My personal fave.............
Posted on 12/03/2008 12:52:50 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
Not so many years ago, cars that produced 300 horsepower or more were considered rather rare and desirable things. Generally only the top tier of sports car or the very most posh boulevardiers had engines that could muster such prodigious output, and the price tags of the vehicles reflected it.
These days though, thanks to depreciation, a decade-long power race, and newly changing customer tastes, 300 horsepower cars can be had for much more reasonable rates—often less than $10,000. Those power and dollar figures are exciting starting places for those second-hand shoppers who may be looking for a deal on a performance machine, which is why we picked them as our two markers for making this list.
We’ve gotten our pricing estimates from the good folks at Kelley Blue Book, though we understand that in some cases much better deals can be had. Unless otherwise noted, the prices we’ve listed represent the private party value of a car in “excellent” condition with about 80,000 miles on the clock. We’ve also strived to get the best combination of power and newness when selecting between discrete model years, all while keeping a close eye on the budget. Click through our gallery above to read about our 300 horsepower/$10,000 picks, and then be sure to let us know which gems we may have missed, in comments.
Ping!.............
1971 Datsun 240z with 350 Chevy V-8 engine swap....
My personal fave.............
I’m probably speaking blasphemy here, but the Porsche 928 has always struck me as a bit on the ugly side. Not hideous, but not really sexy like the 911.
That ‘95 XJR, though? Rrrrrrroooowwwlll!
I have an ‘01 Ford F-150 SVT Lightning, it came with 380 HP and I’ve bumped it up to 450 HP at the rear wheels. It gets 15 MPG and is a blast to drive. ;)
Everybody should have one!!
I always wanted a 1996 m/t Corvette. Too many other vehicles causes restrictive conflicts.
the hemi and v10 rams are missing from the list.
Cool idea for an article, but OMG, buy all ten of those and I think you’d be talking about a 6-figure annual maintenance bill on the furrin’ ones!
Just bought this one a couple of months ago...except I bought the convertible...$11,000
How's the noise level at WOT? I drove some and could have used earplugs (not that that's a problem ;-) ).
Good driving in a straight line. Forget about going over the mountain roads where I live....
I just bought a 450 HP Porsche Cayenne Turbo. Would not normally be able to afford such a thing.
Automotively speaking this is 1968 all over. This is the everybody second chance at a Hemi’ Charger or Challenger. Nobody longs for cars of 75-85 but that’s the era we are going to relive here soon.
300zx TT is relatively inexpensive to maintain. Lots of parts out there.
They left off the firebird formula ram air? They had more power iirc than the z28.
I prefer the Z20 though and may pick one up now that used car lots are desperate.
Cool. Great concept for an article. Would definitely look at that Benz if I were in the market. Bookmarked.
They left off the firebird formula ram air? They had more power iirc than the z28.
I prefer the Z28 though and may pick one up now that used car lots are desperate.
Wow, our initial responses were identical! GMTA
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