Why Alfa Romeo's SZ Is Such A Polarizing Classic Sports Car

If not for the Alfa Romeo SZ's quirky styling, it probably would have landed in our best Alfa Romeos list. Enthusiasts and die-hard "Alfistis" consider the SZ the ugliest or most polarizing Alfa Romeo production car. When it debuted in 1989, Alfa Romeo had trouble convincing buyers to part ways with £35,000 — or about $103,000 in today's money — for a quirky-styled two-door sports car, especially when said buyers could get a Lotus Esprit or Porsche 911 for less.

The Alfa Romeo SZ was born after Fiat acquired the brand in 1986. It was an attempt to revive the glory days of Alfa Romeo when winning races meant selling new cars like hotcakes. Vintage Alfas are known for their remarkable designs, but the SZ's styling drew criticism from the get-go. Much of it concerns the car's blocky rear end, the result of archaic CAD (Computer Aided Design) or CAM (Computer Aided Manufacturing) programming.

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Initially penned by Alfa Romeo styling guru Robert Opron, the SZ's controversial yet futuristic styling has mellowed with age, a refreshing sight in the sea of lookalike crossovers and modern SUVs that litter today's streets. 

Contrary to popular belief, the Alfa Romeo RZ or Sport Zagato was not a Zagato design — it would have come with the design house's trademarked double bubble roof if it was. Instead, Alfa commissioned Zagato to build the RZ using a steel frame and composite body panels. However, styling is not the most polarizing aspect of the Alfa SZ.

It only took 19 months for Alfa Romeo to turn the SZ from design sketches to a working prototype. Helping the cause is a chassis from Alfa's Group A touring race car, while the 3.0-liter Busso V6 engine was mounted longitudinally in the front to feed the rear wheels using a five-speed manual transaxle. Pumping out 207 horsepower, the Alfa SZ is not as quick as its contemporaries like the Lancia Delta HF or the BMW M3 E30, but nothing sounds as good as a Busso V6.

Meanwhile, the SZ has a double-wishbone front suspension and a De Dion rear suspension from the Alfa Romeo 75 Group A touring car. The SZ could scoot like a proper racing car, equipped with hydraulically-adjustable Koni dampers on all fours. If the engine had more power, it would have been easier to justify the SZ's astronomical price tag and its "Il Monstro" (The Monster) nickname. 

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Alfa only sold 1,036 SZs between 1989 and 1991, with only 100 units reaching the United Kingdom. Alfa released the RZ (Roadster Zagato) from 1992 to 1994, a drop-top variant of the SZ with custom body panels. However, Alfa only built 278 RZs due to financial troubles. 

It may be considered the worst-looking Alfa Romeo, but the SZ commands big money in the collector market. How big? A decent example could sell for about $56,000, but a mint unit could fetch upwards of $110,000, and the numbers are rising.