The trouble with a number of very desirable sporting cars, such as the Porsche 911 and the Lamborghini Huracán evo, is that they’re just too common. Go out for the evening and there’s every possibility that when you return to your car, there might be an identical one parked beside it.
The chances of that happening are much slimmer with the Alfa Romeo SZ. Just over 1000 of these eye-catching coupés were made between 1989 and 1991 (and for those who insist on arriving everywhere with messed-up coiffure, 300 RZ roadsters were made, too).
The trouble is, though, that not since that, er, referendum in 2016 we won’t talk about has there been an issue as divisive as the SZ’s looks. Love it or hate it, everyone has an opinion, and the only thing people do agree on is that it looks like nothing else that ever turned a wheel.
For that, you can blame Zagato – sort of. Was there ever a company as capable of making some of the most achingly beautiful cars and at the same time some that were so contentious? So the only thing to point out here is that it’s not really a Zagato design. It was Zagato-built, yes, but the initial styling was the work of Robert Opron, a gifted and talented French automotive designer who was responsible for some of the most wondrous Citroën cars of all time (and who sadly passed away last March); and it was a promising youngster called Antonio Castellana who handled the finishing.
The result is absolutely stunning – or plain awful, depending on your point of view. Whatever, there aren’t many of them around, but the fact is if you’re sired by Alfa Romeo and weaned by Zagato, you’re a classic without having to get out of bed, and forget the panel gaps.
As a further bonus, the SZ was bloody good to drive, with its shortened Alfa 75 platform, racing-inspired suspension and standard-fit Pirelli P Zero tyres. Up front there are double wishbones and at the rear a De Dion tube and a Watt linkage.
Under that extraordinary bonnet is Turin’s 210bhp 3.0-litre Busso V6, which makes a wonderful noise and drives the rear wheels through a short-ratio five-speed manual gearbox and via a rear transaxle. Thanks to its composite body, the SZ had a particularly hearty power to-weight ratio, too: think 0-60mph in 6.9sec and a top speed of 153mph.
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Lifes regrets number 17 - I sat in one of these in a showroom 20 years and it was less than £17K I recall. I didn't buy it but always wished I had (along with the BMW Z1).