Czinger to follow up 21C hypercar "sooner than you expect"

"Every now and then a genuine company comes along with genuine technology that will benefit mankind. I must have seen 200 brands come and go - only the ones that really have something special survive. We have our own technology, our own design, our own methods, and that’s unique.

“Our financial backing is paid up front - we don’t need to wait to sell a car to pay our backers. It’s not a mock-up waiting for finance - these cars you see here are fully driveable”.

Why not go electric, as is the fashion nowadays?

Sverdrup: “If it was better, we would have done it!”

Gunner: “With the requirements and targets we had it wasn’t achievable with electric propulsion. Our ethos is light-weighting and power density, and this is the best way to do it."

Your founder, Kevin Czinger, describes your additive manufacturing process as something that could revolutionise the industry. How does it benefit you?

Gunner: “You put the material where you need it, but from an architectural point of view it gives us a lot of freedom to create architectures we wouldn’t otherwise have been able to with traditional manufacturing techniques. We also have an advantage because lead times are much shorter - it gives us the flexibility to adapt and make continual improvements.”

How is this car related to parent company Divergent’s original 3D printed car, the Blade?

Gunner: "The two cars don’t share a single component. That car was done to advertise out manufacturing process - it wasn’t an end product. When I designed this car I started from scratch - we used some design inspiration from the Blade - it was Kevin’s design - but it’s completely redesigned for proper packaging, aero performance, crash safety. "

So this car isn’t just a showcase of your manufacturing tech?

Sverdrup: "We’re not a technology company, we’re a car company. A lot of people are comparing us to Rimac: Rimac is a company in the business of licensing technology. That doesn’t mean we won’t do licensing, but that’s the business for our parent company, Divergent."

When will you begin building and delivering the 21C, and is there more to come from the car?

Sverdrup: "We start production early next year - a customer who orders now is looking at two years until delivery. First customer cars will arrive end of 2021, but it depends on delays [due to coronavirus]

"We'll do 80 of the 21C - we're not going to squeeze anything more out of it. We have respect for our clients - we're hopeful this car won't depreciate, and we'll do everything we can to protect our customers investment."

How did the cancellation of Geneva impact you?

Sverdrup: "We were set to sell out [after Geneva]. That didn’t quite happen, but we’re still doing better than most. It has made us run around six months behind schedule in terms of orders. But we’re not going to give in because of a speed bump - it’s not the end of the world”.

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