1990 Alfa Romeo SZ (Sprint Zagato)

First conceived as the ES30 design study in 1987, the Sprint Zagato (styled by Alfa Romeo Design and Robert Opron, but built at Zagato) caused quite a sensation. Dubbed ‘il Mostro’ or ‘the Monster’, this was no conventionally good-looking Alfa Romeo coupe. But such was the overwhelmingly positive reaction to it, that in 1989, Alfa launched a production version at the Geneva Motor Show. Sensibly, it was based on a heavily modified 75 V6 platform, so the SZ had the performance (and sound) to back up its sporty yet unconventional looks. Its ability to hang on in bends really made the SZ special – it was said to be able to generate 1.1g of lateral load. Like most of the Zagato Alfa’s, the SZ had a near-perfect 50:50 weight balance. Total production of the SZ reached 1036 units, which makes it quite a rare car.