Best buys: High performance cars

Your guide to the pick of 152-plate models

Best in class

Ford Mustang V8 Fastback

In amongst the expected haul of Ferraris, Porsches, BMWs and Mercedes, the big, square Mustang cuts a slightly incongruous figure. It's a hard-working, hard-living, blue-collar hero sat amongst a group of shiny-suited aristocrats. But it's more fun than any of them by far. 20mpg thirst and a massive annual tax bill means the V8 Mustang is hardly practical, but the noises it makes, and the way it makes you feel are just about unbeatable. Silly it may be, and wearing a mass-market badge but the big 'Stang paints a wider smile on your face than anything from Maranello or Stuttgart. And does it for at least half the price. Best one: Mustang 5.0 V8 Fastback for €62,000.

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Porsche 911

Fifty years on and still going strong, the wrong-way-round 911 has confounded more critics and pleased more enthusiasts than almost any other car in history. Latest 991 model mixes greater comfort, space and refinement with ballistic pace and pin-sharp handling. Basic manual Carrera 3.4 is plenty enough car for anyone, but if you want some proper thrills, sidestep the bonkers-fast Turbo and even the hallowed GT3 and get a 3.8 Carrera S with the power pack, boosting power to just over 450hp. A legend that deserves its status.

Jaguar F-Type

Is there actually a prettier car out there than the coupe version of the F-Type? From pert bottom to gaping jaw, it looks to us the perfect distillation of classic sixties design cues, run through a very modern filter. Just as well it has the firepower to back up the styling, then. 550hp supercharged V8 R version is close to mental, 380hp V6 S is the one to have. Manual gearbox option now available as is four-wheel-drive, something that turns the F-Type from sports car into proper all-weather transport.

Worth waiting for

Audi R8

The outgoing R8 was the first truly useable, everyday supercar since Porsche perfected the 911 and Honda introduced the original NSX. Rugged and reliable, but also ballistically fast, Audi doesn't seem to have changed much with the second generation – the looks are evolutionary and the Lamborghini-sourced V10 engine is much as it was (there's no V8 option this time around). Hang on though – what about the e-Tron version? All-battery-powered, zero emissions, 456hp and a claimed range of almost 500km. At last, has someone made a true Tesla-beater? Launches: Late 2015 for the V10, mid-2016 for the e-Tron.

Underrated

Alfa Romeo 4C

This is not a comfortable car. It’s a low-slung, bright red atomic doorstop with seats for two (just about) and a fanatical devotion to lightness. The carbon chassis and body keep the weight down, and Alfa has stripped out the interior to keep any excess mass at bay. That way, its 1,750cc turbo four-pot engine, delivering a “mere” 235hp, can give the 4C properly explosive pace. It’s noisy and a bit twitchy when pushed to its limits, but sweet mother of divine, it’s fun.