Why have a sports car when you can own a piece of motorsport history?

£45,000-£70,000 opens up a huge plethora of automotive machinery to sink your teeth into. At the bottom end of that price range comes a highly-specced 5.0-litre Mustang, the 718 Porsche Cayman or a Mercedes-AMG SLC 43. Up the other end you could swipe a Jaguar F-Type 400, a reasonably specced BMW M4 or a Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport.

If, however, you fancy going down the road of five-figure rev limits, slick tyres and some serious motorsport pedigree, maybe your wallet should open up instead to one of these genuine Formula 1 racing cars. From BAR to Benetton, there is a surprising amount up for sale on the web.

BAR Honda 2001 Jacques Villeneuve ex-Race Car - £46,800

This British American Racing F1 car didn't have the greatest of seasons, which is potentially why the price tag is so low. The best finish Villeneuve could manage in the 003 chassis was third place at both the Spanish and German Grand Prix, but the 2001 season was riddled with retirements for both Villeneuve and his teammate Olivier Panis.

The V10 era of F1 is my personal favourite so a smidgen over £45,000 seems like one hell of a bargain to me.

2000 bENETTON b200 - £59,500

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Benetton featured some truly colossal motorsport names on its team sheets during its heyday in Formula 1. Michael Schumacher, Nelson Piquet, Gerhard Berger and Jean Alesi all sat within a Benetton cockpit at some point, but a sub-£60k B200 is on the market that was manned by Alexander Wurz while he was the teammate of Giancarlo Fisichella.

Another V10 specimen, this time from the 2000 season, the car was driven by both drivers, with Fisichella taking it to fifth at the European Grand Prix and 14th at the Japanese Grand Prix, while Wurz took the car to fifth at the Italian Grand Prix and tenth at the USA Grand Prix.

Jenson Button 2004 BAR Honda - £60,000

The development of the cheapest car on this list, this ex-Button BAR was the penultimate car to use the 3.0-litre Honda V10 unit that was used throughout the BAR Honda relationship. Alongside 2017 Indy500 Champion Takuma Sato, Button had a very successful season, recording 10 podium finishes which culminated in a third place finish in the Driver's Championship, only behind the Ferrari-powered Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello.

A car that outraced the likes of Fernando Alonso and Juan Pablo Montoya is not to be sniffed at, especially as it contributed towards a second place finish in the Constructor's Championship behind the prancing horse powerhouse.

Formula LOLA EVO JUDD V8 - £65,000

So it's technically not a Formula 1 car, but this Frankenstein project features one of the most revered powertrains ever to grace the race tracks of the automotive world. Judd is a British engineering firm that has supplied engines to Williams, Ligier, Brabham and Tyrell, and someone has stuck one of its creations into a Formula Lola.

The engine at hand apparently produces 540bhp and has a 10,500rpm rev limit - some serious figures for a car that weighs just 590kg.

1998 JORDAN 198 AND SIMULATOR - £70,000

Although this car has some genuine pedigree (raced by Ralf Schumacher and Damon Hill), it has been modified to run on a Honda Blackbird bike engine instead of the Mugen-Honda V10 that originally nestled behind the cockpit.

The plus side is that it comes with a fully-functioning simulator that attaches to the bottom of the car, pivoting the chassis with programming that utilises the F1 2011 PlayStation game.

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Check out the listings for the cars below:

www.mementoexclusives.com/f1-store/f1-shop/cars-and-engines/bar-honda-2001-jacques-villeneuve-ex-race-car/

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www.heritage-f1.com/cars/2000-benetton-b200/

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www.mementoexclusives.com/f1-cars-for-sale/jenson-button-2004-bar-honda-f1-car/

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racecarsdirect.com/Advert/Details/79127/2012-lola-evo-judd-v8-f1-engine

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www.heritage-f1.com/cars/1998-jordan-198-simulator/

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