Welcome to Cheap Sports Cars TV!
Does it seem like you have to be rich or have a high-paying job in order to own a sports car?
For car enthusiasts everywhere owning a powerful rear wheel drive car with sporty handling is one of the top dreams when it comes to the automotive realm of life.
For a lot of people owning a sports car or a muscle car takes a backseat to more practical needs and considerations.
I guess this is why so many people drive Honda Accords or a Ford Focus. Or a minivan…(shudders, scroll down to cars that will help you avoid that fate).
Really it’s an understandable situation though. Sports cars tend to be more expensive and since they are typically two door models with limited cargo or passenger space they are not very realistic to own if you can only afford one car.
Obviously if sports cars tended to be more affordable then it would make a bit more sense to buy one for the fun of it as either a second car or even a daily driver depending on what you can get away with in terms of limited space for gear and people.
So what if you could find some cheap sports cars to choose from? They wouldn’t have to be new but they would sure need to be powerful, good-looking and get good 0-60 times while still handling the curves better than the average sedan.
We just might be able to find some cars like that and since this site is called Cheap Sports Cars TV I’ll have to include some obligatory video clips of the cars in action too. Sound good? Let’s get started…
Cheap Sports Cars – Great Cars for Less $$$
The trouble with making a list of cheap sports cars is that every one’s definition of cheap is going to be different. I can’t really list the models in order of affordability either since it totally depends on whether you get the latest Corvette or one made 20 years ago.
Although some people are bound to disagree with the rankings I’ll go ahead and list out a bunch of affordable sports car models based on perceived value and the ease of finding a nice used model if you can’t afford a brand new sports car.
I won’t be venturing too far back into the 1980s since we’ll start to get into vintage car territory somewhere back there and the chances of getting a quality used model for a decent price will likely drop quite a bit.
So the aforementioned Corvette will feature pretty high on our list since it not only provides excellent performance for the price when new but it has also been in production for some time and you can be sure you’ll be able to find a nice used Corvette -or other sports car- for sale on Craigslist, eBay or at a dealer.
A List of Cheap Sports Cars:
1990-2012 Chevrolet Corvette
Price range: $5,000 – $49,000
In my estimation the Corvette is one of the top cars in this whole list of cheap sports cars. Yes, if you buy a brand new Corvette it isn’t going to be that cheap and you can certainly spend over $100,000 on a ZR1 model that is the super high performance representative of the Corvette line up.
At the same time you can also spend half that and get a brand new sports car that will get 30+ MPG on the highway and still can beat many other cars on the road in terms of handling and acceleration.
If you can’t afford a new Corvette at all -which is the situation most of us are in- you can still find a good used model and end up driving a nice sports car for say, $10,000 dollars. If you go really cheap -and old- you can get a used model that might need some work done on it for more like five thousand.
Remember the key thing to keep in mind about the Corvette is the value you get for the price. The base Corvette isn’t the most exotic sports car out there it’s more of a sports car than most of us have the pleasure to drive.
2010-2012 Hyundai Genesis Coupe
Price range: $19,000 – $23,000
While Hyundai hasn’t been a name associated with sports cars -or even with decent cars- that has changed a lot in recent years and Hyundai seems to be a brand on the rise in a way I imagine the Japanese brands were several decades ago.
The Genesis Coupe is an example of how Hyundai is bringing new competition for the current sports cars on the market. The model hasn’t been on the market long at all but you can expect to get a model for under $20,000 which is pretty good for an almost new sports coupe that can get to 60 MPH in about 5.5 seconds through application of it’s 306 HP to the pavement.
If you want to go with a more inexpensive version of the Genesis Coupe you can always go with the turbocharged four cylinder model that puts out 210 HP as well.
1990-2006 BMW M3
Price range: $5,000 – $26,000
While the M3 sedan probably can’t be called a true sports car because of it’s four doors there’s no reason not to include the coupe version on the list.
The 3 Series is already a popular and good handling line up of cars and the M3 has become a legend for taking that capability to the next level. Since it’s been around for a few decades you have the chance to pick up a used model at a cheaper price although if it is in mint condition you may not get a bargain.
Be careful looking at models as they get closer to the late 80s and early 90s because depending on where the vehicle is from the 3 Series cars didn’t hold up to rust that well and you might have some body work to do.
While the latest version of the M3 are certainly great they aren’t cheap sports cars by any stretch so if you are looking for value you probably want to look at the 1995-2005 range of M3 models. The 2006 model is probably the last somewhat affordable M3 on the market.
2003-2012 Nissan Z Series
Price range: $11,000 – $32,000
While today’s generation of sports car buyers like myself isn’t likely to remember the Z car of the 1970s Nissan saw value in bringing the model back to life in 2003 with the introduction of the 350Z. After some upgrades and styling modifications in the car went from being called the 350Z to the Z Coupe with the model designation 370Z as more of a badge or trim level name.
It kind of makes sense to disconnect the name from the engine size since any changes to the motor would require a change the the vehicles name as well.
In any case the current 370Z and past 350Z are quite similar in styling but power output has moved from 287 HP in the 350Z to 350 HP in the NISMO version of the 370Z.
It seems like there is a lot of performance to be had for the price with this modern Z car since you can find an early version for around $11,000. Even a brand new 370Z might cost you as “little” as $32,000.
While a new Mustang might be pretty impressive I would probably put my money into a nice used Z car -versus a used Mustang- since I would expect it to hold up in terms of fit and finish quality compared to a Mustang.
1991-1999 Mitsubishi 3000GT
Price range: ~$3,000 – $12,500
The Mitsubishi 3000GT is something of a forgotten car in comparison to others in it’s class but it’s one that has a lot of potential if you are looking for a affordable used sports car.
It’s been over ten years since the 3000GT was produced but if you know the used car market then I’m sure you realize that there are still some super nice late 90s model cars out there.
You can probably find a warm weather 3000GT for a good price -around $8,000 – $9,000- and get a lot of performance for the amount of money spent especially if you get the more powerful VR-4 version of the car.
You might have to appreciate a certain class of styling to purchase a 3000GT but if you did you could enjoy a 320 HP V6 engine matched with a 6 speed manual transmission in the VR-4 version.
2000-2012 Audi TT
Price range: $7,000 – $39,000
While it might have been a little bit of a stretch to call the first Audi TT a sports car, given it’s FWD layout and fairly low power output, Audi has developed the car since that time into quite an impressive little coupe.
Quattro AWD was introduced shortly after the car first debuted and you can now get a very well equipped TT RS quattro with a 2.5L I5 motor that puts out 360 HP. Alternately you can choose one of the turbocharged four cylinder models that makes 211 HP and still get over 30 MPG on the highway.
If you like rounded lines but want something with more performance and more masculine appeal than a VW Beetle (not a sports car by any means) then the Audi TT seems like a good option. It’s certainly very recognizable and distinctive compared to many other sports cars out there.
If you don’t mind getting one of the first generation models you should be able to pick one up for around $7,000 too.
1994-1998 Toyota Supra
Price range: $11,000 – $23,000
It might be debate-able whether or not the Toyota Supra belongs in a list of cheap sports cars since the model is fairly rare.
The model we’re most interested in was produced from the 1994 to 1998 model years and if you had the original version of Need for Speed then you probably remember driving the Supra on your desktop PC back in the day.
Today we don’t really think of Toyota’s when we think of sports cars but back in the 90s the Supra kept up the overall balance of performance to practicality in the Toyota line up.
The base model was a 225 HP I6 powered unit but the 320 HP Supra Turbo is what enthusiasts have the most interest in. KBB price on the 1998 Supra Turbo is still in the $20,000 arena so this certainly isn’t the most value you are going to find in the used sports car market.
1999-2004 Porsche 911
Price range: $13,000 – $27,000
The Porsche 911 is another car that might not have a place here on Cheap Sports Cars TV.com. At the same time I was a bit surprised to see values for used 1999 – 2004 models in the under $25,000 price range that they are.
Taking care of a 911 probably won’t be cheap but if you are simply looking for a low purchase price and don’t mind the cost of ownership so much then you can probably find a nice early 2000 model that is affordable enough to make sense.
If we use a 2001 model 911 as an example you could get a genuine German sports car with premium handling and over 400 HP for somewhere around $16,000.
1990-1996 Nissan 300ZX
Price range: ~$3,000 – $9,000
The Nissan 300ZX is another one of those often forgotten sports cars. The weren’t made in huge numbers it seems (or at least weren’t sold in huge numbers in the United States) and it’s been quite some time since their production ceased.
The good news is that this gives you an opportunity to pick up an affordable sports car that others might not be thinking about. In a recent episode of Top Gear an older Nissan 300ZX was given an enthusiastic thrashing and seemed to do quite well despite it’s age.
The most appealing 300ZX model is the turbocharged version that was capable of 300 HP but the 223 HP standard version doesn’t sound too bad either.
2000-2007 Honda S2000
Price range: $9,500 – $23,000
The Honda S2000 is one of those cheap sports cars that you might forget about…since it’s a Honda. The Japanese automaker isn’t really known for it’s exciting sports cars but it is capable of making some nice vehicles.
The S2000 might be considered more of a roadster but since it’s been on the market for 9 years -although it is out of production now- and has many sports car attributes it seemed like a great model to include in our list of cheap sports cars here.
Kelley Blue Book pricing on the last model is a bit high to be considered affordable but if you get a 2007 or earlier example of the S2000 you should be able to get quite a bit of performance for the price.
Although it was upgraded in later production years the S2000 started life as a 2000 model year car with a high revving 240HP 2.0L engine. As you might expect torque is a bit lower at 153 lb-ft so if you get one you’ll probably be spending quite a bit of time in the higher rev ranges. Red-line on the early models is about 9,000 RPM!
Even More Cheap Sports Cars
That’s a list of affordable sports cars to get you started but as they like to say in the marketing arena: There’s more!
We haven’t even gotten into some other great models like the BMW Z3, Ford Mustang and even the rare Acura NSX.
As is the case with all the models featured above some are more affordable cars than others but they are all performance oriented vehicles that most enthusiasts would love to drive at the very least.
Hopefully you can make one of them your own. Click over right here to see more cheap sports cars including, test drive videos and performance specs.
3000GT image by… Supra image by… 911 image by… 300ZX image by…