3D print the whole car. And I'm
thinking, uh, really? Can you do that?
Okay. You know, and I I'm stunned
that the finished product is as good as
this is. Cuz I thought sitting back to
front, that's kind of weird. That's kind
of like my rocket. But I enjoy my drive.
And I love this driving position. You're
dead center in the middle of the road.
So, you have exactly the same amount of
space on each side. You look to your
left, you look to your right. And that
is really kind of cool. And this engine,
boy,
the first time out, design your own
engine and build it and have it work and
have it pass all these tests. It It's
pretty amazing
cuz there's so many elements. You got to
have the engineering. You've got to have
the business sense and you've got to
have the money. And very few people, a
few people have one of those. Very few
people have all three. So that's where
uh Lucas and these guys are really quite
clever. They've managed to put quote a
sensible business plan for a not very
sensible project. And I don't mean that
in a salty way. I mean it's really not a
sensible car. It only has one purpose,
just to go out and have fun. And I and
there's not much that's more fun than
this. It's it's very very good. It's I I
mean I'm laughing and smiling here. And
we haven't even open it up yet. We're
just sort of doawling around LA traffic.
We'll get up in the hills and see what
she does. Making our ways into the
mountains here.
Paul and Jay Leno.
Pretty epic.
As I'm driving this, in my mind, I'm
thinking it weighs
2,800 lb, 2900 lb. It's 3500, which is
still light for cars of this nature,
especially with all the safety equipment
and everything. It carries its weight so
low. You know, your battery and
everything is way down low, below the
seat level here. So, you're sitting down
in the car. So, it's uh Yeah. I mean,
grip, everything is fantastic. There's
just enough rawness in this to make it
really, really cool.
This is the kind of vehicle I would
imagine Gord Gordon Murray would give
his blessings to. It has his same kind
of ethos.
The ride is very compliant. It's very,
very good. I'm in sporting mode right
now. I don't know if I don't think the
suspension changes,
but it's really just about perfect. Just
firm enough, but I'm not getting beat
up. I've hit a couple of potholes
already, and it's not like a kidney
punch, you know. And this chassis is so
rigid. When I was backing out on my
driveway, the front wheel was off the
ground in turning because it it didn't
flex at all.
I don't know if there's power assist on
this steering. I think there probably
must be cuz you've got the the
frontwheel drive and the hybrid unit,
but it feels very direct. It's very very
good. I mean, it's not so light you
think, oh, this is power steering, but
it's it's good. It's really good.
It's cozy.
But I'm not mistaken. I believe this car
has a track record around Laguna Secika.
I hate to say it's like a go-kart, but
it's like a go-kart, you know, cuz the
car only feels as wide as the seat I'm
sitting in. It's not until you look out
the window. I got these two big fenders
over here. I can't imagine trying to
park this thing, but I'm not going to
worry about that now.
It is very relaxing and it's very
smooth. You know, I thought it might be
just blaring in my ear and slamming down
and and you know, just a lot of
vibrations, but no, not bad at all.
Exactly what I would want. No more than
that. It's very
steering just the right amount of
pressure. You don't have to muscle it,
but you use just a little bit, you know,
so you don't get overconfident here. You
got to pay attention driving a car like
this, but you're always going to be
going way faster than you thought you
were.
Not that I'm doing that now, of course.
The steering is great. I still don't
know if it's power assisted or not. I
don't know whether it is, but whatever
it is, it's perfect.
Right now, I have it in the automatic
mode. You can switch down to to manual
if you want, but I can do that pretty
much just by dropping it gear. There we
go.
Yeah.
Oh, I mean
the cool thing is I can go down to the
factory. It's like it's like 38 miles
from my house.
Oh yeah.
It's well damped. That's for sure.
I see what he means by not missing that
double clutch transmission.
Yes sir.
Well, I can get used to this very
quickly.
Nice righthander.
There we go, Jay. Hell yeah.
Definitely a little bit of sand on the
road.
Arrow just sucked that right up.
Nice.
There we go.
Boy, if there's a better car for
blasting through the canyons on a Sunday
morning, I don't know what it is. This
is unbelievable. It's just
just magnificent.
I mean, the fun part is I looked at that
chassis. You saw it, too. And you can
see how it's built. It gives you the
confidence. A little bit of a sandstorm
here.
You know, a lot of times when you deal
with small manufacturers, you look at
things and go, "That looks kind of
dicey, would it?" Oh, yeah. They save a
few money doing it. No, not here. I
think whatever this car costs, it's
worth every penny.
That is just unbelievable.
J's getting familiar up there. I can
tell. It takes a lot of work to drive
this. It's not really at all. I mean,
you you got to pay attention obviously,
of course, but I mean, it's it's very
very good. Very responsive. Much like a
lot of carbon fiber cars, you can pick
up every rock and chip. That's why you
want to get one of these things with the
uh you know the plastic coatings.
Save your pain. Oh, nice. Rightander
down. Shift in a second.
7,000 RPM.
Grab that tight apex. Nice j.
I'm not even sure I would play the radio
in this thing. It's so much fun to
drive. It makes you concentrate.
A lot of cars kind of make you lazy
because they do everything for you. But
I like the fact that this is uh
Yes sir.
There we go. Jay, push it. I'm sorry. I
just have a car in front of me with a
camera. It's so much slower than this
thing.
Oil temperature good. Water temperature
good. It's a hot day today. Air
condition holds you. A lot of times
these kind of cars, especially a glass
roof, you think, "Oh, it's going to get
too hot." No, it's not. I I barely have
the air conditioning on all the way, and
it's more than cool.
>> Well, Jay, what did you think? Right.
Legally, I have to get one of these. I'm
sorry. You know, it's very, very good.
10 years ago, when I drove the prototype
in the center, I went, "Yeah, but it'll
never make the road." So, this is kind
of silly, but you know, it's like a
motorcycle. This a car you go out and
Sunday morning. It's incredible. Is the
steering power assistant?
>> Yes.
>> Oh, it is. Okay. Because I like it
because maybe it is. Maybe I'm thinking,
well, it's got the hybrid drive. It's
got it's got to be power, but it doesn't
feel it. So, you get the feedback. It's
very
>> feedback is excellent. It's a bit on the
heavier side.
>> You know what? I like the heavier side
because it it makes you realize you're
dealing with 3,000 lb. You know,
sometimes you get in cars and they're so
light you off, you know. You know, when
I look at the chassis, you realize how
well thought out the product is. You
know, I look a lot of cars people build
and they go, I recognize that. I
recognize that. But this is all it car
you look at. Look, look at that chassis.
You don't have to be an engineer to
understand how strong it is. I mean,
3500 lb. People might think that cuz I
was getting 2850, something like that,
but there's no cow shake. There's no I
mean, it is bumpy. I don't feel it
ripple through the car. When we were
backing out of my garage, I was talking
about it. That wheel was off the ground
because I got uneven pavement and it
doesn't flex. You know, I've got a a
four-door link. When you go over
railroad tracks, the rear wheel doors go
like this for heating plastic. You know,
they have to sort of put steel beams in
to uh to beef up the frame. When you
look at the frame of this thing, the way
it's put together, it it's it's very
Boy, it's really good. And for somebody
to develop a motor like this first time
out, it really is impressive. It really
is impressive. It's it it's very very
good. I'm stunned that you just got it
to pass the hardest test of all. You
know, that's the one almost nobody 1%
maybe get through. You know, all these
supercars from Europe, you got to bring
them in on Montana plates and all this
nonsense of people do just to get the
car here. Americanbuilt, Americanmade.
It's 38 miles from my home. I prop down
the factory and yell at the guy. Yeah.
Come see us, Jay. No, it's Well, I I I
won't come to see you. I keep thinking,
well, that's my last supercar. All I got
to do this the whole case. This is very
Now this is the downforce model.
>> This is the high downforce. You were in
the V-Max. It was a joy to see you
carving up the canyons in it as well.
>> Well, you had to go slow cuz we had a
camera on
>> and you realize how much more is here.
And I just love that motor the way it
revs. It It just Boy, it's really great.
It it it's just very very good to have
an engine be this good first time out.
How many miles on the test vehicle? Over
50,000 on our test vehicle and across
the fleet over 100,000. That's high
performance driving. For example, we
simulate backto back track laps on an
engine dynam.
And I see what you mean about not
missing.
Boom. Yeah. It's quick and you get the
TV filament.
>> Yeah. Yeah. That's great. And we've done
both high and low temp. We did high
altitude low temp in the winter and
mammoth and we go out to the high desert
valley. We get the full
California high desert
and the air conditioning does keep up.
You've got this glass roof here which
engineering
but just press the button pick up
another speed on the fan and it's not so
noisy that you know most cars like this
you got to turn off the air condition
when you're driving to talk because it
overpowers the power. I mean very well
put together with that very impressive.
It's a drivable car at the the end of
the day. It's another worldly experience
about having having enough comfort in it
as well. Sensible. I I Yeah. Yeah.
>> I just love guys and they just I mean
you you can put your luggage back here.
No, it's really impressive.
>> Can I try this one now,
>> Jay? Absolutely.
>> Let's get you in the high downforce.
>> All right.
>> Well, we're now the high downforce car.
I'm not sure I'll be able to tell any
difference, but we'll see.
You know, it's just so easy to drive.
You know, a lot of times when you build
when you drive, not just the prototypes,
but sometimes one or two all supercars,
there's kind of a kit car feel to it. I
don't get any of that here. None of
that. Well, Jay's got the hang of it
now. You know, I don't know why I
assumed the red line was like uh, you
know, 6,500 or 700. It's 11,000.
All right. That I That's a sail right
there. You can hear I'm getting up in
that RPM range.
Sounds like 67,000.
It's got a while left. Let's get to 11.
You know, there's no big rock in the
road. I join the wheel. Boom. Just avoid
it. No drama, no problems. Just 30.
Yeah. Fast reaction time for Jay. Just
dodging that rock. Looking good.
Nice corner edge right here. Tight apex.
Yeah.
Good. Jay, you know, I'm a pretty old
guy. He said to me, "Okay, what's the
last super car you could buy?" I got to
go with you.
There you go. There we go. That's the
rev you want to hear.
All right. Come on, baby. Make some
noise.
Yeah. Very good.
And that's only 8,000 RPM.
We got another 3,000 to go.
just hug that inside line.
Don't move it around. Just great.
I'm trying to say off the camera cuz God
cars bumpers and with these uh with
these brakes. It's very very good with
the car now. He's looking good
in a second. Says RPM looking good, J.
I can look through this engine all day
long. This thing can be a pulley. Jay
looks like he wants to eat that camera
car as much right now. Anyway, listen. I
hope you enjoy this Americanmade,
American built supercar as much as I do.
I couldn't be prouder of Lucas and the
gang. It's really exciting. This kind of
thing is doesn't just happen in Europe.
It happens 38 miles from my house. I
predict Torren will be the new Bodina.
Hey, we'll see you guys next week. I'm
going to keep driving here. I got to
lose this camera car.