Alfa Romeo SZ Price Guide

The Alfa Romeo SZ — nicknamed Il Mostro, the Monster — is one of the most polarising cars ever made. Its angular, brutalist body sits on race-derived running gear from the 75 Group A touring car, and the result is a car that looks like nothing else and drives like nothing else. You either find it magnificent or appalling. There is no middle ground.

The Car

Developed internally as the ES-30 (Experimental Sportscar 3.0-litre), the SZ was designed by Robert Opron at Alfa’s Centro Stile under Walter de Silva, with Zagato refining the details and handling production at their Terrazzano di Rho facility. Despite the Zagato badge, the signature double-bubble roof is absent — proof that the design originated outside Zagato’s walls. The body used thermoplastic composite panels over a steel skeleton derived from the 75 Group A/IMSA racing chassis. The suspension was developed by Giorgio Pianta, the engineer behind the Fiat and Lancia factory rally cars. Koni supplied adjustable hydraulic dampers with a dashboard-mounted switch — a feature that marked the SZ out as something far more serious than its modest 207bhp 3.0-litre Busso V6 output suggested. On Pirelli P Zeros, the SZ could sustain over 1.0G on a skidpad — exceptional for 1989.

Production

Exactly 1,036 SZ coupes were built against a planned 1,000, all in Rosso Alfa with a grey roof and tan leather — except for a single black car made for Andrea Zagato himself. The convertible RZ (Roadster Zagato) followed in 1992 with just 278 built before Zagato entered receivership. The RZ shared virtually no body panels with the coupe despite looking similar, and was available in red, yellow, and black, with three silver and one pearlescent white car completed at the very end. Only 100 SZs were sold in the UK. Each car carried a numbered plaque on the console. Thirteen SZ Trofeo race cars were built for a single-make series supporting Formula 1 events in 1993.

Buying

Values have risen substantially. The composite body does not rust, but the underlying steel chassis can corrode — inspect carefully underneath. The transaxle gearbox, propshaft, and V6 engine are all 75 components and can be maintained by any specialist familiar with that car. Early cars had inconsistent panel gaps between the composite panels and the steel structure. The RZ is rarer and commands a premium over the SZ. Provenance and the numbered plaque are essential for authentication.