The Fallen Stars Cizeta-Moroder V16 T

Two Italians meet to make a dream come true: one was a man who preferred his cars hardcore like Lamborghinis. He was in Los Angeles where he had moved to build something of his own. His name was Claudio Zampolli, an engineer who opened a workshop repairing and transforming sports cars. The other was Giorgio Moroder, a man of music who left Italy to become a citizen of the world. And he did precisely that by winning no fewer then three Oscars for the musical soundtracks he wrote, such Top Gun and Flashdance.

The famous composer and multiple Oscar winner Giorgio Moroder with the first example of the Cizeta V16T. This project was only possible thanks to him

From words to actions with the technician who emulated the Miura by installing transversely, not a 12-cylinder but a 16-cylinder engine and the composer who agreed to finance the Cizeta Moroder car that was destined for production.

Born to surprise: a V16-cylinder, naturally aspirated 5,995cc engine producing 540hp created by the engineer Claudio Zampolli and bravely mounted transversely on the Cizeta V16 T

In this “Italian concert”, it’s hard to imagine the designer not coming from the Bel Paese, and who better than Gandini, the man who penned Lamborghini’s greatest successes to work his magic?

All set? Not exactly. Time and costs kept expanding. Moroder abandoned the music of the engine for more electronic sounds and Zampolli, after presenting model 001 at the Geneva Motor Show in 1988 – one that remained unique in style and characteristics – managed to produce just 8 more. 

The unmistakable hand of the designer Marcello Gandini can be seen in the design of the Cizeta V16 T. Some traits unequivocally recall the Lamborghini Diablo that went into production two years later in 1990

A dream that was both realized and, at the same time, shattered. Number 001 was recently sold at auction by RM Sotheby’s in Phoenix, Arizona for $1,363,500. And so the star shined once again.

The powerful profile of the Cizeta that, despite Gandini’s elegant search for lightness, cannot hide the bulk of the mid-mounted 16-cylinder engine

An image that underlines the uniqueness of 001: the presence of the name Moroder that would no longer be present in the following 8 cars after the composer left the company

Getting behind the wheel is an authentic dive into a world of passion accentuated by the Italian red of the leather interior. The driver’s seat is decidedly sporty

The Cizeta V16 T during one of the first tests at Monza. Its top speed of 328 km/h is perfectly in line with its generous torque