Hidden classic gems
Why settle for second best? Well, there are plenty of reasons, especially when we’re talking about alternatives to classic sports car icons.
When new, these cars were logically the priciest in the range, which left a gap in the line-up for a next best thing. It’s a simple proposition: create a car that offers much of the show if not quite as much go as the halo model, but costs less to produce and sell.
Entering classics territory typically amplifies this price differential, making the cheaper substitute an even more tempting – and arguably more usable – alternative today.
From Ferraris to Fords, here are 20 of our favourites…
1. Porsche 912
When Porsche replaced the flat-four 356 with the flat-six 911 in 1963, there was room for a more affordable, less generously equipped entry-level model – a gap promptly plugged by the 912 that was offered from 1965 and fitted with a 1.6-litre ‘four’ plucked from the 356.
Both coupés and targas were produced, and the 912 range actually outsold the 911 for the first few years.
Porsche discontinued the 912 in 1969, replacing it with the mid-engined 914, but it made a brief return for a year from 1975 as the 912E Coupé. The 911’s been purely a six-cylinder model ever since.
2. Ford Sierra XR4i
Collectors want a Sierra Cosworth, but the XR4i predated it by a few years in 1984 and is far more affordable.
The only six-cylinder three-door Sierra, it lifted the 2.8-litre Cologne V6 from the Capri 2.8i, plus there’s an extra pillar bisecting the rear side window (which is very strange but presumably makes the bodyshell stronger) and a bi-plane rear wing. At a time when buyers were still coming to terms with the Sierra’s ‘jelly-mould’ design, the XR4i was pure UFO.
Fun fact one: the decals on the rear side glass of early cars say ‘XR4’, because Ford had already printed them when it added fuel injection to the XR3, creating the XR3i.
Fun fact two: the US market model was the Merkur XR4Ti, which used a Mustang turbo engine. Andy Rouse won the 1985 British Touring Car Championship in one.
3. Vauxhall Nova SR
Technically the Nova SR is the next best thing to a Nova GTE – the SR’s 1.3-litre carb-fed motor is less powerful than the GTE’s fuel-injected 1.6, equipment is stingier and Vauxhall didn’t even bother painting the bumpers.
Thing is, the SR is arguably more iconic, partly because its smaller engine and lower price point made it so attainable and insurable for younger owners, so teenage memories are all bound up with its three-spoke alloys and tartan trim.
The SR isn’t worshipped in mainstream magazines like a Peugeot 205 GTI or Mk1 VW Golf GTI, but this perky little thing still has a dedicated following – and good examples fetch decent money.
4. BMW M535i
Before there was an M5, BMW dipped a toe in the water with the M535i in E12 guise – the very first 5 Series generation.
Those cars are incredibly rare these days and, besides, an M535i was the best 5 Series at the time, not a next best thing.
The subsequent E28 M535i should be a little easier to find and slots below the now not-very-affordable original autobahn stormer. Power comes from a 3.4-litre straight-six (215bhp plays an M5’s 282bhp), you get M-Technic suspension for sharper handling, plus there’s a similarly purposeful-but-understated look as the M5, courtesy of a bespoke bodykit.
5. Ford Escort Mk5 RS 2000
You’ll probably know that the Ford Escort Cosworth was actually a Sierra Cosworth in disguise, where the RS 2000 is a Mk5 Escort through and through. But it is a genuine RS and has so far bucked the trend of nearly all RS models commanding mega money.
You get a 2.0-litre 16-valve engine with 148bhp and there’s even a rare all-wheel-drive model, produced for motorsport homologation.
Early 1990s pre-facelift cars starred in a Professionals-inspired TV ad with double bonnet bulges and an attractive flush front grille, features both inexplicably removed for the facelift.
6. Ferrari 250GT SWB
Everything’s relative, especially when we’re talking next best things to one of the most legendary classic cars of all time: the Ferrari 250GTO.
So while you will save millions and millions of pounds buying a 250GT SWB, it will still cost you millions and millions of pounds – a GTO sold for around £52m in 2018, while a GT SWB went for around £6m a year later.
The GT SWB takes 200mm out of the regular 250GT’s wheelbase, gets a Colombo 3.0-litre V12 like the GTO and balances road manners with track process where the later, pricier and more desirable GTO is more all-out racer.
The GTO superseded the GT and stands as one of the most revered Ferraris of all time, but the 250GT SWB offers so much for, relatively speaking, a lot less.
7. Peugeot 205 XS
Peugeot offered its world-beating 205 GTI hot hatch in both 1.9- and 1.6-litre guises, but there was still hope if you were too young, poor or uninsurable for the 1.6 – and that came in the shape of the 205 XS.
The big difference is the engine – a 1.4-litre with a twin-choke carb good for a healthy 85bhp, first from the XY series, later the more desirable TU.
This leaves the XS 30bhp down on a 1.6, but short gearing makes the most of the performance, weight is a little lower at around 850kg and the suspension is a little softer, too, perhaps a bonus on the bumpy back roads the XS is so well suited to.
8. Porsche 968 Sport
Today, Porsche charges more for sporty cars with less equipment (looking at you, GT3) but the 968 Club Sport was more logical – you paid less for a sparser, more driver-focused model.
That’s turned on its head since the Club Sport became a classic, leaving the slightly more luxurious Sport as the next best thing.
Built specially for the UK market in 1994, Sports were assembled on the same production line as the Club Sport and have a similar look and uncompromising ethos with reduced sound proofing and lowered suspension, but occasional rear seats are added back in, you get ‘comfort’ cloth front seats (rather than the Club Sport’s glassfibre buckets) and a few more ‘luxuries’ like electric windows.
9. BMW E36 328i Sport
BMW E36 M3s have jumped in value in recent years, but the 328i Sport is a very worthy alternative, especially if you don’t plan to wring its neck.
Rather than a 3.0-litre straight-six from BMW’s M Division, there’s the closely related 2.8-litre with 190bhp – that’s a significant 92bhp down on the M3, but it’s still gorgeously smooth and flexible.
The look is much the same, with M3-spec side skirts, bumpers, rear spoiler and chunkier rubbing strips, though you can quickly spot a (standard) 328i Sport with its more conventional wing mirrors, highly desirable split-rim 17s and less sporty-looking front seats.
10. Volkswagen Corrado G60
The VR6 was the top-of-the-range Corrado with a 2.9-litre twist on the VR6 engine (also found in the Golf with 2.8 litres) and is most collectible of all in run-out VR6 Storm spec – this is a UK-only, limited-edition model. But the G60 is both next-best thing and arguably the better drive.
Rather than a heavy, narrow-angle V6 hung over the front axle, the G60 gets a supercharged 1.8-litre four-cylinder motor – power might have dropped from 187 to 158bhp, but overall weight fell dramatically, too, from 1210 to 1115kg.
Perhaps tellingly, there’s little between them at today’s prices.
11. Maserati Merak
The Maserati Bora was both the Italian marque’s first mid-engined sports car and its first car developed under Citroën ownership – explaining widespread use of the French maker’s hydraulics.
The V8-powered Maser launched in 1971 and sold poorly thanks to the ensuing oil crisis, hence the Merak – a junior mid-engined model that looked much the same, but packed a V6. As well as being more affordable and more fuel efficient, two fewer cylinders allowed for a 2+2 seating layout.
The two look much the same, but the Merak features an upright rear ’screen, flat rear engine cover and ‘flying’ rear buttresses, presumably to stop it looking like a pick-up truck.
12. Renault 19 16v
The Clio Williams might be Renault’s high-performance icon thanks to being a fine hot hatch and having no shortage of Formula One and Touring Car stardust, but Renault had a raft of back-ups in the wings, notably the Clio 16v, Clio RSi and this – the 19 16v.
More of an alternative to Astras, Golfs and Escorts a segment above the Clio, the 19 got the Clio’s revvy 1.8-litre 16-valve motor with 138bhp, comfy Recaro seats, a Giugiaro-designed body and was available as either a three-door hatch or four-door ‘Chamade’ saloon.
Cheaper than a Clio Williams, but harder to find.
13. BMW Z4 3.0i
Chris Bangle’s designs remain as polarising as a pair of Ray-Bans, but we’d say the super-sharp Z4 is a nailed-on future classic and seriously attractive to boot (letters to the editor, please), especially in coupé guise, where its long bonnet/pert tail proportions are reminiscent of the Triumph GT6.
The Z4M is most collectible of all with its 3.2-litre straight-six, but the 3.0-litre model is far more affordable and makes for the more relaxed GT with its smoother engine and more comfort-focused chassis.
14. Citroën Saxo VTR
Much like the Peugeot 205 GTI, PSA stablemates Citroën offered its hottest Saxo in two tunes. In this case, though, engine capacity remained unchanged at 1.6 litres, the top-spec VTS being differentiated by a 16-valve head, the more affordable VTR sticking with two valves per cylinder.
This reduced power from 120 to 100bhp, but with just 935kg to lug the VTR still offered healthy performance and fleet-footed handling.
Despite being closely related to the lauded Peugeot 106 GTI, the Saxo has never quite shaken off its Max Power notoriety, just like the Vauxhall Nova – but equally that means an entire generation regard the Saxo very fondly indeed.
15. Lancia Delta HF
Placing ‘Integrale’ after ‘Lancia Delta’ is almost a mental muscle reflex, but the performance legend all started with the Delta HF in 1983, which got a turbocharged 1.6-litre ‘four’ and front-wheel drive, and led onto the Delta HF 4WD in 1986. Both are fine substitutes, but the latter is the winner of our next-best thing award.
The HF 4WD gets a 2.0-litre turbo engine with a healthy 163bhp and, of course, all-wheel drive. There are no boxy arches, but the HF 4WD does have rallying pedigree – it won the 1987 World Rally Championship.
16. Vauxhall Carlton GSi
The first step on the Lotus Carlton ‘production line’ at Hethel wasn’t a new bodyshell – it was the delivery of a completed Carlton GSi from GM’s Rüsselsheim plant, which Lotus promptly stripped. So arguably (or clutching-at-straws tenuously?) a Carlton GSi is an unmodified Lotus Carlton.
It’s quite a different car, to be fair. The 3.0-litre straight-six is related (if not twin turbocharged), but the gearbox wasn’t lifted from a Corvette ZR1, the diff isn’t from a Holden Commodore V8, plus there’s no bodykit or quite the same plushness of interior.
But the GSi still makes a very fine cut-price substitute. Get the 24-valve version from 1989 onwards for a boost from 175 to 201bhp.
17. Ford Escort Mexico
The RS 1600 was peak Mk1 Ford Escort with its twin-cam engine and homologation stardust, but the Escort Mexico was the next-best thing when it launched in 1970.
Built to celebrate Hannu Mikkola and Gunnar Palm’s victory on the 1970 London to Mexico World Cup Rally in an RS 1600, the Mexico got the same strengthened bodyshell, uprated suspension and overall look as the RS and was produced at the same Ford Advanced Vehicle Operations plant in Essex, but it ditched the finicky twin-cam for a more affordable and less complex 1.6-litre Kent crossflow.
The RS 2000 arrived in 1973, slotting between RS 1600 and Mexico with 2.0-litre Pinto power.
18. Nissan Skyline R34 GT-T
Nissan officially imported only a small number of R34 Skyline GT-Rs to the UK, through dealer Middlehurst, and while plenty of others came in through the grey-import route, they’re all big money these days.
That’s where the GT-T comes in. Only available as a grey import but now easy enough to find in the UK, the GT-T gets a 2.5-litre single-turbo six rather than the GT-R’s 2.6-litre twin turbo motor, and is rear-wheel drive, which some buyers find more appealing than the GT-R’s all-wheel drive.
Available as a two-door coupé like the GT-R, or a four-door saloon for extra practicality points.
19. BMW E30 318is
BMW E30 M3 prices rocketed years ago, helping push up 325i values in the process. But while the 325i is technically the next-best thing in terms of its positioning in the range and very lovely indeed, we’d argue the 318is is a more fitting alternative.
Built only in 1991, it’s a little lighter than a 325i at 1125kg and it’s got a buzzier four-cylinder engine more in-keeping with the motorsport feel, where the 325i is a silkier, more luxurious proposition. In other respects, the two are closely related.
BMW also made the 320is – broadly an M3 with a 2.0-litre rather than 2.3-litre engine to duck below Portuguese and Italian tax thresholds, but they’re pricier and harder to find.
20. Talbot Sunbeam Ti
The Talbot Sunbeam Lotus is the one you really want, but the Sunbeam Ti is a sound plan B – if you can turn one up, that is.
An image booster for the Sunbeam and popular in period clubman rallying, the Ti’s 1.6-litre single-cam ‘four’ is lifted from the Avenger Tiger.
While that lump can’t compete with the 150bhp 2.2-litre twin-cam in the Lotus, it still makes an impressive 100bhp thanks in part to twin Weber carbs.
The first ones from 1979 were Chryslers, the name switching to Talbot in 1980.
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