Best sports cars to buy in 2025
We appear to be falling out of love with sports cars. Registrations are down across Europe, with some models seeing a major slump in sales. Blame the popularity of SUVs or soaring household bills, but it isn’t down to a lack of choice.
Indeed, our list of the best sports cars shows a segment in rude health, with buyers able to choose from a range of hardcore and soft-focus options.
Here are the best sports cars to buy in 2025, with our choices presented in alphabetical order.
Alpine A110
The Alpine A110 proves you don’t need the default Porsche 718 Boxster or Cayman to experience the joys of a relatively affordable, daily-driver sports car. This pretty French coupe was designed to deliver one thing: unadulterated fun. Prices start from a whisker under £55,000.
All versions are powered by a 1.8-litre turbocharged engine, which in R flavour (pictured) produces 300hp. While this is the same as the A110 S, the R is 34kg lighter and rides 10mm lower on manually adjustable coilovers, with stiffer anti-roll bars and Michelin Cup 2 tyres.
We said: ‘The R will appeal to collectors and those who want the ultimate A110 regardless of cost (you can imagine Alpine F1 drivers Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon each having one as their company car). Ultimately, though, this version serves to underline the unadorned brilliance of the standard A110.’
Read our Alpine A110 R review
Caterham Seven 360R
Caterham has been playing the role of wasp at the supercar picnic since 1973. That’s when the company acquired the rights to build and develop the Lotus Seven, one of Britain’s most driver-focused sports cars. Today, prices range from £29,500 to £80,000, or you can have the chassis, boxed components, engine and gearbox delivered to your garage, along with an assembly guide.
The Seven 360R (pictured) uses a 2.0-litre Ford Duratec engine and will hit 60mph in just 4.8 seconds. To go even faster, check out the Seven 620, which adds a supercharger to the Ford engine for a 0-60mph time of 2.79 seconds and a top speed of 149mph.
We said: ‘It’s totally impractical, and downright masochistic on longer journeys, but a Caterham Seven offers a raw and visceral driving experience like little else. Once you find an ideal road, in the perfect weather and surroundings, the sensations are addictive and will leave you wanting more.’
Read our Caterham 360R review
Ford Mustang
The Ford Mustang is a hugely successful sports car. It’s an automotive icon, and as American as baseball or mom’s apple pie. You can now buy an electric Mustang – the Mach-E SUV – but we’re talking about the old-school V8 here. Available as a GT coupe, GT convertible or Dark Horse edition, it costs from £56,000.
Even in entry-level guise, the 446hp Mustang will hit 62mph in just 5.3 seconds, but if you choose the 453hp Dark Horse edition, the sprint time drops to 5.2 seconds in the six-speed manual version – or an impressive 4.4 seconds if the 10-speed automatic is your thing.
Driving the Mustang Mach 1 (pictured), we said: ‘If you want to go sideways, you can, but the Mach 1 is too polished to play the all-out hooligan. That doesn’t mean it has morphed into a flighty sports car, though. It remains quite a physical experience, with a heavy six-speed manual shift and a sense of weight shifting that betrays its 1,851kg heft.’
Read our Ford Mustang Mach 1 review
Lotus Emira
A list of the best sports cars must include a Lotus, even if Norfolk’s finest is now mostly building SUVs and EVs. With a starting price of £89,500, the Emira feels a long way from the Elise, but this is every inch a Lotus for the modern era. Indeed, thanks to a top speed of 182mph, the entry-level Emira is the world’s fastest four-cylinder car.
It shares its engine with the Mercedes-AMG A45 S and we reckon it’s a better sports car than the V6 version. That said, thanks to the 406hp Toyota V6 engine, the flagship Emira (pictured) can hit 62mph in just 4.3 seconds, before maxing out at 180mph.
We said: ‘In the long Lotus tradition, the Emira remains a ‘chassis’ car, with the engine as a supporting act. The Toyota V6 is certainly effective, but its gruff, rather workmanlike voice isn’t as exotic as a howling Porsche flat-six. I’m not wholly convinced by the notchy and slightly ponderous manual gearshift either. Nonetheless, this is the most complete Lotus ever, and a reassuring reminder that, even with the electric revolution already underway, Hethel hasn’t forgotten its past.’
Read our Lotus Emira review
Mazda MX-5
Why spend £60,000 on a sports car when half that amount could get you behind the wheel of the world’s favourite roadster? Over four generations and 35 years, the Mazda MX-5 has cemented a reputation for being the benchmark affordable sports car.
For a while, the brilliant 132hp 1.5-litre Skyactiv-G was our engine of choice in the MX-5. With just enough power to entertain, a sublime six-speed gearbox and superb rear-wheel-drive handling, it was the perfect MX-5. Perfect, that is, until Mazda tweaked the 2.0-litre engine. Now with 184hp, it injects the MX-5 with added excitement. It’s genuinely thrilling.
We said: ‘It is delicate, adjustable and floods you with feel and feedback. Compared to a hot hatch, it almost feels over-soft, as the body rolls in corners and the suspension is supple over bumps. This, however, is because it’s so light, meaning Mazda hasn’t had to battle with managing excess weight.
‘Best driven with fingertips, it’s nimble and flows beautifully, feeling exactly like the 1960s throwback Mazda intended since day one.’
Morgan Plus Four
First launched in 2020, the Morgan Plus Four boasts a bonded aluminium platform, double wishbone suspension and a twin-turbocharged BMW engine. Updates for 2024 included LED headlights with integrated indicators, new puddle lights, a redesigned rear diffuser and an optional Dynamic Handling Pack.
At £1,995, the latter is an essential upgrade, giving the Plus Four a newfound sense of poise and accuracy. Developed with suspension specialist Nitron, it consists of stiffer springs, adjustable dampers and a rear anti-roll bar. It’s the best upgrade you can make to a Morgan.
We said: ‘The Morgan Plus Four is a trad British sports car with modern manners – if you opt for the new Dynamic Handling Pack. Most people will buy a Boxster instead, but a Morgan isn’t for most people. It’s a car that keen drivers can enjoy without qualms, blending exciting performance with lucid steering, deft damping and real exuberance when its limits are tested. Appearances, it seems, can be deceptive.’
Read our Morgan Plus Four review
Porsche 718 Boxster and Cayman
When the Porsche 718 is this good, you have to wonder whether it’s worth spending nearly £100,000 on a Porsche 911. Granted, it’s not quite as simple as that, but in the context of the rest of the Porsche range, the 718 Boxster and Cayman seem good value for money.
The GTS 4.0 versions are our pick of the range. A return to the flat-six engine might sound like a U-turn following the company’s switch to four-cylinder power, but it was music to the ears of Porsche purists. Alternatively, if your budget stretches that far, the flagship Cayman GT4 RS blurs the boundaries between sports car and supercar. It’s outrageously exciting – and a guaranteed future classic.
Driving the Cayman GT4 RS, we said: ‘The air intakes that replace the rear side windows are located just behind your ears, and the effect is like hugging the speakers at a Motorhead gig. As the revs soar, the voracious gasp of induction is overwhelmed by the bandsaw blare of six wide-open throttle bodies. The piercing top notes are pure racing car.’
Read our Porsche Cayman GT4 RS review
Porsche 911
To many people, the Porsche 911 is the definitive sports car, bridging the gap between affordable two-seaters and six-figure supercars. Sure, prices start from around £100,000, but the beauty of the 911 is that you don’t have to progress far beyond the ‘entry-level’ model for the pure Porsche experience.
Indeed, we think the 911 Carrera, updated for 2025, is all the 911 you could ever need. Granted, a total of 394hp from a 3.0-litre twin-turbo flat-six looks a bit ‘meh’ in a world of 400hp+ hot hatches and 1,000hp EVs, but they don’t offer the poise and purity of a 911. The new 911 Carrera GTS T-Hybrid is good, but the ‘basic’ Carerra gets our vote.
We said: ‘If you have £100,000 to splash on something sporty, it remains the default choice. Does ‘default’ also mean ‘dull’? Absolutely not. I’ve been lucky enough to test many exotic 911s, from classic RS models to a tuned Turbo. I always enjoyed the experience, but after a few hours I usually felt ready to return the keys. That isn’t the case here. Indeed, I could have happily carried on driving the Carrera, taken it home and lived out my days with it. The only sports car you need? Yes, something like that.’
Read our Porsche 911 Carrera review
Radical SR10 XXR
Meet the Radical SR10 XXR, a purpose-built race car with Bugatti-baiting performance and no electronic driver aids. It’s not the kind of car you’d climb into for a commute to the office, unless your office happens to be a racetrack.
Power is sourced from a 2.3-litre four-cylinder engine from the Ford Focus ST, which, thanks to a custom Garrett turbocharger, forged pistons, a high-flow exhaust and a Life Racing ECU, produces 425hp. That’s in a car weighing just 725kg. No surprise, then, that it’ll hit 62mph in just 2.4 seconds.
We said: ‘Forget track-focused road cars: this is the real deal. The Radical SR10 XXR will teach you to be a better driver, and make you grin in the process. Its real USP, though, is the Radical Cup race series: a relatively affordable route into national-level motorsport.’
Read our Radical SR10 XXR review
Toyota GR86
The Toyota GR86 is the successor to the much-loved GT86, with a 234hp 2.4-litre ‘boxer’ engine and a similar surfeit of power over grip. It’s a pure sports car of the sort that will soon be extinct, serving up constant feedback and fun. Sadly, buyers are all too aware of time running out, and the entire UK allocation for the GR86 has already been sold. If you want one now, you’ll have to buy used – and probably pay a hefty premium over the £30,000 list price.
Aside from its propensity to oversteer, the GR86 offers a practical hatchback boot, two child-sized rear seats and typical Toyota build quality. Yes, the interior is a bit plasticky and fuel economy could be better. But trust us, you really won’t care. This car makes even a mundane journey feel special.
We said: ‘The added torque transforms how the GR86 drives, answering the main criticism of its predecessor. Its growly flat-four no longer relies solely on high revs, pulling strongly through the mid-range to its 7,400rpm limiter. The control weights feel carefully calibrated, too, with endlessly chatty steering, perfectly spaced pedals, a snappier manual gearbox (an automatic is optional – don’t even think about it) and a proper handbrake.’
Tim Pitt writes for Motoring Research