Cheap supercars in 2025

The Audi brand is a very desirable one, and a large chunk of that success can be attributed to the original R8 supercar. It was a statement of confidence by the German premium car manufacturer: selling a mid-engined sports car to rival the legendary Porsche 911.

Frankly, it was brilliant, and worth every bit the £77,000 price tag when it was new, and now the Audi R8 is just as likely to turn heads as some of the most exotic Ferrari or McLaren models. Naturally, prices have risen since 2007, and and the most desirable models cost upwards of £150,000 by the time the car went off sale in 2024.

But don’t let that put you off. A budget of £40,000 can get you a perfectly desirable R8. You’ll be looking at one of the last examples of the first-generation model, but you'll be able to choose between the 4.2-litre V8 or 5.2-litre V10 engines at this money, as well as coupe or Spyder (convertible) bodystyles. Best of all, R8s of this vintage were available with a glorious gated manual gearbox. 

It’s easy to dismiss the Porsche 911 because of its popularity. There’s every chance you could find yourself sitting behind another one in traffic, and you’re not going to get young kids gawping in the same way as if you were driving a McLaren.

But, if you cross the Porsche 911 off your shortlist for these reasons, you’ll be missing out on one of the most complete supercars on sale today. There’s a reason the 911 is so popular: it’s simply brilliant, with an interior that feels totally special and a driving experience like no other.

With £50,000, you’ll be looking at the 991 model, sold from 2011. The 3.8-litre Carrera S is the one to look for, with a 4.3-second 0-62mph time and a top speed of 187mph. It's the Turbo that truly qualifies as a 'supercar' - for one of those you'll need at least £45,000 for a 997-generation version or over £60,000 for a 991. 

Don't be fooled by the use of the letters 'GT' - that may traditionally stand for 'grand tourer', but when you consider the way the Mercedes-AMG GT looks, sounds and performs, it surely qualifies as a supercar. And these days, it is a cheap one. 

Believe it or not, 10 years have passed since the AMG GT first went on sale, yet it still looks fresh today, and arguably prettier than the current model. All that time has left depreciation to work its magic, meaning early examples are now under £50,000.

You'll be wanting the S, which came with more equipment and a spicier version of AMG's 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 putting out 510PS. These outsold the base model, so they're actually a little easier to find. There's also the GT C and GT R, but these are still a fair bit over the £50k mark.

The Mercedes-AMG C 63 S is arguably a little too practical to be classed as a supercar but you’d be a fool to dismiss it on that basis. It uses a 4.0-litre V8 engine hand-built by AMG, which produces 510PS and powers the car to 62mph in 3.9 seconds. Top speed is in the region of 180mph: that’s as fast, if not faster, than most of the supercars featured here.

Not only is it quick, it sounds the part, too, and feels very special. The interior is a masterpiece, while Mercedes-Benz engineering ensures it can handle its power with just the right amount of drama.

You’ll be looking at a four-year-old example with our £50,000 budget, meaning it should have only covered low miles. That’s a very tempting proposition.

The closest thing you can get to a supercar from Aston Martin at this kind of money is the Vanquish. You'll have plenty of choice if shopping for the 1999-on version, and you'll have a few examples of its successor, the DBS, to pick from. We'd be tempted to break out of the £50k limit a bit and bag the 2012-on Vanquish (pictured).

It's easily the prettiest of the lot, is the most technologically advanced, and it still uses the same wonderful 5.9-litre, naturally aspirated V12 as the older cars. They're good for 573PS, giving true supercar performance, even if the engine's in the 'wrong' place for the genre. You do get an exotic carbon fibre body, though.

McLaren's new age as a high(ish) volume supercar manufacturer started with the MP4-12C. The company soon realised that was a bit of a mouthful, and re-christened it the 12C, but the car itself remained the same. 

That meant an exoctic carbon fibre tub, look-at-me dihedral doors just like the old McLaren F1, and a twin-turbo V8 pushing out over 625PS. Quite a few are now cropping up under the £50,000 mark, but if you can stretch to more like £60,000 and beyond, the newer 570S is worth considering. 

Either way, just make sure you get yourself an ironclad aftermarket warranty, as early McLaren Automotive products like these don't have the best reputation in terms of reliability.

A cheap Ferrari doesn't have to mean buying a slow, manky Mondial. Thankfully. You are still going to have to go for something reasonably old to qualify as vaguely affordable, though, which is why the Ferrari 360 Modena is the oldest car on our list. 

Don't discount it on the count of its age, though. This is when Ferrari started to really add a good helping of science to the way it engineered its road cars, with a high-revving V8, a clever all-aluminium construction and trick adaptive dampers. 

No, it doesn't quite look as pretty as the F355, but you can buy one of these for about half the price. A bargain! Sort of.

The BMW M6 shares an engine with the BMW M5. That means it’s powered by a twin-turbo V8 engine producing 560PS and a stonking 680Nm of torque. It’ll cover 0-62mph in 4.2 seconds, while top speed is limited to 155mph.

It really is ballistically quick and it will put a smile on your face just the same way as some of the much more exotic cars in this list. But the M6 also has another side: it’ll happily settle down into a cruise and cover hundreds of miles in comfort. You could even use it as your daily driver, if you wished.

Our £50,000 will get you one of the last examples of the BMW M6 coupe, registered in 2018.

Although it didn't really have supercar-bothering pace when it was launched, the BMW i8 accelerates quicker than some of the older vehicles on this list, and it certainly has the presence of a supercar, with eye-catching looks and attention-grabbing dihedral doors. 

It's an intriguing car, too, combining a 1.5-litre inline-three turbo engine from a MINI joined by a fairly hefty motor and battery combination for a 0-62mph time of 4.4 seconds and (so long as you keep it plugged in enough) 134.5mpg. All of that is stored in a recycled carbon fibre core. 

These things certainly had supercar-like purchase prices originally, topping six figures, but these days you can pick one up for as little as £35,000.

Capable of covering 0-62mph in just 2.7 seconds, the Nissan GT-R is one of the fastest cars you can buy no matter what your budget. In terms of power per pound, however, the supersonic GT-R is unbeatable value, while its large and practical nature makes it surprisingly easy for everyday use. 

Powered by a 3.8-litre V6 twin-turbo, early GT-R models (launched in 2008) featured 485PS. £50,000 will get you a later model, with anywhere between 530PS and 600PS. Not only will the GT-R embarrass much more exotic cars on the drag strip, its precise steering, reassuring brakes and huge amount of grip means it’s an enormous amount of fun in the corners, too.