Organic-looking brake assemblies debut on new Czinger 21C Spyder

Across California, it's time for Monterey Car Week, a cluster of events I once called " Comic-Con and the Oscars but with wheels ." For the last however many years, though, it's mostly felt like an accumulation of rich people and influencers all crammed into the now-traffic-snarled peninsula, each paying 10 times the normal price for five-night minimums in three-star motels. While being there in person is pretty far down the list of things I want to do these days, that doesn't mean there's no interesting news coming out of the event. And no, I'm not talking about that hideous collaboration between Singer and Louis Vuitton. I'm instead referring to the latest creation from Czinger.

We first encountered Czinger's direct-metal laser-sintering technology a decade ago, before founder Kevin Czinger had even started the car company—at the time, it was still Divergent 3D. But what better way to show to the rest of the automotive industry that they should contract with you as a parts supplier than by making your own car? That was the idea behind Czinger (the company), and it's an approach that worked, as Divergent now has clients in the automotive sector as well as aerospace.

And what a car it is : a hybrid with tandem seating and an ability to set new lap records should you have the skill. But the performance is less interesting than the engineering. Free of its body panels, the structure looks more organic than mechanical, with topology-optimized shapes that are lighter but no less performing than traditionally designed alternatives.