1972 Alfa Romeo Alfasud

When it went on sale in 1972, the Alfasud rewrote the small-car book. Given that Alfa Romeo had no experience of small, front-driven cars, the sheer dynamic excellence of the flat-four powered ’Sud came as a shock. However, Alfasud was also a government-led experiment in the redistribution of manufacturing (a new factory was built near Naples, where the workforce was hardly skilled in car-making). Customers found their new ’Suds would rust, or fall to pieces, overshadowing the great work done by the engineers. A flawed gem.

Information from Octane Magazine.