Key facts:
Sometimes the best supercars are born from rejection. That is exactly what happened when Chrysler, reportedly, did not accept Marcello Gandini’s original design for the Lamborghini Diablo. Instead of letting that shape disappear, the legendary designer adapted it for a completely different project, whose heart was a transversely mounted V16 engine. Now this unique prototype is heading to auction.
Unique prototype at auction
The 1988 Cizeta-Moroder V16T prototype, chassis 001, will appear at RM Sotheby’s auction in Monterey, California. It is the most historically significant example of the short-lived supercar. It is the only car bearing the name Cizeta-Moroder and one of only ten completed V16Ts.
There is one major caveat, however. As a prototype, the car does not have a 17-character VIN number, which means it cannot be registered or used on public roads. So it will most likely spend its life as a collector’s exhibit rather than a car for weekly drives.
Test driver and film composer in the garage
The project originated in the mind of former Lamborghini test driver and engineer Claudio Zampolli. He moved from Italy to Los Angeles, where he opened a workshop specializing in exotic car maintenance. There he befriended legendary producer Giorgio Moroder, and together they decided to create a supercar unlike anything else on the road. Moroder, known for his work on Donna Summer’s hits, also won three Academy Awards for film music.
The name Cizeta itself comes from the Italian pronunciation of the letters C and Z, i.e., the initials of Claudio Zampolli.
Sixteen cylinders behind the cabin
To attract attention, Zampolli commissioned a six-liter naturally aspirated V16, mounted transversely behind the cabin, paired with a five-speed manual. The engine reportedly produced 540 horsepower at 8,000 rpm, had 64 valves and eight overhead camshafts. The body was created by Gandini, who had already given the world the Miura, Countach and Lancia Stratos. The model had four pop-up headlights and was three inches wider than the Ferrari Testarossa.
According to Car and Driver archives, the estimated price of the V16T in 1989 was $280,000. Adjusted for inflation, that is about $772,000 in today’s money — true hypercar territory even before the term existed. For comparison, a Ford Mustang LX 5.0 of the same year cost less than $14,000, and the flagship Ferrari Testarossa started at around $150,000. Cizeta asked almost twice as much as Ferrari’s top model — and that from a company almost no one had heard of.
The lost Diablo
The design story is just as fascinating. Gandini originally created the successor to the Lamborghini Countach, but Chrysler, which then owned the Italian brand, insisted on softening the sharp edges before the model was released under the name Diablo.
Gandini disliked the changes so much that he left the project, and later used many of his own ideas for the Cizeta. The irony is that Lamborghini continued to celebrate Gandini’s designs but kept the author himself at a distance. He said he was not even consulted about the revival of the modern Countach until the model debuted, and he later criticized the retro supercar for betraying the philosophy of the original.
Birth of a car, hosted by Jay Leno
Chassis 001 debuted in Los Angeles on December 5, 1988. The event was hosted by Jay Leno, and Moroder specially wrote a song for the presentation titled “A Car Is Born”. The pearl-white prototype has unique body panels, lighting, mirrors and a red leather interior that differ significantly from the nine production cars assembled later.
Moroder later parted ways with Zampolli before production began, so this prototype remained the only example with the Cizeta-Moroder badge. He kept the car until 2022, after which it underwent restoration at Bruce Canepa’s workshop near Santa Cruz. Unfinished details were completed, and the car was prepared for the road. It later appeared at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in 2024.
A legacy that cannot be registered
This car is an incredibly interesting piece of automotive history. If Chrysler had simply approved Gandini’s original proposal for Lamborghini, one of the maddest V16 supercars in history might never have existed. Or it would have worn an emblem with a raging bull on its nose. We will never know.
Now this prototype is more than just a rare lot. It is a reminder of times when supercar creators were not afraid to take risks and built cars around one big idea. Even without the ability to drive on the highway, this Cizeta remains a witness to a boldness that is increasingly rare today. For collectors, it is a chance to take home not just a machine, but an entire untold chapter in the history of Italian design and racing ambitions.