Here are some of the most powerful used cars for under £5k we found this week

Yep, we’re shocked too. Someone’s listed a first-generation Audi RS5 for exactly £5k, and despite the 117k odometer reading, these cars do hold up well. Up front is a 4.2-litre FSI V8, which puts out 444bhp and 317lb ft of torque, making for a 4.6s sprint to 60. Plenty of oomph to tailgate Honda Civics on the M25, then.

Even the most ardent BMW enthusiasts will admit the fourth-generation 7 Series is ghastly. It’s a good thing that everything beneath the bodywork is sublime. This 71k-miler even has beige leather and a wooden dash to enjoy the 362bhp. Really, it’s the perfect escape module to outrun the army of angry onlookers.

Yes, the GS 450 hybrid packs an impressive 346bhp. It’s even rear-wheel drive and gets to 60 in under six seconds. But very few cars in this budget will make you forget about performance figures the way this big, heavy Lexus cruiser will. Just looking at those heated, lumbar-supported seats is getting us drowsy.

If you fancied a three-grand gamble, this 340bhp Cayenne S could prove to be a fantastic bargain… for all of four days. The first generation of Porsche’s biggest product is fast becoming a classified ad legend, so you’d be a terrible liar if you say you’ve never raised an eyebrow and stroked your chin in genuine interest after encountering one during a late-night, gin-fuelled swipe across an automotive Tinder site.

A more sensible, niche option would be the V10-powered, 307bhp Volkswagen Touareg. Yes, for a Happy Meal below this week’s budget, you could proudly tell people you’ve got as many cylinders as a Porsche Carrera GT. It’s nowhere near as beautiful. Or good to drive. Or interesting. But this one’s in fine condition and has more torque than King Kong after a few tequilas.

Much like the Cayenne, there's no shortage of supercharged Range Rovers populating the world’s digital marketplaces. Here’s one with electric cream leather seats on the inside and a facelift kit on the outside. Oh, the seller also says they’ve fettled with it a bit so it now pushes over 400bhp. You know you want to.

The perfect convertible for this budget is a Porsche Boxster 986, but a second-generation Mercedes-Benz SLK isn’t far behind at all. The handling might be a bit less balanced, and the weight may make it a hint more sluggish, but the ‘350’ trim does boast a healthier 272bhp from its six-cylinder unit. So, under the criteria of this list, it’s better. Even though it’s worse.

The Nissan 350Z is one of the last truly affordable Japanese sports cars from the golden age of the Nineties and Noughties. This example is a sought-after ‘GT’ model, and comes with that meaty - if not especially sonorous - 3.5-litre V6. Please don’t try to recreate that sequence from Tokyo Drift at the B&Q car park. We won’t be held accountable for the fate of any errant shopping trolleys.

A one-of-300 Jaguar Project 8 could cost you anywhere north of £100,000, but what if we told you that you could have one for under five grand? Sure, this replica may ditch the 5.0-litre V8 for a diesel six-cylinder, but it has the intimidating rear wing and central-left pinstripe running across the length of the body. It looks practically identical, provided you squint so hard you start to feel faint.