If you want to enjoy the thrill and exhilaration of driving a sports car, you don’t have to aim for the top of the range Lambhorgini. Bijou can also be beautiful when it comes to sports cars. Here are our top 10 tiny sports cars, all vehicles that punch above their weight in terms of power and performance. You’ll find them all pretty easy on the eye too!
Around 45 grand will buy you this sporty little Beamer. The Z4 roadster is a rear-wheel-drive, two-seater convertible with a traditional fabric folding roof. There’s no provision for rear seating – sorry kids – but that means there’s a little extra space in the boot. The Z4 has a long bonnet beneath which you have four engine choices – depending on which you go for you could expect 0-60 in under four seconds. Whichever sports car you choose, you’ll need insurance that performs as well as your car does. Call Adrian Flux on 0800 369 8590 for a swift no-hassle quote.
The Supra’s younger sibling, the Toyota GR86 is a rear-wheel drive, front engined sports car which will hit 0-60 in six seconds and boasts a top speed of 145mph. It’s a snip at a little over £30,000 but there aren’t too many of them about, with only a handful currently registered in the UK. That means if the Toyota GR86 tickles your fancy, you may have to go for an import.
It’s so solid and reliable that many wouldn’t think of the Audi TT RS as a sports car (it even has two tiny seats in the back), but make no mistake: one pep of the throttle will convince you it is. The TT RS incorporates the same powerful 400bhp 2.5-litre engine as the RS3, but has a sportier coupe body. It’s very quick too: 0-60 in 4.3 seconds and a top speed of 155mph. The damage? Around £58,000.
If you enjoy driving by the seat of your pants, it’s gotta be the thrusting three-wheel Morgan Super 3. Just 2,500 left Morgan’s Malvery factory over a 10-year production run. That doesn’t sound like many, but for a niche motor manufacturer, that’s almost mass production. Launched in February 2022 this is a sports car built for fun. Having said that, it does 0-60 in seven seconds and tops at 130mph.
The best-selling roadster of all time, the Mazda MX-5 is always at the height of fashion. Plenty of poke from a naturally aspirated engine with rear-wheel drive and manual gearbox as standard. What’s not to like? OK, the MX-5 is not the fastest on the block and the boot is miniscule, but what would you expect from one of the top 10 tiny sports cars?
Small and lightweight – very lightweight at just 1,100kg depending on which of the four versions you choose – no list of top 10 tiny sports cars would be complete without the Berlinette-based Alpine A110. If you have £50,000 to spare, you could have some great fun and some serious driving in this little beauty. You’ll get 0-60 in 4.6 seconds and it tops out at 177mph.
Being a four-wheel drive, just like an old-school sports car, the BMW M2 is great fun to drive. It even offers the option of automatic or manual transmission for those really intent on taking a trip down Memory Lane. It also has a sophisticated, high-tech interior and delivers a truly comfortable ride, even when you are pushing it to its limits. It’s yours for around £65,000.
Lotus describes its Emira as a “new icon”, and at more than £80,000 you would hope it would live up to this billing. In our view, it does. Beautiful to look at, satisfying to drive and performance to take the breath away. It will hit 0-60 in 3.5 seconds – don’t blink or you’ll miss it – and tops out at, who knows where, 170-185mph? Cleary one for a track day.
The 718 Boxster is essentially the same as the 718 Cayman but it’s a convertible – and drop dead gorgeous it is too. Expect the same handling, performance and power, but with the Boxster you can enjoy it with the wind in your face. The Boxster starts at about £54,000 but, like the 718 Cayman, the price quickly escalates for high-end models.
Coming in at around £52,000 for the base model, the 718 Cayman is the cheapest Porsche on the market but it’s an absolute dream to drive. If you want to switch up to the beefier six cylinder version, the price will begin to rise as fast as the rev counter. With speed to burn, excellent handling and sleek looks, many think the 718 Cayman is just about the best small sports car money can buy.
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