10 Best Cheap Sports Cars For 2023
Many of us want a sports car at some point in our lives. The allure of a proper sports car really is too much to resist at times! But, unfortunately, a lot of sports cars are very expensive. This is especially the case when you’re buying new. But, there are quite a few that you can get on a reasonable budget! Even if you’re buying a brand-new car, you can still get a proper performance bargain out of shopping around on the sports car market.
This list features a wide array of different sports cars; from lightweight and affordable weekend canyon carvers to larger and more premium machines perfect for cross-country excitement. There are also a few that are more like muscle cars than regular sports cars! But, all of these cars are available to buy right now in 2023, and none of them will drain your bank account.
10 Mazda MX-5 Miata
This wouldn’t be a cheap sports car list without including the Miata. Mazda’s roadster has been a staple of the sports car market ever since its introduction in the 1990s, and there’s a very good reason why. It’s fun, reliable, and doesn’t cost an arm and a leg – even if you buy one new. Because of these qualities, it’s one of the best first sports cars for novice enthusiasts.
The Miata has a base price of $28,050. This makes it easily one of the most affordable sports cars you can buy new. Couple that with how reliable it’s known to be, and you could have a real sports car bargain that’ll last you for years and years!
9 Audi TT
Another familiar face in the world of small and affordable sports cars is the Audi TT. It’s been a perennial favorite ever since it first came on the market over 20 years ago. There’s a very solid reason why that is, as much like the Miata it’s gained a reputation for being a fun and reliable sports car. Because it has those qualities, it’s a popular choice for anyone who’s buying their first sports car. You won’t be able to get the extra-speedy TTRS model at a cheap price, but the regular model is still reasonable enough at a base price of $52,000.
The Audi TT will sadly be getting discontinued in the US after this year. But, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t consider it. If anything, now might be a brilliant time to get one brand new before they’re all gone!
8 Toyota GR86/Subaru BRZ
Much like the Miata, you can’t do a list of the best cheap sports cars without mentioning the Toyotabaru. The Toyota GR86 and Subaru BRZ both have a reputation for being fantastic sports cars for a very affordable price. Like the Miata and the Audi TT, this makes them a popular choice for people who want to get into sports car ownership for the first time. While previous generation models were criticized for being a bit slow, that’s something that was fixed on this version of the two cars. The result was that an already great small sports car became even better, and perhaps even more tempting for the people out there who love to tune their cars!
The Toyota GR86 has a base price of $28,400. The Subaru BRZ is priced slightly higher, at $28,595. This makes these siblings two of the most affordable options out there for a sports car if you’re buying new!
7 Toyota GR Supra 2.0
The Toyota GR Supra was a bit controversial when it first popped into the world. Quite a few enthusiasts weren’t exactly enamored with the fact that it shared a lot of BMW parts. Some people weren’t happy that it didn’t have a manual transmission option at launch. But, Toyota has addressed some of those concerns over time, and the GR Supra has become a serious performance car.
While the 3.0-liter model is priced at a sizable premium, the entry-level 2.0-liter version is affordable enough to be considered as a cheap sports car. The starting price for the 2.0 liter is $43,540. While that definitely doesn’t make it the cheapest option on the market, it’s a price point that isn’t out of the reach of most sports car buyers who want to buy new.
6 BMW Z4 sDrive30i
The other side of the Toyota/BMW pairing that produced the Toyota GR Supra is the current-generation BMW Z4. While a lot of the Z4 models you can get are quite expensive, the base model sDrive30i is actually fairly affordable for a sports car! It may not be the range-topping M40i that most BMW enthusiasts would want, but its performance is still sporty enough.
The sDrive30i starts at $52,800. That makes it the most expensive car on this list. But, if you really want a sumptuous convertible with a BMW badge on the hood, nothing else on this list is going to offer you that.
5 Infiniti Q60 Pure
The Infiniti Q60 is an option that you might not think of immediately when it comes to a cheap sports car. It’s more of a grand tourer than an out-and-out sports car, and it has a more genteel and premium image than the other cars on this list. It’s more affordable, though, than you might realize!
You won’t be able to get a Red Sport 400 model for cheap, but the entry-level Pure model comes in at a price that’s relatively affordable for sports car standards. It starts from $41,750. This makes it one of the more expensive options on this list, but you’ll definitely be getting a more premium car out of that.
4 Nissan Z
The Nissan 350Z and 370Z were benchmarks for great, cheap sports cars during the ’00s and ’10s. The Nissan Z that’s replaced them lives up to that legacy. This car has great retro-inspired styling and is powered by a meaty twin-turbo V6. This engine, the same one used in Infiniti’s Red Sport 400 models, gives it the great performance you’d expect from a sporty Nissan.
The Nissan Z starts from $39,990. That does make it a more expensive option on this list. But, considering Nissan’s knack for building fantastic sports cars, it might be well worth the extra buck.
3 Chevrolet Camaro LT1
The Chevrolet Camaro is really more of a muscle car than a sports car. But, the LT1 model does give you great performance for your money! This is the cheapest model to come with a V8 engine as standard, starting at $29,000. While it’s definitely far from the most powerful V8-powered Camaro you can get, it’s absolutely no slouch! You’ll also get that awesome V8 soundtrack that so many enthusiasts want.
If you want to buy a Camaro now, you might have to get a bit of a move on. Chevrolet is axing the model at the end of the 2024 model year, although it’s assured people that the Camaro name isn’t quite dead yet. With this in mind, it might be a good idea to get one now while you still can!
2 Dodge Challenger R/T
Again, this car is more of a muscle car than a sports car. But, it’s worth including on here because it’s surprisingly affordable! Much like the Chevrolet Camaro LT1, the Dodge Challenger R/T is the cheapest model available with a V8 engine. It’s not the best or the most desirable of the V8-powered Challengers, but it’s the one that definitely provides the best value for money if you buy new. The R/T’s price starts at $39,385, which isn’t the cheapest on this list, but it also isn’t near the most expensive. It’s not slow, and you get the V8 noises that you’d want out of a car like this.
With Dodge’s parent company Stellantis making a move towards exclusively electric vehicles in the near future, now might be a good time to pick up one of these! There won’t be much time left to pick up a great, affordable V8 sports car.
1 Ford Mustang Ecoboost
The third of the more muscle car-flavored cars on this list, the Ford Mustang Ecoboost is the only one of those options to not have a V8. Instead, it uses a 2.3 liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine. Don’t let the lack of a V8 put you off, though! The Mustang Ecoboost is still genuinely fast, and it does have some potential to be tuned.
The base price for an Ecoboost-powered Mustang is $30,920 for the coupe and $41,945 for the convertible. That, surprisingly, makes the coupe one of the cheaper options on this list. Combine that with the ability for the Ecoboost engine to be tuned, and you could have a proper performance bargain on your hands!