Get Hotcars Premium. Start your free trial today

Called the 16 cylinders of Italian passion, the Cizeta-Moroder V16T's engine is based on the Lamborghini Urraco's DOHC flat-plane V8.

A crack team of seasoned designers and engineers was behind the Cizeta-Moroder V16T's creation. We're talking the best of Italy; the very same men responsible for iconic sports cars such as the original Lamborghini Countach. In fact, more of Ferruccio Lamborghini’s original crew schemed behind closed doors to create this bonafide successor to the Countach than there were those of them working at the Sant’ Agata Bolognese plant after the Chrysler acquisition.

You see, America’s Chrysler Corporation took over Lamborghini in 1987 before selling it to Malaysian investment group Mycom Setdco and Indonesian group V'Power Corporation in 1994, who later sold it to Volkswagen Group in 1998, where it was under the control of the group's Audi division.

Though a creation of Lambo alumni, the new car would neither be called a Lamborghini nor designated a Countach. Instead, it had Lambo imprinted on its DNA, a true supercar in soul and body. And so, in December 1988 and from Modena - the city of fast cars - came the Cizeta-Moroder, rocking a brand-new V16 engine with a projected top speed exceeding 200 mph. It was called the 16 cylinders of Italian passion.

Related: Why The 1989 Cizeta V16T Failed To Storm The US As Promised

The Cizeta-Moroder V16T initially called just Cizeta V16T, is an Italian sports car produced between 1991 and 1995. It first appeared at a Los Angeles press conference in December 1988 but wouldn’t go into production until 1990.

Cizeta was conceived by the 49-year-old Italian businessman Claudio Zampolli who had always dreamt of a supercar with his name on it. Although Zampolli assembled what was literally an all-star team comprising Lamborghini veterans to bring his dream to fruition, he had worked as a test-and-development engineer at Lamborghini in the Paolo Stanzani days before moving to Los Angeles to open his own business importing high-performance Italian cars.

So, to all intent and purposes, Cizeta had ‘star’ figuratively emblazoned on its forehead. The team included Oliviero Pedrazzi as chief engineer and designer, Achille Bevini and Ianose Bronzatti as chassis and suspension overseers, and Marcello Gandini in charge of the bodywork. All played similar roles in the creation of the venerable Lamborghini Countach.

The company producing the V16T started as Cizeta Motors but was later called Cizeta-Moroder Motors to recognize Giorgio Moroder, the renowned composer who owned a 50-percent stake in the enterprise. Although Moroder’s contribution was only financial, he had a need for speed and often serviced his Countach at Zampolli’s Claudio’s Italia Sports Cars shop. More than his money, though, Zampolli valued Moroda’s influence in helping ‘sell’ the new car to “rich people” circles.

But more importantly, the money mattered less to Zampolli, compared to the dream he'd nursed for at least ten years to see his initials on his own supercar (Cizeta is how the Italians pronounce C.Z, the initials for Claudio Zampolli). He already made money importing and servicing exotic cars. In that spirit, Cizeta was more a dream machine than a business.

Related: This Is Why Lamborghini Opted To Build The New Countach

The V16 in its name announced Cizeta’s transversely-mounted 16-cylinder engine. A V16 engine is a sixteen-cylinder piston engine with two banks of eight cylinders arranged in a V configuration around a common crankshaft. You don’t see them every Tuesday these days, how much more in the late eighties and early nineties. They are less common than engines with fewer cylinders, such as V8 and V12 engines.

Cizeta was proud to shout from the rooftop that it had a V16 mill tucked away in the central rear position, just forward of the rear axle and behind the passenger seats. The engine is based on the Lamborghini Urraco 90° DOHC flat-plane V8, which means Cizeta was powered by a technically superior advanced transverse-configured sixteen-cylinder engine.

Definitely, the all-aluminum, 6.0-liter V16 engine was Cizeta’s greatest asset and primary selling point. You can imagine the excitement of introducing the world’s only production V16. It had 64 valves and eight overhead camshafts in lieu of the conventional four long cams since they're driven at the center of the engine block's single casting. Put differently, four-cylinder heads with gearing between the heads provide a single output from the center of the engine assembly to the five-speed transaxle.

Conclusively, the V16 produced 540 horsepower at 8,000 rpm and 400 lb-ft of torque at 6,000 rpm, propelling the car beyond 200 mph and 0 to 60 mph in 4 seconds. "I've always been fascinated with big things," said Zampolli. "Ever since I was a kid I've liked the largest and most powerful cars. I don't knock the V-8 Ferraris and Lamborghinis—they're fine cars—but the car that carries my own initials has to be something special."

The big mill certainly stood Cizeta out both among supercars toting 12-cylinder engines and V8- or less-powered mass production cars. Additionally, the V16 sounded just as powerful. The car would have to carry around a $280,000 price tag, but the company was confident it would sell just fine. All they had to do was shift at least 50 Cizetas a year, but it was capable of building a hundred units in that time.

Philip Uwaoma, this bearded black male from Nigeria, is fast approaching two million words in articles published on various websites, including toylist.com, rehabaid.com, and autoquarterly.com. After not getting credit for his work on Auto Quarterly, Philip is now convinced that ghostwriting sucks. He has no dog, no wife- yet- and he loves Rolls Royce a little too much.