We make a trip to rural Illinois every summer, usually in the Milano Verde or the Maserati, to see our friend Andrew and check in on his German cars. Invariably the Milano and Andrew's 1991 BMW 535i are lined up to see who has the edge on acceleration. Even after building up a hot 3.0L Busso V6 with higher compression pistons, hotter cams, and ported heads, we have failed to keep up with the Bimmer.

Today's Alfa 90, or Novanta, would be a closer competitor to our friend's 5-series in terms of passenger space, but would stand an even worse chance of embarrassing the 5er in a straight line. Clean lines come courtesy of Marcello Gandini at Bertone, and the underpinnings - torsion beam front suspension, rear-mounted transaxle and DeDion rear suspension - are largely shared with the Giulietta, just like in the Milano / 75. The Quadrioglio Oro models like this one share their 2.5L Busso V6 with the Milano too.