Maxxd.com – Modified and Performance Car News

  • Rare 1993 Cizeta V16T headed to auction

    If you’re steeped in 1990s nostalgia, but think a Ferrari or Lamborghini is too common, this 1993 Cizeta V16T is for you. Scheduled to cross the block January 22 at an RM Sotheby’s auction, it’s one of just nine built.

    Cizeta was the brainchild of former Lamborghini test driver and engineer Claudio Zampolli. After leaving Lamborghini, he moved to Los Angels and started a business working on supercars of the city’s many wealthy residents. But Zampolli wanted to build his own car, and teamed up with music producer Giorgio Moroder to make that happen.

    Zampolli specified a transversely-mounted 6.0-liter V-16, with a 5-speed manual transmission. The powertrain was cloaked in bodywork that resembled the contemporary Lamborghini Diablo, which makes sense, as Diablo designer Marcello Gandini also penned the V16T.

    The supercar was initially marketed as the Cizeta-Moroder V16T, but the partnership between Zampolli and Moroder dissolved after the first prototype was built, so all production cars were branded solely as Cizetas.

    1993 Cizeta V16T (Photo by RM Sotheby's)

    1993 Cizeta V16T (Photo by RM Sotheby’s)

    The car currently for sale—chassis 101—was ordered by Singapore’s Hong Seh Motors on behalf of the Brunei Royal Family, according to the listing. The Sultan of Brunei was legendary for extravagant taste in cars, purchasing three of the nine V16T production models, along with thousands of other exotics.

    Chassis 101 was shipped from the Cizeta factory in Modena, Italy, to Singapore in March 1993, but was never delivered to the Brunei Royal Family, according to the listing. Instead, it gathered dust at Hong Seh Motors for over 25 years, before being purchased by its current owner in 2020.

    As a result, it only has 611 miles on the odometer, all of which are believed to have been accumulated during testing at the factory, according to the listing. The car is righthand drive, and has horizontal slats over its side air intakes like the prototype V16T, rather than the vertical slats used on most other production cars, RM Sotheby’s noted.

    History is littered with failed supercar builders, but that hasn’t stopped new generations of dreamers from trying to launch their own supercars. Some are even turning to hydrogen or battery-electric powertrains.

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  • TOYOTA GR010 HYBRID HYPERCAR REVEALED

    Here’s our first look at the new Toyota GR010 hybrid hypercar, the car Toyota will take to the World Endurance Championship.

    This is the car that Toyota hopes will continue it’s winning ways in the World Endurance Championship as several familiar faces make up the driver line-up for 2021.

    Powering the #7 car will be Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and José Maria López, while Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima and Brendon Hartley will pilot the #8 car, with the season starting in March 2021.

    Toyota GR010 Hybrid

    Underneath the Toyota GR010 hybrid is a 3.5-litre V6 engine with twin turbos producing 670bhp, plus a 268bhp electric motor on the front axle. In competition, though, the new hyperclass class in WEC will limit Toyota’s overall power to 670bhp and thus, at times, the car will be powered solely by that combustion engine sending all of its performance towards the rear wheels, while at other times during the race, the electric motor will be called upon to send power to the front wheels and become four-wheel drive. Interestingly, the use of electric power is only permitted above 75mph, which should give drivers a huge punch of torque out of corners.

    Toyota GR010 Hybrid

    Different to last year’s Toyota TS050 race car, the GR010 doesn’t receive a Motor Generator Unit (MGU) at the rear, which means Toyota had to fit new hydraulic rear brakes and a starter motor. The engine in last year’s racer was also a miniscule 2.4-litre, which has seen it grow to 3.5-litres for 2021. Despite this, power is actually down 32% on last year’s car due to the new restrictions put in place by the FIA to reduce the costs of competition.

    Aerodynamically, the Toyota GR010 hybrid is also at a disadvantage to its predecessor, gaining 162kg in weight, but also increasing its overall dimensions handsomely. There isn’t any fancy adjustable aerodynamics either, just an adjustable rear wing. The rest remains fixed, unlike last year’s that saw high or low downforce body panels.

    While Toyota plans to build the GR010 hybrid as a roadgoing hypercar, it is being reported that the road car’s engine will instead be based upon the previous race car’s 2.4-litre hybrid unit. While that car made around 1000bhp in race form, expect that figure to be cut slightly for the production version.


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  • ESMOTOR PORSCHE 911 TURBO S VS EVOLVE AUDI RS3

    In a matchup you wouldn’t expect to happen, Officially Gassed brings together a 900bhp ESMotor Porsche 911 Turbo S and puts it up against Evolve Automotive’s 850bhp Audi RS3. Both have AWD, both have dual clutch gearboxes and both have extensive modifications but which is fastest? Time to find out.

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