In the annals of the history or rare and unusual concept cars, there can be very few more rare and more unusual than the 1995
Cizeta-Moroder V16T. The car was produced as a result of cooperation between Italian automotive engineer Claudio Zampolli and Giorgio Moroder who was a well known and highly successful music composer, who enjoyed significant influence, fame and fortune during the wave of electronic music particular to that era. The name for the marque comes from the nickname of the designer Claudio Zampolli (Ci-Zeta) and the surname pf Giorgio Moroder.
Although the collaboration between the two began in 1990, Zampolli had been working on his
Cizeta dream car, as early as the mid-eighties and had actually created a fully functioning prototype in 1988. The original
Cizeta bore a striking resemblance to the
Lamborghini Diablo, which was no great coincidence as it was designed for Zampolli by no less than Marcello Gandini on behalf of
Lamborghini. However
Lamborghini took Gandini’s design and made some dramatic changes to it. It would appear that hell has no greater fury than a car designer scorned, and Gandini left
Lamborghini stable to work with Zampolli and Moroder on the condition that he was given a free hand with the car’s design.
Apart from retaining his design concept, Gandini also dreamed of installing a V16 engine in the car, that would be mounted transversely, making the car one of the widest ever produced. The thinking behind the V16 concept was that two V8 engines would essentially be grafted together, sharing a single block and connected in the center, through dual timing mechanisms. Specially designed gearing between the two engines was set up to provide transmission that would be mounted longitudinally.
The engine(s) were mounted just forward of the Cizeta’s rear axle, behind the passenger seats. The car’s chassis was formed of a honeycomb structure made from aluminum. Such a feat of engineering, involving the design and commission of almost all the engine components, whilst appreciated by those in the upper echelons of the performance car industry led to very limited commercial success. Designing and implementing a new engine was a huge feat, especially for an upcoming manufacturer. Most of the drivetrain components were specially outsourced.
The 1995
Cizeta-Moroder V16T was viewed from the outset by performance car aficionados as being as highly exclusive as they can get. The car could reach 205 miles per hour (328 km/h without breaking sweat, and it’s nothing to sixty miles per hour (97 km/h) time was a mere four seconds.
A car of this exclusivity and power had to be either of two things. Rare and expensive. Unfortunately the
Cizeta-Moroder was both with only ten being made in its entire history and in the history of the collaboration as this was the only car they ever made. Rumor has it that the company will accept orders for a custom built model, but it seems that there is now little demand for such an exceptional car.
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April 6, 2008, 1:54 pm
