Yesterday a local automotive designer stopped by to say hi and to see what was going on in the CICFS garage (Milano close-ratio transaxle build, Maserati heater core swap). He brought his Dodge Viper. Base engine offered up from the contemporary heavy-duty Ram, Chrysler's newly acquired Lamborghini division was tasked with tapping into the V10's potential. A monster was born. The RZ, known as Il Mostro may not stack up to the specs of the Viper in terms of performance, but it stems from a similar corporate exercise; bringing a show car and its spirit to life in a series production vehicle.

The basis of the two vehicles could not be more different. Chrysler dove deep into the weeds, tooling up new cylinder heads and more for the engine, devising a new chassis, and putting together many of the car's mechanicals from scratch. Alfa, in creating an arguably wilder monster, dipped into its current parts bin, repurposing the DeDion / transaxle chassis of the Milano. Front double wishbone torsion beam suspension with coilover helpers, rear DeDion suspension, and a transaxle with inboard brake calipers. The V6 was a modestly hotter take on the 3.0L in the Milano.

Year: 1993
Model:  Alfa Romeo RZ
Engine: 3.0L V6
Transmission: 5-speed manual
Mileage:  9,090
Price: $97,500
Location: San Diego, CA

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1993 Alfa Romeo RZ

Alfa Romeo ES-30 Roadster Zagato, VIN: ZAR162000*03002149 Year 1993 Make Alfa Romeo Model Zagato Roadster Type No 162C1 VIN ZAR162000*03002149 Italian Homologation No DGM 52914 OM Zagato Production No 27011688 Zagato Body No 168 Engine No 61501++XXXXXX Production No 130 of 284 Exterior Color Rosso Alfa 130 Interior Color Black Full Leather Mileage 14,594 Kilometers 1993 Alfa Romeo Zagato Roadster, VIN: ZAR162000*03002149 Individual History: Completed in 1993 and exported to Japan but not sold new until August 10th, 2001 when it was road registered privately for the first time on Aichi, Japan plates "301 4616." On March 18th, 2005 it was sold privately to the second owner also in Aichi and registered on new plates "301 759." On November 6th, 2009, the registration was renewed on plates "303 4183." On April 8th, 2010, this Alfa was sold and registered on Ouayma plates "300 4314." On June 10th, 2014, it was sold again and reregistered on Kangawa plates "335 130." On February 6th, 2015, this Alfa was sold and re-registered on Tokyo plates "331 5517." On September 29th, 2015 it was purchased corporately and reregistered on Tokyo plates "300 4417 Registration remained Tokyo "30 4417 in dealer inventory from 2015 until sale of vehicle in May of 2018. Mileage at time of initial registration was less than 100 kilometers and vehicle was registered as a new vehicle, no previous owners or registration. No mileage discrepancies at each time of re-registation. Mileage officially recorded and confirmed by Japanese road-registration authorities on September 21st, 2012 at 12,700 kilometers. Mileage officially recorded and confirmed by Japanese road-registration authorities on September 2nd, 2014 at 13,500 kilometers. Mileage officially recorded and confirmed by Japanese road-registration authorities on at time of sale in May of 2018 at 14,500 kilometers. June 2018, Japanese road-registatino canceled, vehicle formally exported and imported to the Unites States July 2018, all services, safety checks completed. New tires installed.

Engine Compression Test Results: Cylinder No Pounds per Square Inch

1 185

2 190

3 190

4 194

5 192

6 190

We only worry about the RZ/SZ specific components when it comes to keeping one of these on the road. There are very few of those when it comes to mechanicals - headers and coilers come to mind. Bodywork, on the other hand, is likely in short supply. Fortunately, this example looks very clean and complete and shouldn't require month-long eBay searches for anything short of a collision.

With the SZ, you're plunking down serious cash for a design exercise. An exercise that, to our eyes, was not an improvement on existing Alfa Romeo transaxle offerings. Still undeniably cool, the high valuations lend the RZ/SZ pair their new status as more of a collector car, as opposed to a true enthusiast car. And, if you're more of a collector? You might as well seek out a low-mileage example such as this RZ.

-Graham