World’s Only Cizeta-Moroder Prototype Has Sixteen Cylinders, One Name, and a Second Chance at Monterey

Photo credit: Karissa Hosek / RM Sotheby’s
Claudio Zampolli spent years fixing other people’s dreams in Los Angeles before deciding to build his own. A former Lamborghini test driver and development engineer, he wanted something that would make the Countach look ordinary. He found a partner in Giorgio Moroder, the three-time Academy Award-winning composer behind some of the biggest disco and film scores of the era. Together they put their names on a car that carried both: the Cizeta-Moroder V16T. Chassis 001 is the only one that ever wore both names at once. In two weeks it heads to RM Sotheby’s Monterey auction with an estimate between $1.4 million and $1.8 million.

Marcello Gandini envisioned the Chizeta V16T’s body with the stunning, aggressive lines that had originally been given to Lamborghini as a Countach replacement. Chrysler, the business that owned Lamborghini at the time, was not entirely sold on them, preferring a gentler curve with more conventional styling. Gandini wasn’t impressed, so he handed along the rejected design to Zampolli instead. A striking quartet of pop-up headlights sit atop a nose that cuts straight up into a sharply curved windshield. The side intakes are larger and more severely flared than those on later production cars. In profile, this monster is massive: more than 80 inches wide, 3 inches wider than a modern Ferrari Testarossa, and only 43.5 inches tall to boot. Finished in a gorgeous pearl white and featuring a one-of-a-kind red leather interior, the impression is nevertheless confusing, as if you’ve stepped back into another age entirely.

The power comes from the innovative 6.0-liter V16 engine, which is positioned transversely behind the seats, precisely like the Lamborghini Miura from two decades ago. There are no bolted-together V8s in this beauty, as it is a single, lightweight aluminum block with two flat-plane crankshafts gearing up to a central output shaft and eight overhead camshafts controlling 64 valves. Bosch K-Jetronic injection delivers fuel to the cylinders, and official estimates indicate 540 horsepower at an exhilarating 8,000 rpm and 400 lb-ft of torque all the way down to 6,000 rpm. Power is delivered to the rear wheels via a five-speed ZF manual gearbox. When it was new, the 0-60 mph time was roughly 4 seconds, and the top speed was just north of 200 mph, leaving you breathless. Then there’s the characteristic sound, a deep, rolling V8 “woofle” at idle that transforms into a screaming high-revving roar as the engine starts up.



Chassis 001 made its public debut on December 5, 1988, in Los Angeles, with Jay Leno presenting the event. Giorgio Moroder even composed an original piece of music for the occasion, which he appropriately titled “A Car Is Born”. Chassis 001 appeared at the 89 LA and Geneva auto shows before disappearing when Zampolli and Moroder parted ways, and the production cars were dubbed Cizeta V16Ts instead. In the end, just nine of these were produced. For more than 30 years, this prototype was Moroders’ constant friend.



Canepa Design gave this automobile a complete mechanical repair in 2018, adding extra heat shielding and doing quality control to get it functioning properly, then they completed even more cosmetic and technical work in 2024. This automobile has almost minimal mileage, less than 400 kilometers, as it has rarely been driven at all. It was previously displayed in the Wedge Shaped Concept Cars and Prototypes class at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in 2024. It’s now for sale with a one-of-a-kind NFT and a fairly cool package, including a Giorgio Moroder EP on a four-track record designed specifically for the automobile, a 3D artistic portrayal, an extremely detailed 3D scan, and proper digitized documentation indicating where it came from.





Most of the original nine cars appear identical at first glance, but Chassis 001 stands out in every way that matters. The side intakes are larger, and the lights are different; the mirrors, dashboard, inside the tunnel, seats, and even the steering wheel are all distinctive. The cherry on top is that it’s the only one to have the particular nameplate in the front that tells the entire tale of how it was created.
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