Here are 10 cool used cars for around £30k

Here sits an example of one of the greatest ever super saloons. Partly because of its all-natural V8 and six-speed manual pairing, but mostly because it still has enough suave to give Idris Elba a run for his, er, suave. The proportions are bob on, and combined with the kidney grille, bulged bonnet and sleek body kit, the E39 will always be one of BMW’s defining moments. No wonder Mate Rimac dailies one. We’re not sure the built-in telephone still holds up though.

A different sort of saloon that’s not quite as refined to drive or as elegant in its design as the Bimmer, but where this Sierra claws back ground is on the Hoon-o-meter scale. It's spraying 330bhp right through one massive Dartford Tunnel-sized exhaust, and sits as low to the ground as… Dartford Tunnel itself. There’s a whole suite of loud touches, from the vented bonnet to the bronze thin-spoked alloys, and we think it’s a fine ambassador for Britain’s Fast Ford populous.

This one-owner first-gen RS4 may have 110,000 miles to its name, but good lord, doesn’t it look maintained? Aside from a bit of crumpling on the seats and a couple of holes on the driver’s side floor mat, everything from the switchgear and the exterior paint to the engine bay is pristine. It still packs 380bhp sent through Audi’s trusty quattro drivetrain, so it’s no poser; this will be a riot on any and every road imaginable. Plus, doggo can enjoy the frills in maximum comfort.

You can think of this Alfa Junior as a cut-price Alfaholics product, since it pinches the exhaust, clutch and suspension from our favourite Alfa tuners. It’s even got a huge set of 295mm brake discs at the front axle - the largest possible size usable on the GTA-style wheels. Good news, considering it’s powered by an uprated 160bhp powertrain, which probably makes this thing as fizzy as a well-shaken bottle of pop.

We think we’ve found one of the wildest cars in Britain here: an S1 Lotus Elise with a 409bhp forged Honda engine and a kerb weight of 750kg. That’s a power-to-weight ratio of 545bhp per tonne. It’s also got a supercharger bolted on for those super satisfying whines, and the ad has proof of its ability to spit serious flames. This might be the most terrifying thing ever to be painted yellow.

Because who doesn’t want a black C3-generation Chevrolet Corvette so they can pretend to be Detective James Carter? We can hear War by Edwin Starr coming on already… 

Renault has had a few wild moments over the years, and this Spider joins the Clio V6 and F1-engined Espace as one of those. The permanently open-top approach is less than ideal for Brits, obviously, but on those precious few sunny days each year, imagine the attention this thing would get in full Transformer mode. Here’s one for a fiver below budget.

This is a Z3 that’s not a Z3…. because it’s a Z3 that actually adopts a bespoke one-off restomod body, inspired by various Ferraris and Maseratis from the Sixties. So it looks like a gorgeous vintage Italian car, but it has the straight-six and other mechanical bits from Germany. Also, the seller hilariously states that his wife ‘demands’ a sale. Help a chap out, will ya?

Very nearly our wildcard option for the week, because it is quite simply a 600bhp big-block Chevy V8-powered Ford Escort. Let that sink in for a while. It’s also got the most preposterous bonnet fixture we’ve seen in some time, and a flat rear wing likely pulled from a drag-strip racer. Looks like there’s a parachute beneath it, too, which should stop you from being slung into Jupiter’s orbit if you get a little too frisky with the throttle. 

Here’s a blue-bodied, silver-striped replica Cobra for £40k, and if you can manage to negotiate a lower price, we reckon you’ll have a rather delightful little summer car.