Sometimes the best supercars begin with rejection. That’s exactly what happened when Chrysler reportedly passed on Marcello Gandini’s original design for the Lamborghini Diablo.
Rather than letting the shape die, the legendary designer adapted it for an entirely different project, one centered around a transverse-mounted V16 engine.
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Now, that one-of-a-kind prototype is heading to auction.
A Prototype With a Unique Story
The 1988 Cizeta-Moroder V16T prototype, chassis 001, will cross the block at RM Sotheby’s in Monterey, California. It is the most historically significant example of the short-lived supercar.
It’s the only car to wear the Cizeta-Moroder name and one of just 10 V16Ts ever completed. However, there’s a caveat, and it’s a big one.
As a prototype, the car does not have a 17-digit VIN, which means it can’t be registered or driven on public roads.
It will likely live out its life as a collector’s showpiece rather than a weekend driver.
From Test Driver to Supercar Creator
The project was the brainchild of former Lamborghini test driver and engineer Claudio Zampolli, who left Italy for Los Angeles and opened an exotic car repair shop.
There he befriended legendary producer Giorgio Moroder, and together they set out to build a supercar unlike anything else on the road.
Moroder, the man behind several of Donna Summer’s biggest hits, had also collected three Academy Awards for his film scores.
The Cizeta name itself represents the Italian pronunciation of the initials C and Z, taken from Claudio Zampolli.
