Cizeta Moroder V16T 1:1 Scale Resin Prototype Styling Model
It was down to the deisre of Italian composer Giorgio Moroder to have his own V16 engined supercar that led to a colabboration with ex Lamborghini tengineer and test driver Claudio Zampolli with the suitable outrageous styling by Marcello Gandini.
You might think this looks a lot like a Lamborghini Diabolo, and you’d be right. Key team members from the development and of course Gandini himself who penned the Diabolo came together to produce, well a competitor. The love of Lamborghinis was shared between Moroder and Zampolli to the extent that they formed Cizeta. Quite a big step going up against the already established Lamborghini with something quite similar in profile to their Diabolo.
The Cizeta did make it to production of course, but the styling prototype was still in the early days of development. This wood and resin mock-up has no functioning drivetrain or parts.
It is a rather fantastic looking piece and a potential way to Cizeta ownership relatively cheaply. The cars were extremely expensive which is probably why so few were ever built.
The partnership wasn’t to last sadly, Moroder was frustrated at the slow progress in the build and with the powerplant too, which also took time to make. He wanted the car body to be made from fibreglass and the engine to be an off the shelf unit from BMW, purely to get things moving.
This however was not what Zampolli had in his vision for his supercar and this reluctance to compromise on these things led to a parting of the two. The prototype styling model bears the name along with the first full prototype Cizeta – Moroder, the white car built in 1990. All customer cars were simply badged as Cizeta V16T.
This prototype comes from a time when things took a physical form and were used to show potential investors, the press or to the general public. The skill and talents used to create it are slowly disappearing as the old clay modelling techniques are used less and less. This wood and resin piece is an oddity and a collectable thing in its own right.
Either you’re a huge Cizeta fan or have a suitable museum to put it in.
The prototype went for sale on Car & Classic’s auction site. Unfortunately, I missed it, so I have no idea what it sold for. It’s largely worthless to most, but it’s priceless and it’s so unique and utterly useless.
Just as well I’d missed the sale, or I’d have probably wanted to buy it.
Latest Articles
Top Articles
Ford Motor Company Bring Back Group 5 Mk1 Escort & Group B RS200 With The Help Of Boreham Motorworks
Ford have granted a licence to Boreham Motorworks, a division of the DVRN Automotive Group, to produce new versions of not just the Mk1 Escort
The VW Golf At 50 Years Old
Europe’s number 1 selling car the VW Golf has reached 50 years old this year, starting production on the 29th of March 1974. In
Ford’s Heritage Vault Makes The Ford Times Magazine Available To The Public
Ford’s expansion through the early 20th century was something to behold, the rapid growth of the company and the success of the Model T led
The Audi 50 At 50, Germany’s First Small Car
The Audi 50 that was the basis for the VW Polo is now 50. The small car was developed ahead of the oil crisis of
The Best Things Happen In An English Shed, Especially The Tyrrell Shed At Goodwood
The Tyrrell Shed once home of the World Championship winning Tyrrell Formula 1 team has been relocated to Goodwood and is set to open for
A 1973 Ferrari 246 Dino From The Manager Of Rock Legends Led Zeppelin Sold At Auction
Something of a piece of rock and roll history went for sale with the auction of Led Zeppelin manager Peter Grant’s old Ferrari 246 Dino