The Cizeta V16T never became the Lamborghini-rivaling production success its creators envisioned, but chassis 001 made the idea briefly seem plausible. The 1988 Cizeta-Moroder V16T s returning to Monterey as the fully functional prototype, original show car, and only example to carry both partners’ names.

Marcello Gandini shaped the broad, cab-forward body after designing some of Lamborghini’s most recognizable cars. Beneath it, Claudio Zampolli’s team installed a transversely mounted 6.0-liter V16 behind the cabin, producing approximately 540 horsepower through a five-speed manual transmission.

Four pop-up headlamp pods, unusually deep side intakes, and a rear track measuring nearly seven feet across give the prototype proportions that remain extreme even by modern supercar standards.

Chassis 001 debuted in Los Angeles in December 1988 before appearing at the 1989 Los Angeles and Geneva motor shows. Moroder retained the pearl-white car until 2022. Canepa completed a full mechanical restoration in 2018, while more than $13,000 in additional mechanical and cosmetic work preceded its appearance at the 2024 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

Unlike the later production Cizeta V16T, the prototype has unique bodywork and an entirely different interior. Only nine production cars followed, making chassis 001 the first of just 10 completed examples.

RM Sotheby’s will offer the car on August 15 with an estimate of $1.4 million to $1.8 million. The sale also includes a one-of-one NFT containing an exclusive four-track Moroder EP, a 3D scan, digital artwork, and digitized provenance records.