18 Kit Cars That Won't Break The Bank

There are really only two ways to build your own sports car in the modern market: either have deep enough pockets to convince a major manufacturer to design a model especially for you, or get your hands dirty and buy a kit car. The main advantage of a kit car is that it offers a lot more scope for customization than buying a regular sports car does — for example, builders usually have a choice of engines, and can add as many aftermarket upgrades as they like without having to worry about invalidating a warranty.

There's also the satisfaction of being able to say that you built your own car rather than bought it, and that's an accolade that even multimillionaire collectors who commission one-off specials can't lay claim to. Not to mention, a kit car is nearly always a lot more affordable than buying an equivalent turn-key sports car, with many kits costing less than $25,000, yet offering head-turning looks and track-ready performance when they're finished.

Factory Five is one of the best-known American kit car makers, and for good reason. The company makes a variety of affordable kits, the most retro of those being the '33 Hot Rod. Available in either two stages for $10,990 each or $20,990 for the complete kit, the '33 Hot Rod is a little different from many other kit cars in that it doesn't rely on a donor car. Instead, Factory Five fabricates everything including the chassis, body, suspension, and interior in-house, leaving only the drivetrain for the builder to source independently.

Factory Five's president Dave Smith has said that the focus when designing the Hot Rod kit was to improve performance and drivability over a traditional hot rod build, and to keep things simple by offering all the parts in one place. The design originally debuted at the 2008 SEMA show, and the second-generation kit is now available to order from Factory Five's website.

Genuine Shelby Cobras are both extremely rare and extremely valuable, with the most sought-after examples selling for more than $5 million at auction. That makes them unobtainable to all but the wealthiest collectors, but thankfully there's a booming replica market that allows enthusiasts to drive their own Cobra for a much more reasonable price. One of the most popular replica kits is Factory Five's Mk4 Roadster, which retails for $20,990 for the complete kit. Like most kit cars, it doesn't include an engine or transmission, and the wheels and tires also have to be purchased separately.

Builders, therefore, have the choice of whether to focus on budget or performance, although most builders will prefer to spend a little extra to make sure their Cobra is as fast as it looks. Factory Five offers comprehensive instructions on how to build the car, with only regular tools required for assembly. There's no option to buy a turn-key version of the Mk4 Roadster, but the kit maker says it can work with buyers to find a suitable shop to build the car if they're not comfortable assembling it on their own.

The 2005-2010 Chevrolet Cobalt is far from the most remarkable of cars, but DF offers a kit that can transform it into a bare-bones street racing machine. Once a suitable donor car has been acquired, the base-spec Goblin kit will set buyers back a further $9,500. DF claims that assembling the Goblin is "even easier than flat pack furniture," as only basic tools are required. After assembly, most builds weigh around 1,500 to 1,600 pounds, making even the base-spec Cobalt's 145 horsepower engine more than powerful enough. However, the Goblin kit is designed to be compatible with any Cobalt engine, so buyers looking for serious performance should opt for the Cobalt SS Turbo's 260 horsepower 2.0-liter engine.

According to DF's website, a Goblin with a Cobalt SS Turbo engine should be capable of 0-60 mph in approximately 3.25 seconds, making it faster than a Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat off the line. Its mid-mounted engine and light curb weight should make it sharp around corners, too, allowing drivers to keep up with cars that cost three or four times as much both on the straights and in the twisties.

In 2022, Caterham launched its entry-level Super Seven 2000 in the U.S., but with a starting price of roughly $45,000, it's too expensive to feature on this list. However, another British kit car maker sells a very similar kit that can be imported to America for a little over half the price. Westfield has been making kit cars since 1983, with its most popular design being based on the Lotus Seven, the same as Caterham.

The Mega S2000 features a Honda F20C engine, yet it weighs barely more than 1,200 pounds. It's available from Manik Sportscars, a specialist importer in Texas, for $24,990 plus shipping. However, this price doesn't include an engine, transmission, alternator, and several other parts, as those require a donor Honda S2000. Like many small carmakers, Westfield has struggled with its cash flow, and it went into administration in June 2022. However, new buyers were found for the company in September 2022, and the company is reportedly looking to restart production in a limited capacity. It's not clear at the time of writing how this will affect U.S. availability for the kits.

The Vaydor hit the headlines in 2016 when it was featured as the Joker's car in the movie "Suicide Squad," and it's still available to buy today. It uses an Infiniti G35 Coupe as a donor, and unlike many of the other kit cars here, it uses the donor car's stock chassis and most of its internals. The kit is available in parts, with the main body kit costing $16,000, and a variety of extras including custom interior parts and scissor door hinges. Buying everything apart from the interior upholstery kit will set buyers back a comparatively steep $23,800.

The kit includes features like a head-up display and 360-degree cameras to make it more driver-friendly than most other kit cars. The G35's engine bay can house LS, 2JZ, or LT engines, and Carolina Vaydor recommends upgrading from the donor car's engine if possible. The company estimates that most builds will cost around $40,000 in total, although with the caveat that this is an estimate for experienced builders, and anyone needing to hire help may have to pay even more. Still, builders with enough technical experience and a cheap donor G35 can build themselves a unique car with both supercar looks and supercar levels of performance at a fraction of an actual supercar's cost.

Original Shelby Daytona Coupes cost millions, so even seeing one in real life is near impossible, never mind driving it. Factory Five offers a solution though, as the Type 65 Coupe is about as close as it's possible to get to the real thing without having an eight-figure bank account. Two versions of the kit are available, with the cheaper kit requiring a Mustang donor car and costing $17,990. For $5,000 extra, a "complete kit" is available that only requires a powertrain, wheels, and paint.

The complete kit can fit small block Ford 302, 351, and 5.0-liter Coyote engines, and there are plenty of aftermarket power upgrades that are available for each of them. There's a choice of either vintage or modern gauges and switches, so builders can choose whether to go for period-correct looks or modern convenience. Both left-hand drive and right-hand drive configurations are available, and Factory Five offers worldwide shipping upon request. There's no way the average enthusiast will ever be able to sit behind the wheel of an original Daytona Coupe, but kit cars like this one offer drivers the next best thing.

Hot rods have long been one of the most popular ways to build a unique car, but it's no longer as easy to find affordable classic cars to modify. Instead, the most cost-effective way to build a hot rod is now to use a kit car like the AC Autos '32 Ford Sedan & Delivery, and it's a relatively easy option too, assuming the builder has some previous experience working on cars. The kit's fiberglass body can be purchased separately for $6,995, and the stock frame is available for $3,495.

Alternatively, a rolling chassis is available for $8,995, including extras like brakes and shocks. For a rolling chassis and a body, buyers will be looking at a total of $12,490. Engine and powertrain are still the responsibility of the buyer, but with a car that looks this mean, it's definitely advisable to get an appropriately beefy V8 under the hood.

Have you ever wanted to turn your Audi sedan into a pickup truck? Well, the Smyth Audi A4/S4 Ute kit lets you do exactly that, for the very reasonable price of $3,790 — assuming you already have an Audi on hand, of course. The kit is compatible with any A4 or S4 between the 2003 and 2007 model years, and it gives the car a look that's certain to draw a lot more attention than any regular Audi ever could.

The rear half of the passenger cabin is removed altogether to create a bed that's more spacious than one might expect for a sedan-based truck. The kit itself might be cheap, but the build will require appropriate tools to chop up the car in the first place — this is far from a bolt-on job and is definitely only suitable for builders who have plenty of previous experience modifying cars. The manufacturer also notes that tail lights are not included in the kit, and will have to be sourced from an Acura MDX. It might be one of the stranger kits here, but for anyone set on doing something drastic with their Audi sedan, it doesn't get much more head-turning than this.

It's still early days for the Arma GT kit supercar — it first launched in 2022, and at the time of writing, it seems very few examples of the kit have been sold so far. That's no bad thing, however, at least for anyone looking for a really unique build. It starts at $24,000 CAD (roughly $18,150 USD), but like most of the other kits here, things like the powertrain, tires, and interior upholstery are the responsibility of the buyer. Not the cheapest build, then, but still considerably less expensive than buying a supercar from an established manufacturer.

The car's mid-engine layout and low-slung design take inspiration from exotic cars from the likes of Ferrari and McLaren, but a much more home-grown powerplant is recommended for assembly. Depending on budget, Arma advises that buyers use either an LS2, LS3, or LT4 engine, with at least 400 horsepower on tap to give the car the performance to match its looks. The company also notes that the kit can be adapted to work with electric motors, with modifications to fit a battery pack available upon request.