Now is the time for an Audi TT. No, seriously. Because with it now out of production, and no direct replacement in the pipeline, we can finally celebrate the car for what it is and not what it isn’t. Thrill seekers must still look elsewhere, but for everyone else with eyes, the combination of iconic look, 2+2 practicality, manual gearbox and 150mph potential is hard to miss in 2025 – especially when it can be had for the price of a mediocre family holiday. And those oft-derided, common-as-muck underpinnings won’t half be handy when it comes to getting spares. This one tempts with a supercar-spec colourway, the more powerful 1.8 engine and a reasonable amount of services to its name. If unlikely to be one of the top-dollar collectable TTs (now commanding £15k, if you’ve not noticed), then surely a goodly amount of style and speed for less than £2,500. What else are you gonna have?

Okay, granted – we’re pushing the boundaries of what can acceptably be called a sports car here (don’t worry, the MX-5 is next up). But if you don’t fancy Mazda’s finest on a tight budget, there’s a lot to be said for an old Mini. The whole point of the two-door Coupe and its Roadster twin was to repackage the supermini in much the same way as Audi did with the TT – and while we can probably all agree that it fell short of that styling benchmark, it did at least result in sportier looking variants. Each model retained the driving fun of the hatch, too, with a pointy front end, adjustable rear, and abundant turbocharged performance. Nowhere more so than in the flagship JCW, with 211hp and a great glug of torque to keep the front wheels busy. Introduced later in the R56’s life, they feature the less troublesome – if not infallible – versions of the Prince engine. This one benefits from heated seats and the Chilli pack. A lotta feisty fun for £5k.

While all the cars on this list stand out for one reason or another (or more than one reason, in some cases), a fourth-generation MX-5 for less than five figures feels like a very special sports car purchase. Make no mistake, it’s the best MX-5 in the model’s 35-year history – stylish, innovative, desirable, fun – with fundamentals that remain in production today. And in 2025 more than ever, a lightweight, back-to-basics, manual, naturally aspirated roadster is to be cheered to the moon. But where a new ND will cost something like £30k, less than a third of that will buy a decent used one. This one-owner 2016 car is actually a Recaro edition, which is nice, and even in its earlier, less punchy format, the 2.0-litre is fast enough. Perhaps inevitably given the tiny kerbweight it was built down to, there are some signs of wear inside, but the exterior is as sharp as ever. All for just £9,695.

If you feel like the MX-5’s 2.0-litre motor lacks some sparkle, look no further than a Honda S2000. Its specific output is fully 50 per cent greater than the Mazda’s, at 120hp per litre against 80hp, and one visit to 9,000rpm ought to help explain why the car was voted in the top three when we asked PHers to choose the best sports cars since 1998. It makes a good deal of sense, too: alongside that engine you get perhaps the best manual gearbox ever, not a great deal of weight and helpfully compact dimensions. Still looks the part, too. This facelifted example gets the hardtop and an appropriate plate – plus the red ones are fastest. See you at 9,000rpm.

Let’s not forget that the Jaguar F-Type was sold new until last year, and while it was updated and refreshed in its time on sale, fundamentally it remained the same beast that launched to such acclaim in 2013. There’s plenty to recommend all of them, from the frisky four-cylinder to the hellraising supercharged V8, but you’ll find plenty of V6s on offer because it was such a charming blend of both – and frequently outsold them, too. This one seems a wonderful reminder of all that was good about the F-Type coupe, sitting perfectly on its big wheels and with the more powerful supercharged V6 under the bonnet. Amazingly, it’s now a decade and 50,000 miles old, but will still draw admiring glances everywhere it goes. And be a delight to drive on top – for the price of a Dacia Bigster. 

You can call it predictable Porsche all you like (and we’ll accept it from more imaginative Toyota GR86 owners) but there’s a reason why people with this budget buy a Cayman: it’s really, really good. As an everyday sports car, there’s very little to quibble with: glorious flat-six engine, an exquisite chassis, the practicality of two boots – and strong residuals on top. The original 987 earned the same spurs (check out this one), but the 981 replacement – launched in 2012 and with a strong link still to the present day – adds a superior sense of style. No longer a hardtop Boxster derivative, the Cayman was a seriously handsome sports car in its own right. The six-speed will always be the collector’s choice (especially in GTS format), but the seven-speed PDK remains one of the best; this one also gets Sport Chrono, the sports exhaust and big wheels, plus a few more months of Porsche warranty on top of the full dealer history. 

The most significant sports car of the last decade, no question. The Alpine A110 trod the middle ground between a lightweight Lotus and a heavy-hitting Porsche with aplomb; more liveable and more accommodating than an Elise while more exciting and more agile than a Cayman. It was (and is, for a little while longer) everything that a modern French sports car with four cylinders should be: distinctive, svelte, delicate and hugely entertaining. We had it in the best £50k sports car slot previously – and stick by the decision three years later. Indeed the fact that £40k is pretty much the entry point still – seven years after the A110 went on sale at less than £50,000 – indicates the regard the Alpine is held in. This later 300hp GT benefits from the facelift that brought improved infotainment. So even fewer reasons not to…

Once upon a time – about a quarter of a century ago, in fact – the Ferrari 360 Modena’s 400hp and 180mph potential would put it firmly in junior supercar territory. These days it’s comparable across the board to a 4.0-litre Cayman and now we’re into senior budget territory we couldn’t resist including it as a wildcard, mostly for those who laugh in the face of running costs. Moreover, with Ferrari’s first EV just over the horizon, gated manual V8 berlinettas look more desirable than ever. If the 360 isn’t going to skyrocket like its 355 predecessor (and the manual F430s, which are far rarer), it’s always going to be a desirable modern classic Ferrari: new enough to feel fast when really click-clacking along, but old enough to be properly tactile. This one has been maintained by its Ferrari specialist seller for 15 years, and had the cambelts done last year – all for £69,995.

Again, at the risk of seeming unoriginal (and justifying two showings for Porsche) the world’s most famous sports car was always going to be a shoo-in. And while the days of really cheap 911s might be gone – a manual 996 is now from £15k, the equivalent 997 starts at £20,000 – there are still cars out there that present strong value propositions. Sure, £100k for a GT3 isn’t exactly within reach for the average enthusiast, but these things just don’t depreciate. The opposite in fact – the 997.2 era of GT3 launched at £81,914 more than 15 years ago. And you’ll know all about it being the final Mezger GT3, the final manual GT3, the steering, blah bl – we all know. If you can get one, if you can run one, a 997 GT3 will look after you. And provide unrivalled driving excitement, even short of the God-like RS 4.0. Even in Comfort spec, without the cage. One worth going slightly over budget for, undoubtedly. 

A tricky one, as ever when the Monopoly money comes out, because blowing the lid off the budget can also lead to losing sight of the mission. But if sports cars are really about light, pure, simple, unadulterated joy, then you’ll not do better than a used Lotus. Unless it’s a used Lotus overhauled by Analogue Automotive, because (take it from us) its work on the S1 Elise is nothing short of wizardry. Everything good about the original model – the steering, the ride, the handling – is improved upon, while those less than stellar attributes like a stringy gearshift are totally transformed. If Lotus still produced an S1 Elise today, they’d want it as good as Analogue makes it. This is why you’ll need six figures to commission your own via the ad in the classifieds pointing you to the right place. There simply is no more complete follow-up to the sports car you voted the finest in 25 years.