zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Wrenching
/
Here Are Ten Of The Best Exotic Cars You Didn't Know You Could Afford
Here Are Ten Of The Best Exotic Cars You Didn't Know You Could Afford-April 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:13:43

Do you enjoy swooning over exotic cars, but never seem to have the endless conveyor belt of cash that it takes to own one? Fear not, for I have compiled a list of bona fide exotics that are as affordable as any four wheeled mediocrity machine available today. Consider this a gift from your local neighborhood Tavarish.

Here's a hardtop convertible with a hand-made and signed supercharged 5.4 liter V8, producing more power than a Ferrari F430, all made by the oldest manufacturer of automobiles in the world. In my opinion, it's the best looking SL made in the last 30 years. . What a spectacular car.

9. 2008 Lexus IS-F

How much cocaine does it take for the engineers at Lexus to create an insanely aggressive M3-killer? The answer is all of it. , painted in the shade of red between "Pull Me Over" and "Bail Money Is In The Glovebox", is one hell of a daily driver and weekend warrior. It has a eight speed automatic, enough space for five, and a metric ton of torque for when you need to overtake that jerk in the E92 that habitually forgets to use his turn signals. Not bad, Lexus. Not bad.

8. 2007 BMW M5

The car in this picture has a V10 with a dry-sump oiling system, three oil pumps, individual electronically-controlled throttle bodies and a six-speed manual transmission. . There is nothing that will shift with more purpose than this car at speed, and there is perhaps no greater value performance-wise, than a depreciated (but otherwise great condition) BMW M5.

7. 1999 Bentley Arnage T

There are those that think that luxury is something that must be renewed every year, with the shiniest toys available. And then there are those that own a Bentley and realize that not only is the luxury of yesteryear adequate, it's downright timeless. . It will always stand out in a crowd of mall-going mediocrity mobiles, and no one ever has to know that you paid less for it than their brand new base model Camry.

6. 2001 Qvale Mangusta

Here's an ultra-rare Italian sports convertible with a V8, namely a dual-overhead-cam V8 from a Ford Mustang. And an interior that closely resembles a Mustang's. Also, "Mangusta" is an anagram for "A Mustang". Coincidence? Who cares?! It's awesome, no one else will have one, and you can buy parts for it at your nearest Autozone. , so at the very least, it's worth a second look.

5. 1999 Porsche 911

A Porsche 911 will always be an exotic car. It marks the exact moment when you've left conventional life to pursue something more. , but with some , it can be the most reliable car you've ever owned. The looks will grow on you, and the performance will never get old. Get it before they become untouchable, like every other Porsche nowadays.

4. 1999 Dodge Viper RT/10

America's answer to the power-crazed 80s was to add more power to a chassis that was more go-kart than actual car. This culminated in a eight liter V10 Viper with hilariously large panel gaps and the ability to give you an ear-to-ear grin, between bouts of incontinence through fast turns. , except Dodge had around 10 years to figure out all the quirks and install things like windows and an exhaust that doesn't punish you with 3rd degree burns when you step out of the car.

3. 2003 Maserati Coupe GT

It's red. It's hand-made in Italy. It has a Ferrari V8 under the hood, and the interior is a work of art. Oh, and . The only way you'd be able to extract any more value from a car is if you put a 458 Italia in a blender. On second thought, that might not work.

2. 1991 Lotus Esprit SE Turbo

. It was the car all of its other cars aspired to be. It was light, insanely agile, and with its 4 cylinder turbo engine, pretty damn peppy. Although you could get a V8 twin turbo model for not much more than the price of this car, may your personal god show you mercy if it ever needs to get serviced. This one, at the very least has less complexity by only having half of the mechanical drivetrain components of its successor. It's also quite a looker and a great entry into the exotic car club for a seriously small amount of money.

1. 2000 Aston Martin DB7 V12 Vantage

This V12 Aston Martin is perhaps the best value per dollar you can spend on an exotic today. The engine is essentially the same unit that Aston uses in all of its cars, from the DB9 to the Vanquish S. While the car was made in Aston's Ford era, the exterior is unmistakably gorgeous and the drivetrain, while complex, should be a workhorse. . Insane performance value for a sane person's wallet, for sure.

For more awesome eBay challenges, check these out:

There's nothing that moves your automotive street cred up a few notches like owning a Porsche. It's

I'm a fan of insane value, unrelenting comfort, and laser-focused build quality. That's why I drive

is the founder of and writes about on the internet. He owns the world's cheapest , a , and he's the only Jalopnik author that has never driven a Miata. He also has a real name that he didn't feel was journalist-y enough so he used a pen name and this was the best he could do.

There's a difference between being cheap and treasuring value per dollar spent. One is knowing…

You can also follow him on and . He won't mind.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Wrenching
This Restomod 1956 Hyster Forklift Is Certified Fresh
This Restomod 1956 Hyster Forklift Is Certified Fresh
It’s one thing for you to be forklift certified, but it’s quite another thing for your forklift to be certified badass. Most of the forklifts I’ve used at jobs have been unreliable, smelly monstrosities that have been repaired by . This restomod Hyster is definitely not like that. What’s...
Apr 20, 2025
Update: I'm Still Burning Money
Update: I'm Still Burning Money
When I I’d just picked it up from having Subaru BRZ/Toyota 86 front and rear subframes grafted into its crumbling body. When the car came back to me in May, the clock started ticking. I had until mid-September to get the engine and transmission mounted in the car, clean...
Apr 20, 2025
Can You Solve The Mystery Of A Chevy Silverado HD That Kept Blowing Fuse Blocks?
Can You Solve The Mystery Of A Chevy Silverado HD That Kept Blowing Fuse Blocks?
Owners of old are to getting stranded and having to wait for a tow, but drift car driver was caught off-guard when the that tows his mysteriously broke down. The pickup refused to start when and his family were at a drift competition in Englishtown, New Jersey, and their...
Apr 20, 2025
I Ordered A Carbon-Fiber Roof For My Porsche 996 Turbo And I Might Throw Up A Little
I Ordered A Carbon-Fiber Roof For My Porsche 996 Turbo And I Might Throw Up A Little
I bought maybe the cheapest Porsche 996 Turbo—that’s right, —on the market a year ago, and I’ve mostly been happily stacking miles on the odometer since then. I have been working on making the car my own with a period-correct set of wheels, some extra carbon trim, and a...
Apr 20, 2025
Feast Your Tired Eyes On Some Unrelenting Car Repair Horrors
Feast Your Tired Eyes On Some Unrelenting Car Repair Horrors
It’s the end of the day on a Friday. Whether we’re at work or not, your brain is probably elsewhere. So, rather than stare at your inbox, or a spreadsheet or whatever, why not stare into the abyss of this Just Rolled In video, where a guy with an...
Apr 20, 2025
Crappy Jack Stands Can Kill You, But Which Ones Are Safe?
Crappy Jack Stands Can Kill You, But Which Ones Are Safe?
Everyone who has worked on their own car has likely heard approximately one million times that you should and that it’s only safe once that vehicle is resting securely on jack stands. ? Given how relatively simple jack stands are and the fact that they have to do one job...
Apr 20, 2025
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved