Even the hardest of hard-core Alfisti weren't sure about the SZ when it came out back in the late-Eighties. Somewhere between the trio of headlights on each side, the high waistline, and the stubby wheelbase, it just didn't capture the public's imagination at a time when other exclusive Italian exotica was unconditionally worshipped wherever it was seen. Even in its home country it was known as 'Il Mostro' (The Monster).
Reports at the time suggested that the SZ performed well and generated truly phenomenal amounts of grip, but to say that its looks polarised opinion is a big understatement. Whilst some loved it, Car Magazine went so far as to call it "ugly, ghastly, ridiculous, monstrous". The thing is... that was in 1989.
Looking at one today, however, we'd argue that it's a cool car. Alfa only made 1063 of them, so they score big exclusivity points, and the styling seems to have improved with age. The body, which was designed by Zagato and made from methacrylic resin (or 'plastic' to you and me) would be a nightmare to repair, so it may not be an ideal continental mile-muncher.
But as an appreciating asset and superb piece of engineering to play with now and then (they could pull 1.4g in the corners due to a race-derived, shortened Alfa 75 platform), we can see a lot of appeal in owning an SZ today.
The one you see here was built in 1991, has quite literally just arrived in the UK from Japan and is described as 'like new' by the dealer, who has sold several SZs and who also tells us that it was first-registered in 1996.
It's on offer at £29995, and will come with a full service (including the vital new cambelt) and a mileage guarantee.
But would you pick one over, say, a similarly priced Ferrari 328? That's the question...