PLAYING ALL THE ANGLES

Alfa Romeo's wild RZ eschewed the jellymould styling of the period to offer a striking, wedge-shaped take on open-topped performance motoring

- RICHARD HESELTINE

There is method to the madness here, but it might just as easily be the other way around. So here we are, driving what appears to be a wedge of cheese in a locale that is not within walking distance from anywhere. The speedometer is pegged at the sort of velocity that is usually accompanied by a police siren, but no. It's all pretty normal in these parts. You could get into trouble, but you would have to work hard at it. And besides, you're not even the fastest gun here. Welcome to the Isle of Man and the Alfa Romeo RZ, a car that, even on a good day, looks as if it's being viewed in the back of a spoon. It isn't in the realm of the normal, that's for sure.

But then neither was the car that bore it, the mighty SZ, which emerged at a time when Alfisti were poorly served. It's worth recalling that the '80s began with Nissan and Alfa Romeo signing an agreement that would lead to close co-operation between the two firms spanning the following 15 years. That, and a raft of new models. Only the Arna arrived, a giddying blend of a Cherry hull and an Alfasud flat-four.

At least the marque faithful were spared an Alfa-ised Nissan Prairie, which almost became a thing. The alliance was annulled in 1986, with the break-up followed shortly by a change of ownership after Fiat gazumped Ford.

Then there was Alfa Romeo's Formula One programme, which had shown early flashes of promise, but no victories were forthcoming despite the best efforts of Mario Andretti and other stars. By the mid-1980s, it had become a pointless exercise (in every sense). As such, it fell to Touring Car outings to maintain the marque's sporting credentials, but again results were patchy. It wasn't a great period for the company, but it was against this backdrop of despondency and whip-round budgets that one of the greatest-ever halo cars was conceived.