A few years ago, Road and Track magazine published an article a few years ago proclaiming, “No One Knows What ‘Sports Car’ Actually Means Anymore.” This article narrowly defined them based on what 1950s-era Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) founders had decided: cars with two seats and a soft top that can be used for competition.
However, this is a list of the 10 best sports cars for the money, and there aren’t enough sports cars still on sale in America to fill every slot based on the SCCA definition (let alone to define them by value). And of those that remain, several are likely to be gone in the near future. So we’re going to need to expand our horizons and our definition of sports car. But don’t worry. You can take any of our picks to the track without suffering embarrassment, even if some of them have a back seat and a fixed roof. You’ll find our choices for the 10 best sports cars for the money on the pages that follow, in alphabetical order. Prices do not include destination charges.