A supercar styled by the man who designed the Lamborghini Miura and Countach and bearing the name of an Oscar-winning, genre-defining musical legend who also served as the project’s primary investor would seem destined for at least moderate success. Alas, the Cizeta-Moroder V16T’s fate as an abject failure has only been avoided thanks to its rarity and red-hot status on the aftermarket, as evidenced by the $1.8 million this example could sell for at an upcoming RM Sotheby’s event.
Claudio Zampolli, a Lamborghini test driver and development engineer who founded a successful exotic vehicle service center, wanted to make his own car. Power would come from a 6.0-liter V16, notable not only for its numerous cylinder count but also its transverse mounting in the engine bay, a configuration that was abandoned after the Miura for the more easily balanced longitudinal orientation Lamborghini still uses today in the Revuelto. He even enlisted Marcello Gandini—of Miura and Countach fame—to craft its beautiful body, which looks something like a Countach with slightly softened edges.
Additional funding came from Giorgio Moroder, the legendary producer dubbed the “Father of Disco,” who wrote and/or produced numerous hits dating back to the 1970s, from classic dance floor staples like Donna Summer’s “Love to Love You Baby,” “MacArthur Park,” and “On the Radio” to classic Top Gun anthems “Danger Zone” (performed by Kenny Loggins) and “Take My Breath Away” (performed by Berlin)—the latter won him his third Academy Award, for “Best Original Song.”
Moroder had met Zampolli in his LA shop, and their shared interest in sports cars ultimately led to the birth of Cizeta-Moroder V16T chassis No. 001 prototype, which was shown to the public at a glamorous unveiling event held in 1988, hosted by Jay Leno, and scored by an original Moroder song titled “A Car is Born.” Unfortunately, Moroder dropped his name and departed from the project shortly after due to frustrations with delays, and only nine Cizeta V16Ts were produced.
The chassis No. 1 prototype, the only example with Moroder in the name, is what RM Sotheby’s is offering. It’s fully functional and brimming with unique elements that never made it to production, including significantly larger side air intakes with more strakes, a diagonal crease in the lower bodywork tying into the rear bumper design, different turn signals and fog lamps, different side mirrors, and a completely unique interior.
Moroder actually kept chassis No. 1 for decades, commissioning a full restoration shortly before selling it in 2022 for $1,363,500 alongside an NFT that includes a four-track EP exclusive to the car, a 3D artistic rendering of the car created in collaboration with digital artist “Soulajit,” a 3D scan of the car, and its digitized provenance documentation.
Now, RM Sotheby’s expects the sole Cizeta-Moroder V16T to sell for $1.4 to $1.8 million—more than double what non-Moroder Cizeta V16Ts fetch—at its upcoming Monterey Car Week auction on August 15.