Giorgio Moroder is auctioning off the prototype of a sports car he developed in the 1980s with Italian mechanic and Lamborghini specialist Claudio Zampolli. The 1988 Cizeta-Moroder V16T is the concept build of a vehicle in which Moroder had heavily invested, but which never entered production. The auction happens on January 27 in Phoenix, Arizona. See more about the car—including photos—via RM Sotheby’s.
The appeal of the Cizeta-Moroder V16T was a proposed V16 engine, which could have pushed the car past speeds of 200 miles an hour, according to a March 1989 article in Car and Driver that described it as a “big, meaty Italian supercar.” Zampolli connected with Moroder through his auto-repair business in Los Angeles, which serviced the musician’s Lamborghini Countach. Zampolli was also credited with connecting Sammy Hagar with Eddie Van Halen through one of his repair shops.
The 1989 Car and Driver report noted that the Cizeta-Moroder could cost more than $280,000—nearly $628,000 in 2021. Moroder had a 50% stake in the company, but according to Autoweek, he split from Zampolli shortly after the prototype’s build over disagreements about body materials and engine specifics. Moroder kept the original concept car, and though Zampolli attempted to continue manufacturing the vehicle, lack of funding mean that the company declared bankruptcy in 1994. Zampolli died in July 2021 at age 82.
