Supercar (5) Cizeta Moroder V16T

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We are in the fifth week of supercars. It is quite amazing how many supercars have been designed in the past and are still being developed. A great deal of money has been spent, but it concentrated the capability and flair of many automotive engineers. We now concentrate on the second half of Supercars.

The Cizeta Moroder V16T

The Cizeta Moroder V16T is known (by those who heard of it) for an engine layout never seen before. It is mounted transversely due to the length of it, which makes it the widest car ever produced. The transverse V16 engine and longitudinal gearbox form a T-shape.

A prototype was developed by Marcello Gandini, who was employed by Lamborghini. Lamborghini heavily modified Gandini’s design, so Gandini took his design to Cizeta.

The engine was basically two V8 Ferrari units with the timing mechanism occupying a centre space. The longitudinally positioned transmission was driven by gearing between the two V8 parts of the engine. Two Ferrari engine blocks could not be used, so a custom unit had to be cast. This design meant a huge engineering endeavour by a small company.

Cizeta had no company and engineering history or racing experience, but they managed to sell this car for $400,000.00. Only ten units were ever built.