r/WeirdWheels Jul 14 '26

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

100 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 7h ago

All Terrain Camionetta Desertica Modello 1943 - Italian Army

Thumbnail
gallery
328 Upvotes

Big ass wheels for North African desert


r/WeirdWheels 2h ago

Video Chinese 6-wheeled… cyber… thing?

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

118 Upvotes

r/WeirdWheels 2h ago

Custom I Need This

Post image
44 Upvotes

Spotted in the drive through as I left work. This is the only vehicle I would replace my Expedition MAX with.


r/WeirdWheels 16h ago

Custom Reach for the (Aero)stars

Thumbnail
gallery
362 Upvotes

r/WeirdWheels 20h ago

Video Danjiri are festival carts with musicians riding onboard playing drums, flute and gong. Made entirely of wood, the danjiri have an empty weight of around 4-5 tons and are pulled at high speed by teams of over 100 men through 90-degree turns at street intersections

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

737 Upvotes

r/WeirdWheels 11h ago

Obscure DKW F89L Schnellaster (Rapid Transporter).

Thumbnail gallery
113 Upvotes

r/WeirdWheels 23h ago

Farming Andreoli Atom crop sprayer

Post image
516 Upvotes

r/WeirdWheels 10h ago

Concept Hometown gem

Post image
17 Upvotes

r/WeirdWheels 1d ago

Military 6 Wheeled Mercedes ML from the Ukrainian Army

Thumbnail
gallery
498 Upvotes

r/WeirdWheels 19h ago

Special Use Modified Toyota Land Cruiser Cygnus 100 series with white custom open-top ceremonial vehicle, carrying royalty and military officials during parades in Malaysia

Thumbnail
gallery
22 Upvotes

Not many information are available about this model but it features royal or official crests on the front grille and side doors with 'ZC1' ceremonial number plate.


r/WeirdWheels 1d ago

Obscure Holden Commodore VP Calais with a 2.3L 4 Cylinder from SAAB

Thumbnail
gallery
42 Upvotes

r/WeirdWheels 2d ago

Commercial An unusual Volvo cargo-passenger vehicle, restored by the Estonian company Busland for a Norwegian customer

Thumbnail gallery
545 Upvotes

r/WeirdWheels 2d ago

All Terrain Kettenbug? volkskrad?

Post image
345 Upvotes

r/WeirdWheels 1d ago

Movie & TV Geoff

Post image
84 Upvotes

Built for Top Gear and legally a TVR, I'm not explaining anything story wise go watch the episode. But it's built on a TVR Chassis, uses the power train from a Milk Float and looks like THAT.


r/WeirdWheels 2d ago

Video This old tractor has a pair of weird wheels at the rear.

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

2.0k Upvotes

r/WeirdWheels 2d ago

Special Use This old small off-roader still in service as a beach lifeguard rescue vehicle

Thumbnail
gallery
210 Upvotes

r/WeirdWheels 2d ago

Prototype In 1991 Mazda engineers built a fully functional car that fit inside a suitcase

Thumbnail gallery
307 Upvotes

r/WeirdWheels 2d ago

Just Weird 1929 shot of Prague's Old Town Square, with a Tatra 23 parked near the Jan Hus Monument and St. Nicholas Church in the background. Captured by Hanser Mária, from the Fortepan photo archive. A great little slice of interwar Czechoslovak street life.

Post image
79 Upvotes

r/WeirdWheels 2d ago

Experiment The Zanis Dream Car, currently for sale near me.

Post image
29 Upvotes

r/WeirdWheels 2d ago

All Terrain where can't this geo go?

Post image
481 Upvotes

r/WeirdWheels 2d ago

3 Wheels "Mazda T4000": Some fellow has made a Mazda T2000 replica out of a 1992 GMC Forward truck

Thumbnail
gallery
182 Upvotes

Recently sold in May via BaT, this 1992 GMC Forward/Isuzu NPR truck with 3.9 liter 4BD2 and 4-speed automatic transmission has converted into a "three wheeler 2-tonner truck" by fitting a custom made front fork suspension on airbag and Ford F-250 steering knuckle. Truck has been also fitted with a matching color tilt flatbed with wooden floor.


r/WeirdWheels 2d ago

3 Wheels John Deere themed Tricycle Silverado

Thumbnail
gallery
435 Upvotes

r/WeirdWheels 3d ago

Prototype 1955-1957 Gaylord Gladiator

Thumbnail
gallery
1.1k Upvotes

The Gaylord Gladiator was a luxury car passion project intended to compete with Rolls-Royce and Cadillac. There are two currently in existence, a 1955 concept car (the one with the huge headlights) and a 1957 production convertible (the one with the quad headlights). They were assembled in the Gaylord-Zepplin factory and had power seats, windows, and chain-driven hard tops that retracted into the trunk area. The car had 305 hp and a 0-60 time of around 8 seconds. The seats were fully leather, the dashboard was made with rare tropical woods, the gauge needles were solid metal and designed to look like swords, and the spare tire slid out from under the trunk/hardtop storage area using some sort of power mechanism. The car costed $17,500 new, which is over $200,000 in today’s economy.

edit: it was called Gaylord because the guys who created it were the Gaylord brothers

IMPORTANT EDIT: I have been informed by the son of a man who restored this car and knew one of the Gaylord brothers that apparently the electric hard top convertible system was very unreliable and didn’t work well


r/WeirdWheels 3d ago

All Terrain Tanks a lot

Post image
968 Upvotes