Getting your hands on a genuine sportscar on a budget of £10,000 might sound like wishful thinking, but here we have compiled a list of eight cars that can indeed be yours for 10k or less.

The cars on this list cover all the bases from mid-engined sportscars to front-engined, rear-wheel drive fun machines, screaming four-cylinders and bassy V8 muscle cars, two-seater drop tops and four-seater coupes – you’ll find the lot here. So keep reading for our guide to the best sportscars on a budget of £10,000.

Porsche Boxster 987

If you’re looking for a genuine sportscar experience on a budget of less than £10,000, you’ll struggle to look past a 987 Porsche Boxster. The Boxster has everything going for it. Its mid-engine chassis makes it heavenly in corners and the hydraulic power steering gives you the confidence to make the most of the car’s talents. The flat-six engine, meanwhile, is a masterpiece with an exotic howl that belongs in something far more expensive. So the Boxster can strum your heartstrings like a classically trained cellist, but it can also appeal to the sensible bank manager part of your brain. The Boxster’s reputation for handling excellence means it is close to depreciation proof (if well maintained), while a boot at each end makes this a genuinely practical two-seater. Our £10,000 budget is enough to get you a well-maintained 2.7-litre example less prone to the bore score and IMS issues suffered by the Boxster S.

Toyota GT86

While everyone else was chasing horsepower figures, the Toyota GT86 offered up a new way of thinking when it went on sale in 2012 – it was a car that prioritised fun over performance figures. And it has a spec list that would get any self-respecting enthusiast tingling. Up front, there’s a naturally aspirated flat-four engine, mated to a six-speed manual gearbox that sends power to a pair of deliberately spindly rear wheels via a limited-slip differential. The result? Sideways action wherever and whenever you want it, and a smile on your face that would put a Cheshire Cat out of business. Low rolling resistance Primacy tyres (usually fitted to the Prius) were central to the GT86’s tail-happy setup, and the stability control – which you could turn off in stages – meant you could explore the chassis without throwing away your electronic safety net.

Fiat 124 Spider

The Fiat 124 Spider is based on the Mazda MX-5 but delivers a more comfortable sportscar driving experience, along with retro looks that hark back to the 124 Sport Spyder of the 1960s. The 124’s turbocharged engine is central to this more relaxed personality. Okay, so 140PS (103kW) is nothing to write home about but the engine’s thick band of mid-range torque means you can make swift progress, without having to work the engine to within an inch of its life as you do in an MX-5. A cheap chip and tune can also bless your 124 with more Italian horses than it ever got from the factory. To complement its more relaxed gait, the 124 got a softer suspension setup that solidified its reputation as a mini GT car. Our £10,000 budget is enough for a well-used example with money left over for that highly recommendable engine chip.

Toyota MK3 MR2

Sensible. Practical. Boring. Three words that are often used to describe some Toyotas but certainly not the MK3 MR2 that’s next on our list. The final generation of the MR2 was a mid-engined, rear-wheel-drive sportscar that sacrificed practicality (it had two seats and no boot) for nimble handling that could leave contemporary rivals faltering. It was a more challenging drive than an MX-5 in period and – while this could be lots of fun – the unassuming Toyota developed a reputation for spitting the unsuspecting owner into a hedge, which was less fun. With risk came the challenge, however, and if you could master the Toyota’s handling, it would reward you with a cross-country pace that would keep far more powerful cars honest.

Nissan 350Z

In some ways, the burly Nissan 350Z feels more like a Japanese muscle car than a model that deserves a place on our list of the best sportscars for £10,000 or less. As you’d imagine, the 350Z’s powerful 3.5-litre V6 engine (which produced up to 310PS (228kW) took centre stage, giving the Nissan significantly more power than anything else for the price. Hooked up to the standard LSD, it also made the front-engine Nissan delightfully predictable to drive on the limit. But while a Porsche Boxster drives with a scalpel-like precision you can revel in, the 350Z is a blunt instrument that can feel clumsy as you approach its limits. But for laugh-out-loud, reliable fun on a budget, the 350Z should be lingering near the top of your sports car shopping list.

Mercedes-Benz SLK55

While the Mercedes SLK orbits the more ‘sensible’ side of the sportscar market, you’re unlikely to tar the V8 SLK55 – all 5.4-litres off it – with the same brush. Putting a large engine in a small sports car had predictably hilarious results, and the SLK55 offers push-you-back-in-your-seat power (and a rumbling soundtrack to back it up) at almost any speed you care to bury the throttle pedal. But the SLK55 can be grown up when it needs to be. The folding metal roof gives you coupe-like security and with the roof down, vents in the SLK’s headrests blow warm air down the back of your neck. Okay, so these luxuries mean the SLK is a heavy old thing in corners, and it’s (obviously) not the cheapest to run, but if you can find a 55 for less than £10k – and they are out there – we doubt you’ll be complaining.

Honda S2000

Coming from the same people that built your grandma’s Jazz, you might have thought the Honda S2000 would struggle to prise owners away from their BMW Z4s and Porsches Boxsters when it went on sale in 1999. But then, you probably wouldn’t have reckoned on the Honda’s VTEC engine revving to an ear-busting 9,000rpm. This frenetic delivery was central to the S2000 experience, but it was also a nimble sportscar that could catch you out if you weren’t careful. The snappy character was (largely) engineered out when the car was updated in 2004. Our £10,000 budget is enough to get you a well-used but clean example that – given Honda’s reputation for reliability – should never let you down if maintained correctly.

BMW 135i Coupe

While you’ll never get a BMW 1M on a budget of £10,000, the BMW M135i Coupe dips into this price bracket – giving you 90 per cent of the car for a fraction of the price. Okay, so the 135i lacks the 1M’s bristling wheel arches and square stance, but there’s still a lot to be said for the 1 Series Coupe’s stubby looks and compact dimensions. Particularly when they’re attached to the 135i’s lusty turbocharged straight-six engine, which provides straight-line performance that is quick even by today’s standards. The 135i Coupe might lack the precision of the 1M, but you can still enjoy the car’s rear-wheel-drive balance and mid-corner adjustability. And, while the BMW lacks the last word in handling finesse, it counters by offering a usable back seat and a boot that’s big for this type of car.