Mega Rare 1994 Cizeta Moroder V16T

Have you ever wondered what the godfather of synth music would drive if he could create his own vehicle? Look no further than this beast. The godfather is Giorgio Moroder and the car is the Cizeta.

If you think this looks a lot like a Lamborghini Diablo, it's no coincidence. When Lamorghini was readying to replace the aging Countach towards the end of the 80s, Marcello Gandini, creator of the original, offered a wild new design. But Chrysler had a controlling interest in Lamborghini since 1987 and softened the edges of what Gandini submitted. Gandini took it as an insult, so he and a band of employees quit and joined forces with Claudio Zampolli to create a new brand and execute his original, pure, undiluted vision of an all-out supercar.

Gandini's vision features harder corners, crisper lines and geometric shaped. There are no circles, except for the wheels. The rear tapers dramatically down to the nose, pulling the side windows with it. The front features four (!) pop up headlights in stacks of two, smoked turn indicators, and four fog lights below that. In a slight misstep, the cheese-grater side intakes are too similar to the Ferrari Testarossa, but later versions would have more creative vertical slots.

The seller provides one dark and blurry photo of the interior. It's all-business and no-nonsense, swathed in dark plastics and leather.

In the rear is the stuff of fantasy. The Cizeta is powered by a two transversely mounted 90-degree flat plane V8 engines in one 5,995cc block. That's right. This monster has 16-cylinders working to move it from 0-60 mph in 4 seconds!

The Cizeta was launched with a glittery presentation at the 1988 Los Angeles Auto Show, beating the Diablo by two years. The press was excited, and the idea of having synth maestro Moroder's involved upped the glamour and coolness factor by an infinite degree. The car was priced at $300,000. It made quite an impression, but this was out of reach for all but a select few. The economy was slowing down, and tastes were changing. As such, just a mere 8 were made until the company dissolved in 1994. It was also never made street legal for North America, and a red example was famously (and shamefully) confiscated by the U.S. government in 2009, with a local agent snootily claiming it posed a threat to "public safety and health". What a load of sh*t. Don't they have anything better to do than steal private property? Bill Clinton's infamous Show & Display law (to help pal Bill Gates nab a Porsche 959) still lets people import non-street-legal cars, but just not for use on public roads. So what gives?

It's not exactly clear what has happened to Cizeta in successive years. And although Moroder invested in the car and original press releases bore his name, it never actually appeared on the car except on the prototype. Sources say Moroder pulled out in 1990, and the original Italy-based Cizeta company went bankrupt in 1994, but a website is up and running and accepting orders of the vehicle at a build-on-demand basis. Zampolli was last heard moving to California and founding Cizeta Automobili USA. Did he own the red car that was confiscated? Is Cizeta still alive? Will they ever be road legal here?

Fortunately, this example is somewhere in Europe, where it must be legal to drive. The seller states it is one of 3 built in right-hand drive, and the only one in blue. They don't list an odometer reading, but say it is in excellent condition. I'm betting it's been barely touched.

This thing has enormous history, super-low production volume, and tons of style and power. The fact that it's such a naughty car to have here only makes it more seductive and elusive. I love it.

Find the dealer listing here in the Czech Republic, and a classic car site ad here, where they say the price has been reduced to $500,000.

1980 BMW 528i Euro Conversion

The E12 was the first to bear the "5 Series" name. Production lasted from 1972-1981 and resulted in almost 700,000 being made (where are they all now?)

It was styled by none other than Marcello Gandini, the genius behind the Lamorghini Countach, Miura, Citroen BX and Fiat X1/9. The E12 is an interesting piece on Gandini's distinguished resume in that it's a relatively conservatively styled sedan and not the radical sports cars he is more often associated with. Working within the confines of BMW design language, he subtly but brilliant builds off the car's New Klasse predecessors and helped forge the company ahead. Every subsequent BMW design is indebted to Gandini, from Paul Bracq's E23 all the way to the E34 by Ercole Spada.

These cars were saddled with awful U.S.-spec bumpers that detracted from the aesthetics, so it's great to see Euro bumpers on this example, even if they the seller added them on later. This is NOT an authentic grey market car but a U.S. model with modifications.

The 528i was introduced in North America in 1979 replacing the 530i and featured a few improvements. The engine was a 2.8-liter inline 6-cylinder that powered the rear wheels and produced around 169 horsepower, very respectable for the time and still decent today.

The seller states they acquired the vehicle 6 years ago in Oregon. They have since done a number of repairs, upgrades and modifications.

Cosmetically, they say there is some rust around the window but none near the wheel wells. They say they conditioned the leather interior and cleaned the floor mats, and the interior seems to show it. The beautiful red seats are a highlight of this vehicle.

Mechanically, they deleted the U.S. bumpers as noted, deleted the side marker reflectors, lowered the stance, added Blistens and Alpina wheels. They say the car was maintained to be a daily driver, although the a/c is disconnected and the battery doesn't hold a charge well. The seller also says they have records to prove it was cared for.

This car has flaws but it seems to be an ok runner, and certainly looks the part. The seller states the odometer has six digits and reads just 96,750 original miles.

Find it here on ebay in Athens, Georgia for $7,000.

Summertime Fun: 46k-mile 1977 Fiat X1/9

If you're looking for a Fiat X1/9, this could be the one. The seller's listing makes a very convincing argument.

The X1/9 was a rear mid-engine, rear-wheel drive two-door sports car with a removable hardtop. It was produced by Fiat from 1972-1982, then by Bertone from 1982-1989, quite a remarkable production length for a little Italian car, but it speaks to the model's success.

With a mid-engine setup powering the rear wheels for ideal weight distribution, the X1/9 handled very well. It also featured storage compartments in the front and rear, a huge plus and quite a feat considering the small size. In addition, the removable top segment was lightweight and easy to store.

The seller says they are the second owner having purchased the vehicle from the original owner in 2002. Since then, they claim they have spent $13,000 perfecting the car. They provide a list of some of the things they have done, and it's impressive, right down to re-applying the gold pin stripe to factory specifications.

The mini-wedge styling was done by none other than the great Marcello Gandini, and while not exactly elegant, it is cool and hits the right notes, especially in bright colors like this apple green. Fiat was notable for actually making an effort to work with the U.S. government mandates of the '70s, and the 5mph bumpers have some thought put into them but are still comical and unsightly. These cars look so much better without them it could be worth the effort converting to smaller bumpers.

Inside, the seller says the seats were re-upholstered.

The seller mentions there is no rust, another big plus.

They also say they have the original window sticker and maintenance records proving the car was maintained with upgrades done as well.

There are currently no new targa-top mid engine cars on the market. The only mid-engine cars today are priced well above the average vehicle. The X1/9 is a delightful reminder of a time when ideal driving principles and engineering were presented to the public at an affordable price. The seller of this vehicle has certainly appreciated it.

Find it here on ebay in Woodbrige, Illinois with 0 bids starting at $6,500 and a buy-it-now of $8,000.