Memotech MTX 512

Memotech had made its name selling well-regarded add-ons for the Sinclair ZX81 before deciding to build a computer of its own. The result, the MTX 512 of 1983, was a striking thing: clad in brushed black aluminium and put together to a notably high standard, it looked and felt more expensive than most of its rivals.

It had the substance to match the style, with a capable specification and clear ambitions in both the home and more serious markets. By rights it should have done well. But it arrived into a savagely competitive landscape, surrounded by machines that were cheaper, better known or both.

Despite its quality, the MTX never found the audience its makers hoped for, and Memotech's moment in the spotlight proved brief. It survives as one of the era's handsome also-rans: a genuinely good machine that the market, already spoilt for choice, simply passed by.