RE: Vote for the best sports car of the last 25 years!
RE: Vote for the best sports car of the last 25 years!
Monday 16th January 2023

Vote for the best sports car of the last 25 years!

We've shortlisted the best sports cars sold since 1998 - now it's up to you


This year marks the 25th anniversary of PistonHeads. And like all good 25th birthday parties, we’re going at the celebrations hard - and early. As you might’ve heard, we’re going to ask for PHers to vote on the best cars from the past 25 years. Clearly, this is no easy task - hundreds, if not thousands of new models have gone on sale in that time - so we’ve zeroed in on five PH-worthy categories: sports car, hot hatch, saloon (and estate), track car and supercar to help narrow things down. 

Which, of course, means we’re throwing you in at the deep end. Everyone has a favourite sports car, and the last quarter of a century accounts for a high proportion of the very best ones. Obviously, it would be impossible (or at least very messy) to include every sports car available to buy new in the UK since 1998, and even the description itself is a hard one to pin down. Accordingly, we’ve had to be selective in both regards: by and large, it is only purpose-built sports cars that have made the shortlist, and everything in the margins (from the towering McLaren 570S all the way to lowly Lexus SC430) has fallen by the wayside - or been shunted to a later category to avoid duplication. 

That doesn’t mean the 31 cars we’ve whittled it down to will please everyone, of course - there were enough chairs thrown and tables flipped during the whittling process to highlight the fact. Lively discussion is anticipated, especially when we've opted to include only one generation of a long-running make and model or have chosen a single variant to represent a much broader lineup. Again, this was for the sake of clarity, and it has meant some hard choices - but we're fairly confident that all the big hitters of the past 25 years are represented in one form or another. 

If you’re anything like us, that won’t make selecting just one any easier, so we’re giving you the opportunity to vote on up to three cars - which will hopefully reduce the agony of choice somewhat. Polling will run for a week, and we’ll announce the winner next month along with all the runners-up. 

If you’re miffed that your favourite car doesn’t come out on top, then fret not. There are still four more categories left for you to vote on, which we’ll post in the coming months. Once we have a winner for each category, we’ll pit them against each other in what’s set to be an almighty group test, with the overall winner – the best car of the past 25 years – to be announced at our special PH25 event at Bicester Heritage on August 12th (you can register your interest here if you haven’t already). 

Right, that’s enough from us. It’s time to cast your votes by heading over to our poll here. Remember, you’ve got till Sunday 22nd to have your say. Many thanks for participating!


See the shortlist and vote now!

Author
Discussion

Debaser

Original Poster:

8,561 posts

291 months

Monday 16th January 2023
quotequote all
Surprised there's no GT3!

HJG

663 posts

137 months

Monday 16th January 2023
quotequote all
Oddly I wouldn't actually want any of those cars.
How did the MG TF make the list?!

TGCOTF-dewey

7,943 posts

85 months

Monday 16th January 2023
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Has to be the Elise - impeccable driving experience (apart from the poor ergomics) and affordable.


Cossie1978

5 posts

74 months

Monday 16th January 2023
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confused seriously, who in there right mind thinks that list covers the best sports cars of the last 25yrs

Ben Lowden

7,366 posts

207 months

PH Marketing Bloke

Monday 16th January 2023
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Debaser said:
Surprised there's no GT3!
Don't worry, you can vote on GT3 (RS) in the track car category in due course thumbup

RichTBiscuit

440 posts

181 months

Monday 16th January 2023
quotequote all
I'm sorry, but were you all on drugs when coming up with this short list? Abarth 124? MG TF?!!!?!

Has April the 1st come early?

Where's the E39 M5? Where's any 911 GT3? Ford Focus Mk1?

sp222

202 posts

179 months

Monday 16th January 2023
quotequote all
Once you vote you can't see the shortlist.

Abarth 124 Spider (2016)

Alfa Romeo 4C (2014)

Alpine A110 (2017)

Aston Martin V8 Vantage (2005)

Audi R8 V8 (2007)

Audi TT RS (Mk3) (2016)

Bentley Continental GT Speed (2021)

BMW i8 (2014)

BMW M2 Competition (F87) (2015)

BMW Z4 M (2006)

Caterham Seven 310 R (2017)

Ford Mustang Mach 1 (2021)

Honda S2000 (1999)

Jaguar F-Type (2013)

Lotus Elise (S1) (1996 until 2001)

Lotus Emira (2022)

Lotus Evora (2009)

Mazda MX-5 (ND) (2017)

Mercedes-AMG GT (2015)

MG TF (2002)

Morgan Plus Six (2019)

Nissan 370Z (2009)
Porsche 911 Carrera (997) (2004)

Porsche Boxster Spyder (718) (2019)

Porsche Cayman GTS 4.0 (718) (2020)

Toyota GR Supra (2020)

Toyota GR86 (2022)

Toyota MR2 (Mk3) (2000)

TVR Sagaris (2005)

TVR Tuscan (1999)

Vauxhall VX220 (2000)

Deranged Rover

4,689 posts

104 months

Monday 16th January 2023
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Marcos Mantis gets my vote. Can't see it on the list.

jhowlett

65 posts

142 months

Monday 16th January 2023
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no 458 speciale?

RichTBiscuit

440 posts

181 months

Monday 16th January 2023
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I'm not bothered about this sort of thing normally, but it literally just seems that you've spent 20 mins picking cars that you can remember and were fairly good.

I mean, who even considers that the 2020 GR Supra is the best car made in 25 years?


hairykrishna

14,528 posts

233 months

Monday 16th January 2023
quotequote all
Bizarre list. Is there anyone in the world who thinks the MG is the best sports car of the past 25 years? Or the Alfa 4C. Or the new Supra

Ben Lowden

7,366 posts

207 months

PH Marketing Bloke

Monday 16th January 2023
quotequote all
RichTBiscuit said:
Where's the E39 M5? Where's any 911 GT3? Ford Focus Mk1?
This is the sports car category – they are all represented on the saloon, track car and hatchback lists respectively which will all run in due course.

hairykrishna

14,528 posts

233 months

Monday 16th January 2023
quotequote all
RichTBiscuit said:
I'm sorry, but were you all on drugs when coming up with this short list? Abarth 124? MG TF?!!!?!

Has April the 1st come early?

Where's the E39 M5? Where's any 911 GT3? Ford Focus Mk1?
The M5 was a wonderful car and the Focus was good for what it was but neither are sports cars.

anonymous-user

84 months

Monday 16th January 2023
quotequote all
hairykrishna said:
Bizarre list. Is there anyone in the world who thinks the MG is the best sports car of the past 25 years?
You've never had the misfortune of talking to an MG bore or Longship fondler, I see. They think every turd that Leyland and it's diseased offspring crimped off was a wonderful wonderful car, the best car of it's sort ever, and it's just that almost every customer in every market everywhere in the world was wrong.

If you ever want a really good laugh go and read some of the essays and opinion pieces on aronline.co.uk and you'll be wondering when they started making crack that strong.

cerb4.5lee

44,974 posts

210 months

Monday 16th January 2023
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I've had/have a couple off that list(Z4M/370Z). I expect the Alpine A110 to do pretty well in the voting, and I'd imagine the Elise to be in with a good shout too.

HardtopManual

2,924 posts

196 months

Monday 16th January 2023
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WTF is going on at PH Towers if that is your list of the best sports cars of the last quarter of a century? Embarrassing.

anonymous-user

84 months

Monday 16th January 2023
quotequote all
TGCOTF-dewey said:
Has to be the Elise - impeccable driving experience (apart from the poor ergomics) and affordable.
I'm split between the Elise and the ND MX5, the Elise brought proper sportscars to people for Mondeo money and the ND MX5 is just about the last car you can buy new for a modest cost that's designed with the explicit purpose of being ragged to fk for fun, without a cuckbox or downshift assist or any bellendtronic tech to keep the top trumps brigade in kleenex.

Most "sports cars" now are for bellends to mince around in or thrash up and down a dual carriageway, and will never go down a good road faster than a half decent driver could manage in a Honda Jazz.

hairykrishna

14,528 posts

233 months

Monday 16th January 2023
quotequote all
The more I look at it, the odder it gets.

If you're going to have an MX5 on there surely it has to be the original? That way at least you can define best as 'most influential' and be able to argue it.


mikebradford

3,163 posts

175 months

Monday 16th January 2023
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Well not the list I was expecting which in some was is good.
Made me have to think a little.
For me

s1 elise, iconic, brilliant handling and led to a range of further elises.

997 probably the most 911 of the last 30 years in that the shape is obviously porsche. It also has a decent interior and great handling. Hard to chose in that all 911s seem to have so many variants.

Sagaris well I grew up with TVRs regularly being seen on the road. These were the pinical for me. Simply jaw dropping. Don't see any these days but I imagine if I heard one and turned to see it fly past it would have me grinning like a kid again.

Ekona

1,684 posts

232 months

Monday 16th January 2023
quotequote all
MGTF roflroflrofl

Very odd list. 90% no issues having them on there, but some aren’t even good cars much less great sports cars, so why not just make the list shorter?

Elise for me though, no question. Or 997 as an overall package.