The 10 best sportscars to buy in 2025
Automation and electrification is here in increasing doses, but there are still options for those who like their cars to be altogether more analogue. Simple, lightweight sportscars might be more difficult to bring to market in 2025 than ever before, but there are many manufacturers still in the game – as our pick of the best sportscars proves.
Morgan Plus 4
The Morgan Supersport may have been hogging the limelight recently, but Morgan still builds sportscars with their styling firmly rooted in the 1930s. The new Plus 4 is just such a car, but the running boards and chrome hide thoroughly modern underpinnings. It uses the latest incarnation of the bonded aluminium CX chassis, which is both lighter and stiffer than that introduced by the Aero 8.
Power comes via a 258PS (189kW) four-cylinder BMW engine driving through an 8-speed ZF gearbox. With 399Nm (294lb ft) of torque available from just 1450rpm, the Plus 4 has performance that belies its pre-war appearance. In fact, its performance figures are akin to a four-cylinder Porsche Cayman. But it's more about how the Plus 4 performs than how fast it gets down a road, and in that regard it's a uniquely engaging experience.
Porsche 911
It's the evergreen sportscar, isn't it? This year is by no means unique in being a good one in which to buy a Porsche 911 – it could have made the cut in any number of years in the last few decades.
The latest 992 generation of the 911, the eight evolution of the rear-engined coupé, arrived in 2018. While it's naturally bigger, heavier and more complicated than its successor, it still elicits that unique 911 magic. There's no other sportscars that fits so effortlessly into your life.
Porsche 718 Boxster
Welcome to the second of three Porsche entries in this list. OK, so today's Boxster range starts with four cylinders rather than the six it used to have. Despite its 2.0-litre deplacment, turbocharging results in better performance than its forebears, while handling has also improved with each generation. And the interior grade is far higher than the 1996 original.
You can argue that the turbocharged four doesn't stir the soul like the naturally-aspirated six did, and if you're among that number the GTS offers what you're after. But even in four-cylinder entry-level form, the Boxster remains at the top of its game as mid-engined sportscars go.
Analogue Automotive Supersport
To build its Lotus Elise-based Supersport, Analogue Automotive goes over a donor with a fine-tooth comb, starting with a bare chassis that's been treated for corrosion. From there, you pick from your choice of a 160PS (117kW) or 210PS (154kW) tuned Rover K-Series engine. Analogue Automotive then adds its own wishbones and hubs, which means the Supersport is lighter than a standard Elise.
All cars also come with Nitron dampers, a Quaife LSD and a short-shift gear change. Finally, you can customise your car in its unique paint job using the company's online configurator. The result isn't cheap – a Supersport costs north of £100,000 – but builds on all the aspects that make the Elise so great in the first place.
BMW M2
In a perfect world where no one needs back seats or boots, the BMW M2 wouldn't get a look next to a Porsche Cayman, but then, we don't live in a perfect world. The BMW's added practicality means it can deal with family life, while its performance is as breathtaking as its looks are polarising. More analogue than the M4, it shares many of its parts, including its engine and platform, with its larger sibling.
The M2 is rear-wheel drive only and can be had with a manual gearbox, but it's not the lairy pocket rocket you might expect, displaying a mechanical grip the old model couldn't replicate. The posh interior and excellent infotainment seal the deal for this being one of our list's most usable performance cars.
Lotus Emira
Goodbye Elise, so long Exige, au revoir Evora. Since the Emira made its debut at the 2021 Goodwood Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard, it has been the sole sportscar offering from the Norfolk firm. Launched initially with the Toyota V6 that had seen service in the Exige and Evora, the range is now complemented with a four-cylinder AMG powered car.
Price and performance figures for the two offerings are broadly similar, so you choice comes down to personal preference around power delivery, soundtrack and manual versus paddleshift. We'd take the V6...
Porsche 718 Cayman
The standard Cayman is pretty much a benchmark on which all other sportscars could be judged. The GT4 RS just elevates everything to another level. Now with the proper 4.0-litre flat-six derived from the 911 GT3 Cup car, tweaked suspension, more aero and less weight, the GT4 RS can match the performance of the 911 GT3 to 60mph.
But it isn't a stripped back track star, this is a more forgiving and enjoyable machine for the road, all soundtracked by that astonishing engine fed by a brand new intake rasp. It's impossible to ignore, if you have £108,000... you might even prefer it to the GT3.
Alpine A110
Alpine’s real trick has been to offer a viable alternative to the all-conquering Cayman while defiantly refusing to engage Porsche on its own terms. So, it doesn’t obsess over power output or performance stats, nor does it equate stiffer suspension or fatter tyres with improved performance. Instead the A110 combines a Lotus-like obsession with weight saving and the benefits in handling and ride comfort that brings without the pervading whiff of kit car build quality Elises and Exiges have never quite shaken.
Sure there’s not much luggage space, but it’s commendably quiet and refined for such a hardcore car. It’s amazingly supple and it doesn’t use much fuel, but it also looks sexy as anything and shows its best on twisty backroads at socially responsible speeds.
Mazda MX-5 1.5
On paper there’s very little to impress anyone with an MX-5, especially the basic 1.5-litre version. Sure, it’s light. But with the base model the power-to-weight ratio hasn’t improved significantly in the 30 years and four generations it’s been on sale. In driving terms it's as close to the Caterham as you can get in a car you’d conceivably drive everyday.
Mazda didn’t chase the numbers, but sweated the details, like a thin steering wheel rim to encourage neat steering inputs and a close-ratio gearbox so sweet you can shift with your fingertips. You can get more powerful ones, but that basic 1.5 is a revvy, naturally aspirated delight. All you really need.
Toyota GR86
Very shortly after its reveal it was confirmed the GR86 would only be coming to the UK for two short years, meaning allocations quickly dried up. As such, this is a sportscar in high demand and if you want one, you'll need to pay over the odds. Happily, it's purported to be worth it.
The 2.4-litre engine has a far-superior power band to the GT86 and the looks have been refined, as has the cabin. This is a handsome, gutsy-enough, delectably-balanced car designed to deliver thrills at any speed. We love it and so should you.
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