Power, speed, adrenaline. This is what we expect from any car offering 400 hp or more. But with great power comes great expense. Most new vehicles offering this sort of power tend to cost well over $50,000. Some, like the BMW M2, are closer to the $70,000 mark. There are a few exceptions, however, and we scoured the new car price listings to find the cheapest new car currently on sale that offers at least 400-hp.
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The good news is that not only is it a proper sports car (and not some bloated SUV), but it’s also got all the right ingredients that appeal to enthusiasts who appreciate an immersive driving experience.
2025 Nissan Z
Engine
3.0-liter twin-turbo V6
Power
400 hp
Torque
350 lb-ft
0-60
4.5 seconds (manual)
Base Price
$42,970
For a base price of $42,970 before taxes, the 2025 Nissan Z is the most cost-effective way to get behind the wheel of a new 400-hp car. High-horsepower cars are certainly more accessible these days than ever before, but prices are constantly creeping up, so paying $107 per horsepower is a good deal.
Viewed in that light, the $30,800 Toyota GR86 costs $135 per horsepower, and everyone’s favorite budget sports car, the $29,830 Mazda Miata, is $165 per horsepower. So you pay more to save more. The Nissan Z is also a properly quick sports car. In base trim, you get a six-speed manual transmission as standard, a 400-hp twin-turbo 3.0-liter V6 engine, and rear-wheel drive. The perfect recipe for a good time.
18-inch wheels, cloth seats, an 8-inch touchscreen, and wired smartphone connectivity mark this out as the lowest spec model in the Z range. The performance trim costs a full $10,000 more, and while it comes with a lot more equipment, like the larger 19-inch wheels, an upgraded Bose sound system, leather seats, and a 9-inch infotainment screen, the only thing you’re likely to miss are the limited-slip differential and the beefier Akebono braking system. And that’s only if you plan to spend a lot of time on the race track.
As a road car, the base Nissan Z is very enjoyable, and perfectly capable of crawling along in traffic when you don’t have an open stretch of road to blast along. Stepping inside the 2025 Nissan Z for the first time leaves the impression that it is a curious mix of modern and old, but in a good way.
For one, the six-speed manual is a rare treat in a modern sports car and is a joy to use. It comes with a rev-matching feature if you are still perfecting your heel-and-toeing skills. The Z also has a lot more physical buttons than most of its rivals, and it comes with a manual handbrake, both welcome changes from the overly complicated and digital age we live in. Some of these features are present to keep that base price as low as it is, but they also enhance instead of detract from the experience. Something else that was done to curb development costs was to retain the basic platform of the outgoing 370Z, a car that was heavily based on the 350Z before it.
That makes it slightly heavier and less sharp on the limit than something like a Toyota Supra, or a BMW M2, but these cars both cost a whole lot more. The Nismo variant does address a lot of the dynamic shortcomings of the standard Z, but at $65,750, it no longer offers a strong value proposition, and it’s only available with a nine-speed automatic.
Truth be told, unless you have driven pricier rivals back-to-back, or get your kicks from weekends spent hammering around a racetrack, the standard Nissan Z offers as much as you could want from a sporty road car. And almost nothing else comes close at the price. Except perhaps for one rival that costs just a few thousand more…
2025 Ford Mustang GT Fastback
Engine
5.0-liter V8
Power
480 hp
Torque
415 lb-ft
0-60
4.3 seconds (manual)
Base Price
$46,560
$3,590. That’s the difference between a Nissan Z and a Ford Mustang GT Fastback. For the extra outlay, you get a naturally aspirated 5.0-liter V8 that produces an additional 80 hp and 65 lb-ft. That’s $97 per horsepower, which is even better than what the Z can manage. The big V8 also sounds way better, and that extra power gives the Mustang the edge in acceleration, too.
A manual transmission and rear-wheel drive are standard, as is a limited-slip diff, and you get more interior kit than in the Z. The Mustang is also a bigger car; this may not always be a plus point in a focused sports car, but it does mean that the Mustang offers a set of rear seats as well as a larger trunk. Pricing for both skyrocket quickly if you start ticking the option boxes, but in standard trim, it’s easy to argue that the Mustang GT is the better value buy.
2025 Volvo EX30 Twin Motor Performance
Engine
Twin electric motors
Power
422 hp
Torque
400 lb-ft
0-60
3.4 seconds
Base Price
$46,245
We’ve been promised affordable electric vehicles for decades, and while there are some great used deals out there, new prices are still high, especially if you want something with at least 400-hp. Tesla is almost unbeatable in the price/power/performance calculations higher up the rankings, but the Volvo EX30 Twin Motor Performance is currently the most affordable EV out there offering 400-hp or more.
In this trim, it makes 422-hp. And while this is only 22-hp more than the Nissan Z, thanks to its instant-on electric torque delivery and grippy all-wheel drive system, it blasts to 60 mph a full second quicker. It is also packed with some cutting-edge safety and tech features. Despite being a small SUV, it is also quite capable in the handling department, but the client base for these two vehicles couldn’t be more different.
While the Nissan Z isn’t perfect, it certainly makes a very strong case for itself at its attractive base price. It may borrow a lot from its forebears, but that’s what makes it unique and affordable, too. At $42,970, there is nothing new out there with this much power, and very few cars offer a manual transmission and rear-wheel drive at any price these days. In fact, the Z is the only twin-turbo V6 sports car in the US to do so.
If the new car smell isn’t a necessity, low-mileage two-year-old Nissan Zs are now available for between $32,000 and $35,000, and if you fancy a used Ford Mustang GT instead, they are available at similar prices. Electric cars tend to depreciate quickly, but the Volvo EX30 Twin Motor is still rather new, which means you are limited to 2025 models. Still, many ultra-low mileage examples are already down at the $40,000 mark. Whichever vehicle you choose, it’s good to know that there are still decent value new cars out there, even ones with 400-hp or more under their hoods.
Sources: Nissan, Ford, Volvo, AutoTempest.
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