Buying new is for suckers. Jalopnik readers are here to celebrate the cheapest, dirtiest speed you can get on four wheels.


Welcome back to Answers of the Day — our daily Jalopnik feature where we take the best ten responses from the previous day's Question of the Day and shine it up to show off. It's by you and for you, the Jalopnik readers. Enjoy!


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Photo Credit: Sean Molin Photography


10.) Mitsubishi 3000GT/Dodge Stealth

Suggested By: Tim Ramich


The Speed: Mitsubishi's techno-sportster of the ‘90s is pretty heavy at 3,800 pounds, but you can find a twin turbo Stealth R/T or a 3000GT VR-4 with around 300 horsepower and four-wheel-drive for this kind of money. It won't be slow. They still look the business, too.

The Hit: $5,000 to $8,000

Photo Credit: Grant C.


9.) Volvo 850 T-5R

Suggested By: Christoper Paden


The Speed: Nobody expects a nice, boxy Volvo to blow their doors off. That makes a 240-horsepower mid-90s 850 T-5R that much more satisfying. You get a 2.3 liter straight five co-developed with Porsche. It drives the front wheels and gets the car up to 60 in about seven seconds. The 850 T-5R has been known to run for thousands of miles without needing major maintenance and is super stealthy, which is more than can be said for an M3.

The Hit: Around five or six grand for something that's a little worn, and a bit more for something totally clean. You can also get a later 850R, which are just about as fast, but much easier to find.


Photo Credit: Yoshihiko Inui


8.) GMC Syclone/Typhoon

Suggested By: Brian1321 has the wiggle woggle and it's k


The Speed: Back in the early ‘90s, GM decided to build a muscle car. Rather than make it out of some floppy, front-drive car, they used their compact pickup platform. This gave the world the GMC Sonoma Syclone and the longroof GMC Typhoon. They're all-wheel-drive, they have turbocharged 4.3 liter V6s, and they are faster than any truck has a right to be.

The Hit: An SUV Typhoon can run you right around $10K (here's one for $11,950), and a pickup-body Syclone will be a bit cheaper.


Photo Credit: Grant C.


7.) Dodge Neon SRT4

Suggested By: 1995droptopz


The Speed: Do you like watching smoke pour off of your front tires? Dodge made just the car for you! The old Neon was a pretty light, flimsy little car, so Dodge gave it too much power and some other go-faster mods and called it the SRT-4. They're cheap enough now that you can give them gazillions of horsepower if you so choose.

The Hit: $5,000 - $8,000 for one that hasn't been hooned halfway to death already.


Photo Credit: Garret Voight


6.) Subaru Impreza WRX

Suggested By: SilverBulletBoxer


The Speed: A bugeye Subaru WRX is going to be fast in stock form. A turbo engine, four-wheel drive, and a good chassis make them one of the fastest point-to-point cars on the road. For ten grand, you can boost them up past 300 horsepower.

The Hit: Around $6,000 for a really nice 2002 wagon, with a few grand for that perfect exhaust and everything else.


Photo Credit: Patrick Herbert


5.) Mercedes-Benz C43 AMG

Suggested By: Matt White


The Speed: You can get a comfy, leather-lined German sports sedan for less than ten stacks. The largely undesirable (and largely unreliable) C43 AMG from '98-'00 made 300 horsepower from its 4.3 liter V8, with a 0-60 of under six seconds. It's not the obvious choice, or the safest for your wallet, but it's cool and fast.

The Hit: Between $9,000 and $10,000.

Photo Credit: daveoflogic


4.) Nissan 300ZX

Suggested By: Chairman Kaga


The Speed: Right now you can find a decent 350Z for near ten grand. If you don't care about looks or prestige, there's a Z-car that can be a lot faster: the twin-turbo 300ZX from the ‘90s. They had 300 horsepower from the factory and would get up to 60 in about five seconds. Wheels, tires, and upgraded suspension are just waiting for you.

The Hit: For the nicest of the nice, $7,000 to $10,000. Cut a few thousand for a rougher example.


Photo Credit: Grant C.


3.) BMW M3 (E36)

Suggested By: My X-type is too a real Jaguar


The Speed: Not all speed is about pinning you back into the driver's seat. Speed can be cornering hard enough to squish your kidneys into the side bolsters. That's why there is the E36 M3. Amongst tuned 300ZXs, 240 horsepower doesn't sound like a lot. These M3s, though, have one of the best chassis on this list. They are perfect back road companions.

The Hit: $5,000 to $8,000

Photo Credit: Otis Blank


2.) Chevrolet Corvette (C4)

Suggested By: agjios


The Speed: If you drive a C4 Corvette, built from '84 through '96, you will look like a tool bag. You will look like a mid-life crisis in human form. You will, however, have a fat V8 and a more than capable chassis with a huge aftermarket. You will kill it on track days. You will not care how you look.

The Hit: $4,000 to $8,000

Photo Credit: Eddie


1.) A V8 F-Body

Suggested By: TheB1ackAdderr


The Speed: 1980s and 1990s Camaros and Firebirds are shitty cars. They squeak, you sit in a plastic bathtub, and they're not exactly the classiest vehicles on the road. They are, however, crazy fast.

GM started out putting LS1 Corvette motors in them in the ‘90s and you could buy one with 350 horsepower right off the showroom floor. A stock WS6 Firebird will happily tear up the Nürburgring. A tuned Camaro will outrace just about anything at the drag strip or at the local autocross. They are America's performance champions.


The Hit: $5,000 to $10,000. Budget more for a newer LS1 car, and budget in more modifications for something older.

Photo Credit: Camron Flanders