Who doesn’t love the concept of a cheap high-performance sports car? For the vast majority of people in the world, something like a Ferrari or Lamborghini is completely out of reach. However, for those who are doing well but not quite to the scope of purchasing a car well north of $500,000, there are still some killer options out there. Here are the five cheapest supercars you can buy brand new in 2023.
2023 Mercedes-AMG GT – $98,950
Obviously, opening up a list of affordable supercars with a four-door sedan option is a tough sell. We could undoubtedly sit here and argue semantics about what qualifies as a supercar or doesn’t. Let’s not even get started on Mercedes calling the four-door version a “coupe.” What you can’t argue, though, is the performance of the Mercedes-AMG GT.
U.S. News reports that the 630 horsepower twin-turbocharged V8 under the hood will, in fact, make you forget all about nomenclature. With your foot to the floor, it’ll sprint from zero to 60 MPH in just 3.1 seconds. Combining that performance with Mercedes luxury and putting a sub $100,000 price tag on it seems like a pretty solid buy in our eyes!
2023 Porsche 911 – $106,100
Let’s just reiterate that what does or doesn’t qualify as a supercar is a bit of a moot point here. It’s going to keep resonating through this list. Surely, we can agree that a Porsche 911 is more toward the “traditional” understanding of a supercar than the previous entrant is, no? Some still argue that it’s “just” a sports car, but I digress.
In any case, the 2023 Porsche 911 starts at a plentiful 379 horsepower. Of course, the true selling point of the 911 is its iconic handling characteristics. If you’re looking for a true enthusiast’s driving experience and not just the recognition of owning an expensive car, the Porsche 911 is nearly impossible to beat at this price point.
2023 Audi R8 – $158,600
If you want an Audi R8, this is your last chance. The iconic mid-engine supercar that blurs the line between performance and luxury is coming to an end after the 2023 model year.
With up to 602 horsepower from a wailing naturally-aspirated V10 engine, the Audi R8 is one of the last of a dying breed. Massive displacement supercars with cylinder count in the two-digit range seemingly won’t be around much longer. For $158,600, buying a 2023 Audi R8 is more like buying a piece of history than it is simply buying a supercar.
2023 Nissan GT-R – $116,040
The Nissan GT-R isn’t quite as affordable as it once was. It is, however, still a brute-force performance car with brutal acceleration and remarkable cornering capabilities. With 565 horsepower and a zero to 60 MPH time of three seconds, it’s still a remarkable amount of performance for the price.
That being said, you wouldn’t be faulted from steering clear of a GT-R for its very minimally updated looks. Much like the Frontier, you can’t really tell two model years apart, even if they span an entire decade.
2023 Chevrolet Corvette – $64,500 (Good luck finding one at that price, though)
I’m putting my foot down on this one. I don’t care what sort of pedigree one wants to argue when it comes to the definition of a supercar. The Corvette is an extreme-performance mid-engine sports car with lots of power, lots of handling performance, and lots of engineering to make it the best it could possibly be. It is a supercar. That’s it!
490 horsepower and zero to 60 MPH in under three seconds doesn’t care about your semantics either. With its starting price of just $64,500, it’s hard to argue against the appeal of the C8 Corvette. For the foreseeable future, though, you’re not likely to pick one up at MSRP. Still, they do regularly appear for sale with prices well south of $100,000.
What are your thoughts on this list? Which car would you buy of these five? Let us know in the comments!
