With Lancia having given up building in right-hand drive, and Fiat offering no suitable cars here, it is left to Alfa Romeo to keep an Italian presence in the UK executive market.

The Alfa Romeo 156, European Car of the Year, may lie outside this market sector in its lower-powered editions, but the 2.5-litre V6 has vivid straight line performance to go with its spectacular appearance. It is a serious long-distance, mile-eating sports saloon.

While some elements of the design, such as the jocularly "invisible" rear door handles and the deliberately retro look of some of the interior features, might seem to disqualify the 156 as a serious executive car, Alfa Romeo is one of Europe's patrician marques.

The largr, older 164 is another car with an individual presence on the road. The three-litre V6 engine gives the top-line variants strong performance, and the ultimate Cloverleaf model is particularly well equipped. If you want to drive an Alfa and really sock it to them, then for sheer impact

nothing much beats the GTV coupe.

Like the 156, its bold exterior design sketches pretty well made it into production without being watered down by a nervous approval committee.

Italy is well represented in the rarefied category of exotic cars with which highly successful people like to reward themselves.

Ferrari, one of the great international brand names, is perhaps the ultimate example, with its 456M GT, the dramatic F555 coupe and convertible, and the 550 Maranello.

Lamborghinis are imported in very small numbers by Porsche Cars GB. In contrast, there are signs of an upsurge of activity at Maserati, now run in tandem with Ferrari.

The two makes will co-operate in technical matters but keep their model lines apart. The revised Maserati Quattroporte will be here in the summer, and should soon be joined by a splendid looking Giugiaro-styled coupe.