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The most expensive cars aren’t necessarily the fastest. In fact, there are affordable sports cars out there that can keep up with supercars.
Manufacturers have a lot of factors to consider when pricing their cars. The type of car, design, materials used to build it, historical significance, power, and production numbers are just a few factors that determine how cheap or expensive a car is.
The fastest cars are typically the most expensive, but that's not always the case. Throughout history, automakers have produced ridiculously expensive cars that aren't as fast as their price tags lead us to believe. On the opposite side of the spectrum, manufacturers have produced many affordable sports cars that can destroy your favorite supercar on a track. This list explores these two kinds of vehicles — fast cars that you can buy for cheap, versus slow cars that only wealthy individuals can afford.
In the early 2000s, Pontiac was going through an extremely rough period. To save itself, the company decided to bring back the iconic GTO after a three-decade hiatus. But, instead of building a muscle car from scratch, Pontiac decided to rebadge a Holden Monaro — which had a boring and dated design.
As anyone would expect, GTO fans were not happy, and the 2000s GTO was immediately added to the list of the worst muscle cars ever. However, we feel that the car was judged harshly. With a 6.0-liter V8 under the hood generating 400 hp, the 2006 GTO had a top speed of 180 mph, enough to beat some proper sports cars.
The DeLorean is one of those cars that most gearheads can instantly recognize, particularly those who grew up in the '80s and '90s. The DeLorean had an awesome wedge-shaped design, gullwing doors, and was featured in the Back to the Future films — every little boy had a poster of the car in their room.
Unfortunately, the DeLorean had nothing else going for it apart from the looks. It had a 2.85-liter V6 generating 130 hp. A 0-60 of almost 10 seconds and a top speed of 109 mph was not enough to justify its $25,000 price tag.
The Corvette is widely considered to be the best American sports car ever, having been in production for almost seven decades. However, the Vette hasn't always been great. In fact, the '70s to '80s era was terrible for the car, as it was too slow for a sports car.
But in 1989, Chevrolet figured out how to make the Corvette fast again when it introduced the fantastic ZR-1. Powered by a 5.7-liter LT5 V8 with 405 hp on tap, the ZR-1 could reach a top speed of 180 mph. The ZR-1 is one of the most affordable classic sports cars, with prices still under $20,000.
Morgan has a unique approach when building its sports cars. Their cars look like they were built a century ago — their designs and wooden frames remind us of the vehicles our great-grandparents used to drive. The Plus Four is no different.
The Plus Four has a similar vintage design to its predecessors and comes with a 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four engine rated at 255 hp. Even though the Plus Four weighs just over 2,200 pounds, it tops out at 118 mph, which is just too slow for most gearheads. However, those willing to shell out $70,000 for it are not interested in speed.
The words 'Aston Martin' and 'affordable' aren't typically used in the same sentence. However, the demand for affordable sports cars in the '90s forced the British marque to make one, resulting in the DB7. Aston Martin's plan worked, as they sold more than 7,000 DB7s over a decade-long production run.
The DB7 may have been 'cheap,' but it was clearly an Aston under the hood. Powered by a 5.9-liter V12 generating 414 hp, it was one of the fastest '90s sports cars with a top speed of 186 mph.
Over the years, Ford has built multiple special-edition Mustangs with all manner of performance and visual upgrades. The 1970 Mustang Boss 302 is one of the best, which explains why it can easily fetch over $150,000 today.
The Boss 302 draws its power from a 5.0-liter V8 with 290 hp on tap, giving it a 0-60 of almost 7 seconds and a top speed of 137 mph — hardly enough to justify the price tag. We'd rather spend half of that money on the modern Boss 302, which has 150 more horses and modern amenities.
The 944 is a front-engined RWD sports car that Porsche produced from 1982 to 1991. The 944 was largely similar to the popular 924 but had several upgrades to improve power and handling.
The 944 had a 2.5-liter inline-four engine producing 205 hp, but those who needed more power could get the turbocharged version with 250 hp. Although the 944 was a fantastic sports car, it was overshadowed by the 911, which is why it's still affordable today.
There are many fantastic plug-in hybrid sports cars available today, but back in 2012, things were quite different. In fact, the Fisker Karma was one of the few hybrid sports car you could buy, which explains why it had a $100,000 price tag.
The Karma was a huge hit at first, largely thanks to its sleek design. However, it didn't take long for gearheads to realize its biggest flaw — the Karma had a top speed of just 125 mph.
In 2002, Cadillac introduced the CTS — a four-door sedan with a boring design. There was nothing special about the CTS, so Cadillac decided to give it a boost in the power department, resulting in the fantastic CTS-V.
The CTS-V had the same boring design as the CTS, but things were a lot more interesting under the hood. Powered by a 6.2-liter supercharged V8 cranking out 556 hp and 551 lb-ft of torque, the CTS-V is extremely quick. You wouldn't know by looking at it, though.
Unveiled in the late '60s, the Dino 246 GT is one of the most-produced Ferraris, with almost 4,000 examples built over a five-year production run. Named after Enzo Ferrari's son, the Dino 246GT had a sleek design penned by Pininfarina featuring curving lines and soft edges.
The Dino was not like other Ferraris of its era. Instead of a massive V12, the Dino had a tiny 2.4-liter V6 producing an embarrassing 175 hp. A 0-60-mph time took more than 7 seconds, which is not what anyone expects from a Ferrari.
Martin is a seasoned content creator who has been writing about cars for over a decade, and has been in love with them for even longer. Growing up, Martin was surrounded by gearheads who instilled a deep love and understanding for cars in him at a young age. He loves to learn and write about all the developments happening in the auto industry – especially in the EV space. When he’s not writing about cars, he likes to spend quality time with his wife, kids, and fur baby.
