Obscure supercars of the 80's and 90's
Discussion
I was born in 1990 so grew up with the likes of the F40, F50, McLaren F1 and Lamborghini Diablo on my wall in poster form as a kid.
Growing up around then was absolutely fantastic as a car nut, so many great supercars, sportscars, hot hatches, homologation specials and so on with many amazing racing series around as well.
With the boom economy of the late 80's and then the bust with the recession of the early 90's (and then later Asian crisis around '98 I think), loads of special, rare cars went unproduced with only a prototype or maybe a couple of cars made and then hidden away mostly for nobody to see.
Would be nice if we could get an idea of the different cars made and maybe where they are nowadays. Is anyone else a fan? They're so much more interesting to me than any of the current crop.
Here's a few to get started in any case.
1. Isdera
Mercedes-Benz revealed the CW311 concept in 1978 with Isdera founder Eberhard Schulz being part of the design team. MB allowed him to create a roadgoing version based on the design called the Imperator 108i
The 108i was released in 1984 with a 5.0 M117 Mercedes V8 though later versions had either a 5.6 or a 6.0 version of the engine, tuned by AMG. Production continued until 1993 according to Wikipedia.
Isdera later released another prototype/concept called the Commendatore 112i IN 1993. Fans of Need for Speed 2 will remember it well. Again Isdera reached out to Mercedes for the engine, this time a 6.0 V12 with 402bhp. Supposedly the car can reach 213mph which I presume is down to gearing and aerodynamics as 402bhp seems a pretty low figure for that speed.
Reportedly they made a second chassis in 1999 dubbed the Silver Arrow 112i with an updated engine and more power. This time it produced 611bhp and was good for 230mph though I doubt it's ever been tested. This was for sale on eBay around 2005 and then has been sold since. The owner appeared on Car passion but I can't find the thread where he said he had it.
2. Jiotto Caspita
Back in 1989, a fashion company called Wacoal backed the making of a supercar under the brand name Jiotto. The cars were made by the Dome company famous for Le Mans prototypes. The first prototype featured a detuned Motori Moderni flat-12 engine from the failed Subaru F1 project. It produced 450bhp and was supposedly good for 199mph.
In 1993 they produced a second prototype, this time with a Judd V10, again an F1 engine. This time with 577bhp.
Again I doubt ever car has actually been tested so any quoted figures are likely hypothetical. Both chassis still exist in museums. The 1989 silver car is in the National Motor Museum in Tokyo and the 1993 beige car is kept by Dome at their base.
Growing up around then was absolutely fantastic as a car nut, so many great supercars, sportscars, hot hatches, homologation specials and so on with many amazing racing series around as well.
With the boom economy of the late 80's and then the bust with the recession of the early 90's (and then later Asian crisis around '98 I think), loads of special, rare cars went unproduced with only a prototype or maybe a couple of cars made and then hidden away mostly for nobody to see.
Would be nice if we could get an idea of the different cars made and maybe where they are nowadays. Is anyone else a fan? They're so much more interesting to me than any of the current crop.
Here's a few to get started in any case.
1. Isdera
Mercedes-Benz revealed the CW311 concept in 1978 with Isdera founder Eberhard Schulz being part of the design team. MB allowed him to create a roadgoing version based on the design called the Imperator 108i
The 108i was released in 1984 with a 5.0 M117 Mercedes V8 though later versions had either a 5.6 or a 6.0 version of the engine, tuned by AMG. Production continued until 1993 according to Wikipedia.
Isdera later released another prototype/concept called the Commendatore 112i IN 1993. Fans of Need for Speed 2 will remember it well. Again Isdera reached out to Mercedes for the engine, this time a 6.0 V12 with 402bhp. Supposedly the car can reach 213mph which I presume is down to gearing and aerodynamics as 402bhp seems a pretty low figure for that speed.
Reportedly they made a second chassis in 1999 dubbed the Silver Arrow 112i with an updated engine and more power. This time it produced 611bhp and was good for 230mph though I doubt it's ever been tested. This was for sale on eBay around 2005 and then has been sold since. The owner appeared on Car passion but I can't find the thread where he said he had it.
2. Jiotto Caspita
Back in 1989, a fashion company called Wacoal backed the making of a supercar under the brand name Jiotto. The cars were made by the Dome company famous for Le Mans prototypes. The first prototype featured a detuned Motori Moderni flat-12 engine from the failed Subaru F1 project. It produced 450bhp and was supposedly good for 199mph.
In 1993 they produced a second prototype, this time with a Judd V10, again an F1 engine. This time with 577bhp.
Again I doubt ever car has actually been tested so any quoted figures are likely hypothetical. Both chassis still exist in museums. The 1989 silver car is in the National Motor Museum in Tokyo and the 1993 beige car is kept by Dome at their base.
I''l plump for the Cizeta V16T, brought to my attention as a teenager player the first Gran Turismo series!
Wiki: The Cizeta-Moroder V16T, now known as just the Cizeta V16T, is an Italian sports car (built from 1991 to 1995) created by automotive engineer Claudio Zampolli in a joint venture with music composer Giorgio Moroder and designed by the famed Marcello Gandini. It was the only product of the Cizeta company. It was developed by a group of ex-Lamborghini employees and initially introduced in 1988.
The Cizeta-Moroder name comes from the spelling in Italian of the initials of the designer Claudio Zampolli (that is where the name "Cizeta" comes from; Ci-Zeta is italian for the letters C-Z, Zampolli's initials) and Giorgio Moroder. The V16T signifies that its engine is a V16 unit mounted Transversely in the central rear position, just forward of the rear axle and behind the passenger seats. However, the engine was not a true V16. Rather, it was engineered from the ground up as two flat plane V8s sharing a single block, mounted transversely, with gearing between the two providing a single output from the center of the engine assembly to the longitudinal transmission.
The chassis was formed of an aluminum honeycomb structure, wrapped in a sleek body designed by Marcello Gandini, who had previously designed the Lamborghini Countach and some aerodynamic Maseratis. The shape of the V16T is actually an original design for the Lamborghini Diablo by Gandini when he was at Lamborghini. However, in 1987 when Chrysler obtained controlling interest in Lamborghini, their design team "softened" the edges and generally modified Gandini's original design, leaving Gandini famously unimpressed. Gandini then joined forces with Zampolli and they conceived the Cizeta based on Gandini's original design for the Diablo. Thus, in some ways, the car could be considered what the Diablo would have looked like had Chrysler not intervened. Zampolli is credited with most of the final rear design, while Gandini is responsible for the rest.
The car was viewed from the beginning as an exclusive sports car, easily capable of achieving a top speed of 328 km/h (204 mph) and required just 4 seconds to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph), while at the same time equipped with many luxury features.
In 1991, the list price for a Cizeta-Moroder was an estimated €250,000 or US$300,000. Although predictions for production foresaw one car per week, only 19 examples (including 1 prototype) were actually built from 1991 until the company's demise in 1995. Subsequently, 3 more cars were completed (two more coupes and one spyder) in 1999 and 2003. As of May 1, 2006, the car is still in production on a made to order basis, although now priced at $649,000, or $849,000 for the Spyder TTJ, exclusive of shipping, taxes and extras.
Moroder's involvement
At some point after the car's debut, Giorgio Moroder and Claudio Zampolli parted ways, losing Moroder's name and the car's novelty appeal. It is known that Giorgio Moroder designed the Logo for the car. The Cizeta is still associated with his name and remains symbolic of Moroder's hi-tech music and glamorous lifestyle. In addition, while the car debuted as the Cizeta-Moroder, all delivered cars were badged simply as Cizeta V16T.
Wiki: The Cizeta-Moroder V16T, now known as just the Cizeta V16T, is an Italian sports car (built from 1991 to 1995) created by automotive engineer Claudio Zampolli in a joint venture with music composer Giorgio Moroder and designed by the famed Marcello Gandini. It was the only product of the Cizeta company. It was developed by a group of ex-Lamborghini employees and initially introduced in 1988.
The Cizeta-Moroder name comes from the spelling in Italian of the initials of the designer Claudio Zampolli (that is where the name "Cizeta" comes from; Ci-Zeta is italian for the letters C-Z, Zampolli's initials) and Giorgio Moroder. The V16T signifies that its engine is a V16 unit mounted Transversely in the central rear position, just forward of the rear axle and behind the passenger seats. However, the engine was not a true V16. Rather, it was engineered from the ground up as two flat plane V8s sharing a single block, mounted transversely, with gearing between the two providing a single output from the center of the engine assembly to the longitudinal transmission.
The chassis was formed of an aluminum honeycomb structure, wrapped in a sleek body designed by Marcello Gandini, who had previously designed the Lamborghini Countach and some aerodynamic Maseratis. The shape of the V16T is actually an original design for the Lamborghini Diablo by Gandini when he was at Lamborghini. However, in 1987 when Chrysler obtained controlling interest in Lamborghini, their design team "softened" the edges and generally modified Gandini's original design, leaving Gandini famously unimpressed. Gandini then joined forces with Zampolli and they conceived the Cizeta based on Gandini's original design for the Diablo. Thus, in some ways, the car could be considered what the Diablo would have looked like had Chrysler not intervened. Zampolli is credited with most of the final rear design, while Gandini is responsible for the rest.
The car was viewed from the beginning as an exclusive sports car, easily capable of achieving a top speed of 328 km/h (204 mph) and required just 4 seconds to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph), while at the same time equipped with many luxury features.
In 1991, the list price for a Cizeta-Moroder was an estimated €250,000 or US$300,000. Although predictions for production foresaw one car per week, only 19 examples (including 1 prototype) were actually built from 1991 until the company's demise in 1995. Subsequently, 3 more cars were completed (two more coupes and one spyder) in 1999 and 2003. As of May 1, 2006, the car is still in production on a made to order basis, although now priced at $649,000, or $849,000 for the Spyder TTJ, exclusive of shipping, taxes and extras.
Moroder's involvement
At some point after the car's debut, Giorgio Moroder and Claudio Zampolli parted ways, losing Moroder's name and the car's novelty appeal. It is known that Giorgio Moroder designed the Logo for the car. The Cizeta is still associated with his name and remains symbolic of Moroder's hi-tech music and glamorous lifestyle. In addition, while the car debuted as the Cizeta-Moroder, all delivered cars were badged simply as Cizeta V16T.
kapiteinlangzaam said:
Chum of mine had one of those. Not very super, although I recall that it floated when his garage was flooded! Always put bMe in mind of a Matra Simca Bagherra.
Now I'd like one of those!
F1GTRUeno said:
2. Jiotto Caspita
Back in 1989, a fashion company called Wacoal backed the making of a supercar under the brand name Jiotto. The cars were made by the Dome company famous for Le Mans prototypes. The first prototype featured a detuned Motori Moderni flat-12 engine from the failed Subaru F1 project. It produced 450bhp and was supposedly good for 199mph.
I wonder where Pagani got their styling ideas for the Zonda front lights..... Back in 1989, a fashion company called Wacoal backed the making of a supercar under the brand name Jiotto. The cars were made by the Dome company famous for Le Mans prototypes. The first prototype featured a detuned Motori Moderni flat-12 engine from the failed Subaru F1 project. It produced 450bhp and was supposedly good for 199mph.
Baryonyx said:
Urgh, it seems this awful turn of phrase is getting everywhere now.
I love the Venturi Atlantique. One of the sexiest supercar designs ever, I would say. It's a shame it wasn't more of a success.
How would you phrase it? I just typed it subconsciously, perhaps you're right and it is everywhere.I love the Venturi Atlantique. One of the sexiest supercar designs ever, I would say. It's a shame it wasn't more of a success.
Love the Altantique as well, not quite a supercar though.
The 400GT more so.
.. Sbarro Super Twelve
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff