r/WeirdWheels Jul 14 '26

AMA I wrote the definitive history of the Cizeta V16T. Ask Me Anything!

103 Upvotes

Hi everyone! I'm Brian Wiklem, author of the newly released 16: A pictorial history of Cizeta Automobili, and I'm here for a live Q&A.

My fascination with Italian supercars began in 1987 when I first saw the Ferrari F40. Years later, that passion led me down a rabbit hole that became a seven-year research project documenting the complete story of Cizeta Automobiliand the legendary Cizeta V16T.

Founded by former Lamborghini engineer Claudio Zampolli and backed by Academy Award-winning composer Giorgio Moroder, Cizeta set out to build a supercar capable of challenging Ferrari and Lamborghini. The result was the outrageous V16T—a car powered by a revolutionary transversely mounted 16-cylinder engine and unlike anything else on the road.

The book goes far beyond the car itself. It explores the people, engineering, business decisions, triumphs, setbacks, and controversies that shaped Cizeta's story. During my research, I interviewed key figures, tracked down rare photographs and documents, documented every production car, and worked to separate decades of myth from reality. The journey was so immersive that it ultimately cost me my friendship with Claudio Zampolli—but I believed preserving the complete story was worth it.

Whether you're curious about:

  • Claudio Zampolli and Giorgio Moroder,
  • what really happened to Cizeta,
  • the research process,
  • the rare cars that survive today,
  • or anything else related to the project,

Ask me anything!

I'm looking forward to answering your questions and discussing one of the most ambitious—and misunderstood—chapters in supercar history.

Verification

Read the story behind one of the world's rarest supercars.


r/WeirdWheels 22d ago

Wooden My Dads Woody

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1.9k Upvotes

Here is my dads F-Treefifty. Built on a 1978 Ford Econoline frame, Windsor 351 and automatic transmission. Stripped it all down and just started building it out with 100% white oak. He's had it at multiple carshows nationwide, and has won many awards. Just an old bored retired carpenter who said why not.


r/WeirdWheels 2h ago

Custom 1988 Sterling 825 SL with custom paint and interior

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227 Upvotes

r/WeirdWheels 10h ago

Battlecar Trippel SG 6

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436 Upvotes

The Trippel SG 6 was a Schwimmwagen(amphibious vehicle) developed in the 1930s and used by the German ground forces during the Second World War.


r/WeirdWheels 8h ago

2 Wheels Oh Deere, I find it very a-tractor-ive

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141 Upvotes

r/WeirdWheels 8h ago

Special Use My Current daily driver, 2001 Saab 9-5 airport car with the 2.3 turbo.

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129 Upvotes

r/WeirdWheels 18h ago

Concept 1989 Cadillac Solitaire - High-performance Luxury Coupe

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437 Upvotes

The 1989 Cadillac Solitaire is a high-performance luxury coupe concept car built by General Motors to showcase futuristic aerodynamics, advanced technology, and a joint-venture V12 engine.


r/WeirdWheels 15h ago

Concept 2023 Mercedes-Benz Vision One-Eleven, This car draws inspiration from the C-111 and has powerful yet compact axial-flux motors and battery technology by YASA

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171 Upvotes

r/WeirdWheels 8h ago

Coachbuilt Originally commissioned by a young King Baudouin of Belgium, design icon Giovanni Michelotti penned this masterful Aston Martin DB2/4 one-off for Vignale, who dispensed with its trademark grill. It was purchased in the 1960s by a U.S. soldier serving with NATO in Paris, who brought it to America.

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25 Upvotes

r/WeirdWheels 3h ago

Recreation This was a new one for me

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8 Upvotes

r/WeirdWheels 1d ago

Video V10 Family Van

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2.4k Upvotes

r/WeirdWheels 21h ago

Mutant Certain Times call for Certain Measures

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182 Upvotes

r/WeirdWheels 1d ago

Homebuilt An extremely unusual conversion from Czechoslovakia

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58 Upvotes

r/WeirdWheels 2d ago

Obscure American produced 1988 Honda Accord Coupe - exclusively LHD in Japan with an "Import Edition" badge

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429 Upvotes

I'm still trying to figure out who the hell said "I want my sensible Honda in LHD with a MURICAAANN eagle badge on it" and bought one of these.

The next two generations of American-made Accord Coupes also came to Japan, but the following generations had both LHD and RHD as an option.


r/WeirdWheels 2d ago

Concept Metropolitan wagon!

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1.3k Upvotes

Check this out!! I have seen posts on here of the two known prototypes of a Metropolitan wagon. Here is one of them! This one lives in Virginia and is super impressive.

It even has a matching wood-veneered boat! Owner Dale Adams said he used airplane wheel fairings for wheel covers on the boat trailer. Love it!


r/WeirdWheels 2d ago

Concept The 1990 Jeep Cherokee Freedom Concept

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200 Upvotes

r/WeirdWheels 2d ago

One-off The Jayaram GT is an one off Indian sports car entirely hand-built from scratch by the late former test pilot and Indian racing legend A.D. Jayaram

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247 Upvotes

Completed in 1973 after four years of meticulous garage work in Bangalore (Bengaluru), this bespoke grand tourer is celebrated as an extraordinary feat of independent Indian automotive engineering.

A sleek, purple two-door coupe featuring classic Jaguar-inspired lines and an entirely custom-built chassis.

Began it's life as a 1.0-litre engine from a Standard Herald. It was heavily modified into a 1.4-litre petrol engine with twin Weber carburetors, generating roughly 140–143 horsepower.

Built with absolute precision, including 17 coats of paint to achieve its signature deep purple finish and a dashboard packed with custom functional gauges.

Following A.D. Jayaram's passing, his son, Pratap "Bobby" Jayaram (a prominent automotive developer and founder of Mantra Racing), has perfectly preserved the car in its original 1973 condition.


r/WeirdWheels 2d ago

Custom While I'm at it... Diamond T truck with custom Tiny House!

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190 Upvotes

The metropolitan wagon made me think of this gem I came across when I visited the Dale Adams collection. This project was incomplete when I took pics. hoping to revisit and post updated photos when it is done!

Check out the porthole windows on the tiny house! And... it's air-conditioned! This takes the word custom to a whole new level, Lol!


r/WeirdWheels 2d ago

Obscure 1971 OTAS

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123 Upvotes

I was at the Great Pacific NW Micro-Mini Car Show last week, and a car showed up that I'd not seen before. From a distance, I thought it was a SAAB Sonett, then an Opel GT. It was neither. It was a 1971 OTAS, which is based on a Fiat 850. These were also called a Lombardi Grand Prix and Abarth Scorpione. This was the first I'd ever seen—or heard of one.


r/WeirdWheels 2d ago

Concept nanoFlowcell QUANTiNO, this battery-free, fully electric 2+2 roadster is powered by an aqueous, non-toxic liquid electrolyte solution called bi-ION, achieving a claimed range of up to 1,200 miles, the car also surpassed 218,000 miles of combined road and lab endurance testing using the powertrain

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288 Upvotes

r/WeirdWheels 3d ago

Just Weird What in tarnation

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1.4k Upvotes

r/WeirdWheels 3d ago

Mutant Truckenstein

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264 Upvotes

r/WeirdWheels 3d ago

Custom Express Mail

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442 Upvotes

r/WeirdWheels 3d ago

Obscure Chrysler TC by Mazzeratti

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205 Upvotes

r/WeirdWheels 3d ago

Micro Fiat-500 based CAP Scoiattolo

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88 Upvotes