The insertion of tert-butyl isonitrile ( t BuNC) into the M−C bond of Cp* 2 Zr(CH 3 ) 2 (1) leads to the formation of a monoiminoacyl product Cp* 2 Zr(iminoacyl)CH 3 (2). SC-XRD analysis has revealed that the η 2 coordinated iminoacyl ligand has an "N-outside" orientation. Compound 2 undergoes rapid Zr−C bond cleavage with the Brønsted acid CpCr(CO) 3 H or the Lewis acid B(C 6 F 5 ) 3 , yielding Zr cation 4 or 5 with the corresponding anion [MeB(C 6 F 5 ) 3 ] − or [CpCo(CO) 3 ] − . In the solid-state structure of 4, the Zr cation features an η 2 "N-inside" geometry for the iminoacyl group and interacts with the [CpCo(CO) 3 ] − via the oxygen atom of one of the CO ligands. Cleavage of the methyl ligand from the Zr of 1 with CpCr(CO) 3 H proceeds with a second-order rate constant k 1 of 2.11(4) × 10 −3 M −1 s −1 , whereas cleavage of the methyl ligand from the Zr of 2 is significantly faster, with an estimated k 2 greater than 10 4 M −1 s −1 . In light of the observed "N-outside" to "N-inside" change from 2 to 4, we propose that the enhanced rate with 2 is due to initial protonation of its nitrogen, subsequent outside-toinside rotation, and eventual transfer of the proton onto the Zr−C bond.