For Sale: 1990 Alfa Romeo SZ in Katwijk, Netherlands

We've got him! Alfa Romeo was absorbed into the Fiat group in 1986, and at that point it had some serious image problems. To polish up that image, the link with Alfa Romeo's rich sports-car heritage was revived, and at the end of the 1980s an uncompromising sports car was developed together with Zagato. At the 1989 Geneva Motor Show, Zagato unveiled the first prototype of the SZ under the name ES-30, experimental sportscar with a 3.0 litre engine. The car's design, however, did not come entirely from Zagato. Alfa Romeo's Centro Stile, with Walter de'Silva and Alberto Bertelli, and Fiat's Centro Stile, with Robert Opron, were also called upon to design the new sports car. The broad strokes of the SZ ultimately came from Robert Opron and Antonio Castellana. The car looked controversial and differed completely from every other Alfa Romeo model of the era, which earned the SZ the nickname 'il mostro' (the monster). Alfa Romeo decided to put the ES-30 into production and changed the name to SZ, a nod to the Sprint Zagatos of the past. The mechanical components, including the shortened chassis, were based on the Alfa Romeo 75. Zagato handled the assembly. Only around a thousand SZs would ever be produced, all of them in the classic Alfa red (Rosso Alfa) with a dark grey roof. The SZ's engine is a 3.0 litre V6 with a maximum output of 210 bhp and 245 Nm of torque. The power is sent to the road through the rear wheels, delivering a top speed of roughly 250 km/h and a 0 to 100 km/h sprint in 7 seconds. The SZ was produced until 1991. This gorgeous example was delivered new in the summer of 1990, on 25-05-1990 to be precise. It is number 27 of the 1000 examples ever built. We don't need to tell you it's a unique car, but we will tell you the condition is unique too. A beautiful and original example, both technically and cosmetically. The SZ has been to specialist Auto Forza in Noordwijkerhout for a full inspection, major service and additional verification of the mileage. Are you looking for an SZ? Then you have to see this one. So we would love to invite you to us in Katwijk to experience this Alfa Romeo in the flesh, the kettle is on! Know this: no two SZs are the same. Of the 1,036 examples built, perhaps six hundred are still on the road worldwide. This is one of them. With a Japanese service history, with a recent Dutch MOT, with a V6 that is ready to sing again. Some cars are controversial because they are ugly. The SZ is controversial because it puts the very definition of beautiful up for debate. And wins. With an espresso in hand and Eros Ramazzotti playing in the background, Nick Slinger