Nicknamed Il Mostro — “the Monster” in Italian — due to its uncommon, nearly brutalist design, the 1989 Alfa Romeo SZ was meant to showcase all of the technological prowess of the Milanese agency on the time. It was additionally meant to plant a stake within the floor and return the revered marque to its rear-wheel-drive roots.
Although it was an evolutionary useless finish, the SZ remains to be thought-about among the many most distinctive vehicles in a model full of distinctive fashions. It ought to, then, be no shock that FCA Heritage, the traditional automobile and historical past preservation arm of Stellantis (which, apparently, was not a part of the title change) has simply restored one.
The SZ started life on the 1989 Geneva Motor Present because the ES-30 idea, which stood for Experimental Sports activities 3.0-liter. The manufacturing automobile was named SZ for Dash Zagato, however the design is credited to Robert Opron of the Fiat Fashion Middle, whereas Antonio Castellana did the ending particulars and inside.
Zagato used its coachbuilding experience to construct the vehicles, whose bodywork was shaped from a composite thermoplastic materials referred to as Modar, made by Italy’s Carplast and France’s Stratime. Alfa Romeo additionally claims it was the first automobile to be produced utilizing computer-aided design (CAD/CAM).
Beneath the sci-fi exterior lay a 12-valve, 3.0-liter V6 plucked from the Alfa Romeo 75 3.0i Quadrifoglio Verde. With 204 horsepower and 181 pound-feet of torque, it was probably the most highly effective Alfa of the time. Output was fed by means of a 5-speed transaxle and the suspension, Koni-designed shocks, and brakes reportedly tuned by Fiat and Lancia rally driver Giorgio Pianta and transplanted from the Alfa 75 1.8 Turbo Evolution Group A racer.
The unique run was meant to span simply 1,000 vehicles, however some sources say 1,036 have been produced. That run resulted in 1991, after which a roadster model referred to as the RZ was constructed from 1992-93.
The instance restored has been in Alfa Romeo’s possession because the starting. It served as a check automobile on the Balocco proving grounds and was utilized in promotional photographs. There are a number of particulars on it that differ from manufacturing fashions, a lot in order that Alfa Romeo says it may very well be “thought-about a prototype.”
Sadly, as historical past exhibits, the SZ didn’t usher in a real-wheel-drive renaissance at Alfa Romeo. After its finish, there wasn’t one other rear-drive mannequin till the 8C Competizione in 2007. Nonetheless, it is nice to see automakers listening to classics from the 80s and 90s, and we hope to see FCA restore extra vehicles from that period. Dodge Rampage, anybody?
Associated Video
