Reviving its tradition of building special-bodied Alfa Romeos, Zagato unveiled the outrageous SZ at the 1989 Geneva Salon.

Originally typed 'ES-30', the aggressive-looking two-seater coupé eschewed the rounded styling and aluminium-alloy coachwork hitherto associated with Zagato's high-performance Alfas in favour of an angular bodyshell crafted in lightweight plastic - alloy roof excepted - and bonded to the floorpan of the existing Alfa 75.

Lessons learned from the latter's race programme influenced the development of the SZ's suspension, which endowed the car with superlative handling and roadholding.

Powering the SZ to its highly respectable 152mph top speed was a 206bhp version of Alfa's superb 3.0-litre four-cam V6, widely recognised as one of the finest power plants of recent times.

Demand for the 1,000-or-so units scheduled for series production greatly exceeded supply, and today this rare and highly individual supercar is much sought after and the considerably rarer RZ spid...