Top Gear's Top 9: the greatest Alfa Romeos of all time

The 2015 Giulia saloon was a return to form for Alfa Romeo, and by far the greatest Alfa of modern times is the Giulia Quadrifoglio. It’s a BMW M3 rival with real heart. Oh, and a 2.9-litre twin turbo V6 fettled by Ferrari engineers that makes 503bhp and 443lb ft of torque.

Designed by the legendary Vittorio Jano, the straight-eight engined P3 Tipo B dominated Grand Prix racing in the early Thirties with drivers like Tazio Nuvolari at the wheel. It has also the honour of being the first ever proper single seater racing car.

The mid-engined 33 Stradale makes a strong case for being the prettiest Alfa ever, which in turn could make it the prettiest car ever. There was a road-going (in fact that’s what Stradale means in Italian) version of the Tipo 33 racer, too, with just 18 of them built from 1967–1969.

The 158 was originally born in 1937, but even over a decade later – after being stashed away during WW2 – it won the Formula One World Championship in 1950 and 1951 as the 159. It’s one of the most successful racecars ever, winning 38 of the 42 Grands Prix it entered.

In 1965, the Giulia Sprint GT became the GTA, with the extra letter standing for alleggerita or lightened/lightweight. This was thanks to aluminium panels, Plexiglas windows and a stripped interior that meant the 200 homologation specials weighed just 745kg.

Unveiled at the 1966 Geneva Motor Show, the gorgeous Pininfarina-designed Spider 1600 was the last project that Battista Pininfarina was involved in before his death that same year. Pininfarina built the front-engined, rear-drive roadster for Alfa Romeo, with almost 9,000 sold.

From the swoopy lines of Pininfarina to the ultimate Eighties sharpness of Zagato. The 1989 SZ was a brilliantly boxy sports coupe powered by the famous 3.0-litre Busso V6. Just over 1,000 LHD models were built, and by now less than 30 SZs remain active on UK roads.

With a name that harked back to the Alfa 8Cs of old and a stunning body that looked almost identical to the 2003 concept car, the 2007 8C Competizione was a modern day Alfa supercar. Just 40 of them found their way over to the UK, costing a heady £111,000 each.

The ultimate Seventies Alfa – the 2+2 Montreal was designed by Marcello Gandini over at Bertone and used a derivative of the 2.6-litre V8 engine that could be found in the 33 Stradale. It cost more than a Porsche 911 when it was new, but you’d happily pay for those exotic looks.