Cizeta
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Automotive |
| Founded | 1988 |
| Founder | |
| Defunct | 2021 |
| Headquarters | Fountain Valley, California, United States |
Key people | |
Cizeta Automobili SRL is a defunct US car manufacturer, originally headquartered in Modena, Italy, set up in the late 1980s by Claudio Zampolli, an Italian automotive engineer and Lamborghini test driver, in collaboration the music producer Giorgio Moroder.
History
[edit]The name "Cizeta" comes from the Italian pronunciation of co-founder Claudio Zampolli's initials (C.Z.). Moroder became involved into the project when he took his Lamborghini Countach for a service at Zampolli's garage.[1] Their only product, the Cizeta-Moroder V16T, featured a technically advanced transverse-configured sixteen-cylinder engine. Styled by Marcello Gandini, the body was strikingly similar to the later Lamborghini Diablo's as Gandini first proposed the design to the then Chrysler-owned Lamborghini, which altered the concept significantly. Gandini then brought the original Diablo design to Cizeta. The prototype was the only car to carry the "Cizeta-Moroder" badge, as Giorgio Moroder pulled out of the Cizeta project in 1990. The prototype remained with Giorgio Moroder for over thirty years, when, in early 2022, he sold it.[2]
No production Cizeta was ever badged "Cizeta-Moroder" but merely "Cizeta V16T". Only 8 cars (including the prototype) were built before the shutdown and relocation of the firm from Modena to Fountain Valley in 1995. Subsequently, 3 more cars were completed (two coupes, and one spyder) in 1999 and 2003.[3]
Refoundation
[edit]Mr. Zampolli moved to the US after the company went bankrupt in Italy and set up a new company in California, called Cizeta Automobili USA. He serviced exotic cars and continued to build (on demand) the Cizeta V16T.
In one instance, a Cizeta was seized by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on December 7, 2009.[4]
Zampolli died on July 7, 2021, at age 82.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ McAleer, Brendan (2018-03-09). "The impossible 16-cylinder Italian exotic that nearly succeeded". Hagerty Media. Retrieved 2024-07-28.
- ^ "1988 Cizeta-Moroder V16T | Arizona 2022". RM Sotheby's. Retrieved 2022-04-11.
- ^ "FAQ". Cizeta Automobili. Archived from the original on 2007-05-22. Retrieved 2024-07-28.
- ^ Chang, Richard S. (December 10, 2009). "Seizure of Rare Supercar Raises More Questions". The New York Times. Retrieved December 12, 2009.
- ^ Vaughn, Mark (July 7, 2021). "Claudio Zampolli, Creator of the Cizeta V16T Supercar, Has Died". Autoweek. Retrieved 8 July 2021.