Sports Cars on a Budget

When Carroll Shelby created his legendary Shelby Cobra roadster in the 1960s, he had no way of knowing that the concept would live on for years. That the Cobra's basic blueprint — a European frame married to massive horsepower and minimal suspension — also applies to the first-generation BMW M Roadster is no accident. Here we have 240 horsepower (315 in 2002 models) stuffed into a long-nosed, short-tailed anachronism. The Roadster's raspy straight-6, its slick 5-speed gearbox and its stumpy proportions offer significant entertainment no matter the weather.

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Ford's Mustang is a perennial thing. It's always there, always powered by an optional V8 engine, always sporting a rough-and-tumble live axle between its rear fenders. This is a good thing, because it means that you can stick a nose into your local classifieds and find a suitable example for pennies. Ford's prancing pony was redesigned in 2005, and the cars produced since are simply the best of the breed. Stay away from post-2009 Mustangs unless you have deep pockets; a mild redesign took place in 2010, and the cars aren't old enough to have seen significant depreciation.

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The diminutive Honda Civic specializes in surprises. Here's a car with a usable back seat, a spacious trunk and enough creature comforts to keep anyone content. And yet in boy-racer Si form, the Civic moves. It hauls stuff and arse alike, its zingy, 197-horsepower 4-cylinder engine offering up just enough power to feel fast without being dangerous. Legendary Honda reliability comes along for the ride, as does one of the world's slickest-shifting manual gearboxes. As a happy bonus, the Civic was redesigned for 2012, which means that values of 2006 through 2011 models just took a significant slide. It's the perfect time to buy.

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Honda's seminal rear-wheel-drive S2000 is a lot of things: small, light, relatively efficient. But chiefly, it represents the apogee of the Big H's chassis genius. This is the Japanese giant swinging for the fences, going all-out to produce a car for purists and casual enthusiasts alike. The S2000 handles incredibly well, and it's quiet, comfortable and remarkably durable. Topping things off, the screaming, 237-horsepower 4-cylinder engine lacks low-end torque, so you have to work to maintain momentum. Think of it as the high-strung, old-school sports car viewed through a razor-sharp modern prism.

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The Infiniti G35 is essentially a Nissan 350Z in drag, but that doesn't mean it's not worth your while. A version of the Nissan's VQ-series V6 engine sits under the G35's curvaceous snout, and like the 350, the G's rear-wheel-drive chassis responds well to modification and is relatively friendly when driven hard. Values tend to vary greatly with condition; Gs have plushier interiors and more sound-deadening than their Nissan siblings, so speedheads don't seek them out like they do Zs. Their loss. This is as fine a modern grand tourer as you're likely to find.

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If there's a production car that handles better than a Lotus Elise, we don't want to know about it. Lotus' diminutive, winding-road rock star weighs roughly 2,000 pounds. It combines a few magic suspension bits and a Toyota-sourced 190-horsepower 4-cylinder engine with a bare-bones cockpit where even the floormats are optional. The end result is a smooth-riding, knee-high ball of wonder that turns any road into a racetrack and any racetrack into a playground. The best part? After six years of production, good used Elises can be found for the price of a new Toyota Camry.

Prices: Not available

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When the Mazda MX-5 (aka the Miata) launched in 1989, it was heralded as the rebirth of a form. In one fell swoop, the phrase "cheap roadster" went from oxymoron to reality. Later iterations grew faster and more comfortable, but they retained the original's personality and do-anything spirit. Though often derided as feminine, the MX-5 offers bulletproof reliability, decent resale value and handling neutral enough to shame many purpose-built race cars. The spunky, 166-horsepower 4-cylinder engine is available with one of the world's best 5-speed manual transmissions. This is high performance on a nonperformance budget.

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If you're old enough to remember the legendary Datsun 240Z, then you'll understand the appeal of the Nissan 350Z. When it was launched in the early 1970s, the Datsun was the thinking man's Jaguar E-Type. It was inexpensive and attractive, and its only drawback was a somewhat agricultural 6-cylinder engine. The 350Z is the same idea wrapped in a modern shell: humble mechanicals, good looks and a price tag that can't be beat. The 287- to 306-horsepower V6 engine is stout and capable, and the car's chassis will take anything you can dish out.

Nissan 350Z Touring Coupe

Nissan 350Z Touring Roadster

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It was once thought that Detroit couldn't do a proper sports car. Then the Corvette went and grew up; it became fast and polished, a true world-beater. So then the naysayers complained that Detroit couldn't do a proper cheap sports car. The Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky were the answer to that complaint, and they almost fit the bill. Both were decent handlers that suffered from anemic engines and subpar interiors, complaints made worse by relatively high prices. On the used market, however, a Solstice or Sky is an excellent bet — dirt cheap, comfortable, reliable and attractive.

Pontiac Solstice

Saturn Sky

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We know what you're thinking. A Porsche? Really? Who can afford that? Here's a welcome surprise: If you have a full-time job, you can buy a Porsche. The 6-cylinder Boxster has been in production since 1997, and early examples — heck, even a few high-mileage late-model cars — are now cheaper than a new Honda. Boxsters don't hold their value like other Porsches, largely because they sit at the bottom of the marque's modern hierarchy. No matter the price or mileage, you still get the German brand's soul-stirring performance and excellent handling.

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Sam Smith is a journalist, a Southerner, and a reformed Alfa Romeo mechanic who spends most of his time mooning over leaky old motorcycles and small-batch bourbon. A multiple International Automotive Media award-winner, he has covered cars for Automobile Magazine, Car and Driver, and Esquire, among other publications. He once drove 4000 miles in a weekend for a hamburger and has only been threatened by the German police twice.

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