Here are TG's top 20 *used* track cars in the US

Any Cobra-badged Mustang is going to be a good time, and the Shelby GT350 is a prime example of that. There are harder and more racier Shelbys but the GT350 was one of Ford’s best “race cars for the road” in recent memory. Pushing it was a 5.2-liter Voodoo V8 that put 526hp to the floor out of the back. Drive it to the track, get your laps in, and drive home with whatever tread you have left.

What’s a list of favorites without a bit of forbidden fruit? Small, light and powerful, the Lotus Exige was a bullet around the track, particularly in its later V6-powered incarnations. Regulation changes made most of them ineligible for street legality but the track isn’t a street, right? If you can scoop one up, they’re still one of the best playthings to whip around a circuit.

Honda’s track-day ready roadster was the car your old roommate couldn’t shut up about in every auto-related discussion, and you could only begrudgingly agree with its merits. The Honda’s boisterous four-pot and sharp looks were matched by its meticulous engineering to make it a cornering king. Any of these, particularly the Club Racer edition, would make anyone’s track or autocross dreams come true.

Of all the Ferraris, why this one? Because, at least for a time, the Ferrari Corso Pilota racing school used the 488 to train customers and would-be racers how to properly wield one of its cars. The mid-engined, rear-wheel drive car was fitted with a 661hp twin-turbo V8, making it as powerful as it was poised. Instructors would say how much they preferred it over the F430. There’s even a more powerful and aggressive 488 Pista for even harder track domination.

We didn’t deserve the F-Type. For its many years on the road, it came in a multitude of configurations, all of which were wonderful in their own way, barely getting the attention they deserved. The most under-appreciated iteration has to be the F-Type S, the V6-powered rear-drive version fitted with a manual gearbox. It’s a shame so few people scooped one up as it was an absolute joy to rip around the track. Find one and be better to the F-Type than we were.

Many Mercs can be track day superstars but few will be as imposing as the monstrous SL65 AMG Black. The SL 65 was quite a striking road car and its turbocharged V12 certainly made its presence known, but a track car it was not. Enter the Black Edition with bigger turbos, less weight, wider track and you’ve got a screamer of a Merc that shouldn’t lay dormant in a garage.

Anyone lucky enough to scoop up an Audi R8 V10+ before the venerable supercar was finally put out to pasture will know it’s all the sports car they’ll ever need. The low-slung AWD V10-powered mid-engined coupe makes anyone behind the wheel look like a star, especially when it’s out on the track. Whatever Audi follows this up with will have massive Piloti boots to fill.

A bit of a rule-bend on this one. The GT-R is still in production, inexplicably and thankfully, so you can get a new one today. Due to it’s long production history, however, you might find what you’re looking for in the secondary market. We say hunt down a 2015 Nismo, the version that upped the power and performance chops of the already impressive standard GT-R. Or don’t. Honestly, you can go down the list of GT-R iterations and never find one that’ll disappoint.

We’re trying not to make this list “oops all Porsches” but the sports car giant has to appear somewhere. We’re electing to put it here with the 911 GT3 RS, specifically the 997 from the early noughties. Maybe it’s because it hits that certain sweet spot between classic and modern, or that it looks a bit more raw than the latest version. Either way, we have a soft spot for this one.

It’s hard to put a finger on it, but BMW, makers of “the ultimate driving machine” went and made a car that threw out all the typical German seriousness for something that was magically bonkers. Stuffing a turbo-6 into a 1 Series with a wider track and a pug-ugly mug was, apparently, the recipe for one of the most playful and fun to drive cars ever. Is it fast around a track? Who cares, you’ll be laughing your head off too much for it to matter.

By most accounts, the Alfa 4C was at best, a mixed bag. Its lack of power steering and wafer thin seats made it a chore to drive around town and over long periods of time, but hot damn if it wasn’t fun to whip around once it found some open road. We’re not saying get one, but if you have one, you can at least get some enjoyment out of it at your local circuit.

The AMG GT was billed as a “Porsche killer” when it debuted in 2014 and while the population of 911s hardly dwindled, the sporty two-door certainly had plenty of panache. The part-time F1 safety car and full-time smile machine had a meaner, stronger, winged-out variant called the GT R that doubled down on its track-day lunacy. Drive it with precision or drive it sideways. Either way, it’s a rollercoaster of a good time. 

You thought there was going to be yet another Miata appearance on this list, didn’t you? While yes, the answer is always Miata, this is a great opportunity to really flex your JDM prowess with a third-gen RX-7. Thoroughly 90s looking, it nonetheless has held up in the styling department. The great thing is no two RX-7s are alike thanks to time and the robust attention it’s been given by the aftermarket community.

All McLarens feel like they belong on a track, mainly because all of them between the 12C and 720S felt like race cars with barely-functional creature comforts like nav and a sound system. The 720S was Macca truly finding its groove, with the 765 Longtail being the best variant of an awesome car to take to a circuit. It borrowed heavily from the Senna hypercar while still remaining some road-going civility. Emphasis on “some” here.

“Pull the other leg,” you say to yourself as you read this entry. Hey, this is a favorites list, not a buyers guide. If you have one, we guarantee the Veyron will be better suited laying waste to the other weekend track-attackers than languishing in the lobby of your hotel. Don’t you have a Chiron by now anyway? Take a break from polo and give this thing some love, Ralph.

This V8-powered Bimmer was wasted on a generation of kids flexing on the Franny Lew, if you’ll allow us a reference very specific to New Yorkers of a certain age. No matter where you’re from, the feeling that a wonderful car spoiled by its user base is a familiar one, even today. This aggressive BMW had the grunt to back it up, along with all of the brand’s signature sportiness. Given the keys to one, we’d be at the track faster than you could say Darude Sandstorm.

Bentleys were some of the first cars in motorsport so it’s only fitting that the modern ones spend time on the track, no matter how many felled sequoia trees adorn the interior panels. The hand-built W12 under the hood cranks up 664hp and launches the luxury tourer over 200mph. Make use of this as it’ll be like the vintage wine turning to vinegar in the cellar: spectacular, powerful, and something we’ll never have again.

Looking for a low-stakes mid-engined sports car on the cheap? Look no further than good ole’ “Mister two.” Pluck any one up from its countless iterations and you’ll find something with enough charm and playfulness to make you a fan for life. You won’t be alone, as the MR2 fan base is thriving to this day.

The seventh-gen Corvette was arguably the best iteration of the classic ‘Vette before the swap to a mid-engine layout. Its styling gave it looks that could keep up with the more exotic sports cars while it had the performance to match. Of all the versions, the Grand Sport was the most accessible track toy. A mix of the Z06 and Z51 performance package, the Grand Sport was the “just right” Corvette that let drivers make use of the supercharged 6.2-liter V8 without the fear of losing their heads. That would come later in the form of the ZR1.

Oh c’mon, you knew the Miata had to be on here. The moderate power of the plucky and engaging roadster makes it a fantastic plaything for track days and autocross sessions. While anyone can grab a new ND MX-5, all the cool kids drive the second-gen NB MX-5. The turbocharged roadster’s much more friendly guppy-like face makes it clear to anyone at the track you’re just there for the good vibes.