The average purchase price of a new car in the US surpassed $50,000 for the first time ever in September this year. According to Kelley Blue Book (KBB), consumers are now paying an average of $50,080 for their new wheels. This is 3.6% up over the same period last year. One reason was a sharp rise in EV purchases, as consumers sought to take advantage of the $7,500 federal tax incentive, which ended on 30 September.
More affluent buyers also helped increase the average, with 7.4% of new cars selling for over $75,000. Finally, tariffs have also contributed to higher prices overall. While there are some great new cars out there at that $50,000 average price point, if you prefer to look at the used car market, there are some great deals to be had. We picked some of the best ones, from Audis to Teslas, on sale today for the same price as that average new car. The difference is that these are also so quick that they are capable of pushing your eyeballs back into their sockets.
All vehicle data is from reputable sources. All pricing is based on existing listings. This list is arranged in alphabetical order. To qualify, the vehicle had to be valued at or near $50,000, be capable of a sub-4.5 second 0-60 mph time, and be 10 years old or newer.
2020 Audi RS3
Engine
2.5-liter turbocharged inline-five
Power
395 hp
Torque
354 lb-ft
0-60
3.9 seconds
Model Years
2012-2020
The Audi RS3 is a superb daily driver that can morph into a junior supercar at the press of the throttle pedal. Thanks to its grippy all-wheel drive system, powerful 5-cylinder motor, and snappy dual-clutch transmission, this 5-door hatchback will leave most muscle cars wondering what happened.
Our budget is enough to nab a low-mileage five-year-old previous-generation example. They still look sharp and come packed with kit, and while they may revert to understeer at the limit, you will need to be pushing well beyond legal speed limits to break traction.
2015 BMW M4 Coupe
Engine
3.0-liter twin-turbo inline-six
Power
425 hp
Torque
406 lb-ft
0-60
4.1 seconds (manual)
Model Years
2014-2020
The world may be obsessed with the latest M3 and M4 models, but the previous-gen cars were pretty awesome too, especially the later model years. You can pick from the four-door M3 or the coupe/convertible M4 here for our $50,000 budget. 2020 models are well within reach, and unlike the newest offerings, you can find them in automatic and manual flavors.
Subjectively, they also look great, while the interior is from an era where massive touchscreens didn’t dominate. That means you get physical switches and buttons for most major controls. The seven-speed dual-clutch autos are great for daily driving duties, and also provide quicker acceleration than the manuals, but we’d still have a stick shift for the extra immersion it provides.
2015 Chevrolet Corvette C7 Z06
Engine
6.2-liter Supercharged V8
Power
650 hp
Torque
650 lb-ft
0-60
3.2 seconds (manual)
Model Years
2015-2019
It’s been a decade since the C7 Z06 was unleashed on public roads, and it remains a visceral driving experience like few others. Putting 650-hp onto the road through just the rear wheels is a recipe for fun and potential disaster in equal measure, but if you are up to the challenge, this is one of the most rewarding ways to spend $50,000 on a car. You will struggle to find the lowest mileage 2018 and 2019 models are out of our reach, but 2015 cars with around 60,000 miles fall within budget, and as long as they have been properly serviced, they should prove largely trouble-free.
Z06 Corvettes have always been extreme, and while the latest C8 Z06 is a much sharper driving machine, it isn’t quite as wild and manic as the C7 version. That old-school supercharged V8 has so much torque that it’s best to skip gears in daily driving if you opt for a manual version, and make sure you only unleash its full fury on dry roads with plenty of space on either side of you.
2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat
Engine
6.2-liter Supercharged V8
Power
707 hp
Torque
650 lb-ft
0-60
3.6 seconds est
Model Years
2008-2023
The first SRT Hellcat was Dodge’s way of taking the horsepower fight to Ford and Chevrolet with an aging platform that wasn’t quite as sharp to drive around corners as its rivals. 707-hp was an insane amount of power for a four-seater road car, and the SRT Hellcat was absolutely blistering in a straight line.
Various special editions with even more power were introduced over the years, and in many ways, these models were the last true muscle cars. They culminated in the 1,025-hp Demon 170, a car designed exclusively for the drag strip. The SRT Hellcat almost seems sane by comparison, until, of course, you experience the brute acceleration of one for the first time. There are plenty of used examples to pick from, many with under 20,000 miles on their odometers. Hellcats with the widebody kit option look even more intimidating, so we’d pick one of these with the six-speed manual shifter for old times sake.
2015 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350
Engine
5.2-liter V8
Power
526 hp
Torque
429 lb-ft
0-60
4.2 seconds
Model Years
2015-2020
Flat-plane crank naturally aspirated V8s are not the sort of engine type you’d associate with Ford, but in 2015, it released the Voodoo 5.2-liter V8 in the Mustang Shelby GT350 to instant acclaim. Based on the venerable Coyote motor, this new engine revved to 8,250 rpm and had a howling exhaust note that stuck in your mind days after hearing it. It was also quick in a straight line and superb on track.
You can choose from several decent low-mileage examples for our $50,000 budget, but make sure that you do a thorough history check first, as early cars tended to suffer from a few mechanical maladies. If you find a car that’s done plenty of track time or has missed oil services, keep looking.
2015 Jaguar F-Type R
Engine
5.0-liter Supercharged V8
Power
550 hp
Torque
502 lb-ft
0-60
4.1 seconds
Model Years
2014-2024
You know you are looking at a serious sports car when it has a limited top speed of 186 mph. The supercharged F-Type R V8 is such a car, and it was limited to this velocity for safety and design reasons. The 550-hp engine would probably have been happy to keep on pushing to well over 190 mph before calling it quits.
That sort of thing is academic anyway, as what you will be experiencing 99% of the time is the immersive howl of the V8 and its ability to squash you back in your seat as it lunges towards the horizon. The F-Type was in production for 10 years, and in that time, plenty of updates, changes, and tweaks were made, although any V8 model will put a smile on your face. You can pick from coupe and convertible body styles up to the 2018 model year for our budget. Most tend to have low miles as they tend to be used as weekend cars, and while earlier V8 F-Types were rear-wheel drive, the F-Type R was all-wheel drive, which made it a bit easier to handle.
2017 Porsche 718 Cayman S
Engine
2.5-liter turbocharged flat-four
Power
350 hp
Torque
309 lb-ft
0-60
4.0 seconds (PDK + Sports Chrono)
Model Years
2016-2025
The Cayman has been the benchmark sports coupe in its class since it was launched. There’s still nothing to touch its dynamic abilities at the price. The naturally aspirated six-cylinder examples sound great and offer superb throttle response, but you won’t find any decent examples at our price limit.
The turbocharged four-cylinder models have gotten a hard time from reviewers for their lackluster engine note, but there is no denying that both the base 300-hp Cayman and the 350-hp Cayman S are extremely quick and fun to drive. You will find a nice selection of 2016-2019 Cayman S models for sale at under $50,000, and while they are available with a manual transmission, we think the PDK auto is a better match for the turbo motor.
2020 Tesla Model S Plaid
Engine
Triple electric motors
Power
1,020 hp
Torque
1,050 lb-ft
0-60
1.99 seconds
Model Years
2012-2020
Internal combustion is great. Pick the right engine configuration, and they sound great, too. Up the capacity, add a couple of turbos, and you can get some impressive acceleration numbers. But if you want to go effortlessly fast, stomach-churningly fast, then there’s not much out there that can match a powerful EV.
The Tesla Model S Plaid is not the most powerful EV out there, but at 1,020-hp, it’s mighty impressive, and there is nothing that comes remotely close to its performance for the $109,990 asking price. Now consider that a 2022 Model S Plaid can be bought for just $50,000, and there is simply no contest. If you want the quickest and fastest car out there for the average price of a new vehicle, then the Tesla Model S Plaid is the winner by knockout.
Sources: Audi, BMW, Chevrolet, GM, Dodge, Jaguar, Porsche, Tesla, AutoTempest, KBB
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