5 Exotic Cars You Can Get For Less Than A New Ford Mustang GT

In the U.S., seeing a Mustang GT is not all that special. These are relatively affordable and there are simply a ton of them. In Europe, seeing a Mustang GT is much rarer, so much so that in some countries a brand-new Mustang GT is an exotic car. That makes sense since the GT is powered by a 5-liter V8, has rear-wheel drive, is a two-door coupe, and makes all the right noises to draw attention.

So, if you want to feel like you are driving something exotic in Europe, a Mustang GT is likely going to do it. However, in the U.S., you will have to try harder. Luckily, "harder" doesn't mean impossible, or even all that expensive. A new Mustang GT will run you between $46,800 and $51,080, and that number turns out to be a surprisingly useful line in the sand.

Step into the used market, and that same budget opens the door to cars wearing badges most people only see in movies or on posters: Maserati, Aston Martin, Audi, Ferrari. These aren't watered-down base trims, either. They're genuine exotics that have simply been through a few ownership cycles and shed the bulk of their original sticker price.

Of course, buying an older exotic on a Mustang budget comes with significant potential tradeoffs, mostly in the form of maintenance bills down the road that could bankrupt a country. But if what you want is to turn heads for the price of a brand new U.S. V8 pony car, here are five exotic cars you can buy for less than a new Ford Mustang GT.

When looking through used car listings, finding an R8 under $50,000 is indeed difficult, but not impossible. On the other hand, you'd be hard-pressed to find anything more exotic. The Audi R8 is a mid-engined super sports car equipped with a naturally-aspirated 4.2-liter V8 engine mated to either a manual or an automatic transmission. Power is rated at 430 horsepower and 317 ft-lb of torque.

With full tilts, the V8 R8 could reach 60 mph from a standstill somewhere in the mid 4-second range and reach a top speed of 177 mph, both of which were true exotic car territory twenty years ago, and are arguably still. Design-wise, you get a futuristic car that still looks fresh both inside and out. Audi sadly discontinued the R8 because it didn't sell all that well and because we now got its unofficial replacement – the Audi Nouvolari.

What is worth noting is that the V8 R8 pricing isn't likely to move downward for much longer, at least when looking at well-kept examples. If we take a look at Classic.com, we can see that the V8 R8 absolutely bottomed out somewhere in the $31,000 region, and that the average value ($65,943) has been on the rise in the past year.

Therefore, if you really want to skip that new Mustang GT allocation and go for a mid-engined naturally aspirated two-seat super coupe that can reach 177 mph, the R8 is not going to be there for much longer, at least not at this price.

In many people's eyes, Ferrari is the epitome of the exotic car. Cars like the Ferrari Enzo are etched in history as some of the most exotic cars to ever exist. What is also immensely exotic about these cars is the price. Monterey Car Week freshly ended at the time we wrote this article, and in one of its auctions, a Ferrari Enzo sold for around the $10 million mark.

For a bit of reference, you can buy around 210 new Mustang GTs for that price. If you don't want 210 Mustangs, but you do want a Ferrari that costs less than a single Mustang, the 1990 Ferrari Mondial is the cheapest Ferrari you can buy. Unlike the R8, finding a Mondial under Mustang GT money isn't even much of a hunt, with the tracked market average sitting right around $44,904.

Listings dip well below that, too — Cars.com puts the nationwide average at $31,977, with pricing starting at $20,035. Mechanically, the Mondial is a mid-engined, naturally-aspirated 3.4-liter V8 producing 296 horsepower and 239 lb-ft of torque, paired with a 5-speed manual. That's enough for a 0-60 mph time of 6.1 seconds, with a top speed of 158 mph.

Those numbers won't scare a modern Mustang GT, but the badge on the nose could. The Mondial T also gets you things the R8 can't touch: a 2+2 layout with real rear seats, a Pininfarina-designed body, and a Cabriolet variant if you want the wind in your hair. It's not the fastest way to feel exotic, but it's the cheapest way to do it with a yellow horse on the hood.

What makes an excotic car truly exotic? Is it the speed, the acceleration, a massive engine, durability under load, or amazing handling? If the answer to any of those is a yes, then the Lotus Esprit Turbo SE is technically not an exotic. However, if you squint your eyes, cover your ears, and close your nose, you might mistake it for something like a Lamborghini Diablo, a Ferrari F40, or even a Bugatti EB 110.

Denying the exotic status to a car like the Lotus Esprit Turbo SE based on everything besides its design sure is logical, but in the eye of the average Joe, the Esprit is a head-turner in the same way a Diablo is. Pricing backs up the case for including it here. Classic.com's tracked market average for the Esprit sits at $47,506, but individual Turbo SE listings routinely undercut that number.

Underneath that wedge-shaped body sits a turbocharged 2.2-liter inline-four, a far cry from the Diablo's V12 or the F40's twin-turbo V8. Yet the SE's engine was rated at 264 horsepower, with 280 available on overboost, enough for a 0-60 sprint in 4.7 seconds and a top speed over 160 mph. That's quicker to 60 than the Mondial T on this list, and it comes from a design penned by Giorgetto Giugiaro, the same dude that designed the Delorean DMC 12 and the BMW M1.

It won't out-corner a modern sports car, and it certainly won't out-accelerate a new Mustang GT in a straight line, but the Esprit doesn't need to. It just needs to look the part, and for four-figure money less than a base Mustang, it does exactly that. Just ignore the fact that the maintenance costs of a Lotus Esprit are a dealbreaker.

An exotic car is often associated with a mid-engine configuration, but there are plenty of exotics that are designed with the engine above its front axle. Maserati is one of those brands that sounds exotic, but can you find a usable exotic Maserati for the price of a brand-new Mustang GT? Well, you can, if you believe the 2008 to 2019 Maserati Gran Turismo is an exotic. So, let's settle it.

The engine: a 4.7L V8 naturally aspirated V8 from Ferrari's F136 lineup. It's the same core engine used in Ferrari's F430 and 458. Rarity and brand? Maserati sells a lot less cars than let's say BMW or Porsche, but that is partly because not many people want to buy them. Either way, rarity is exotic. Hard to find parts, expensive maintenance? Yes, that's the Gran Turismo all right.

Prices on the used market back up the case for including it here, with an average of $50,923.80 across listings ranging from $15,258 to $131,309. That 4.7-liter engine makes 454 horsepower and 384 lb-ft of torque, good for a 4.7-second sprint to 60 mph and a top speed of 186 mph. Not bad for a car you can find for Mustang GT money, or less.

At the end of the day, the Gran Turismo has a Ferrari-built heart, the Italian flare, and the rarity to earn its spot on this list. This is one of those cases where we can jointly celebrate the fact that Maseratis have such low resale value, because the fact that you can buy a Ferrari engine and transmission for something that costs less than a new Mustang GT is enough.

There are few things in life that can make you feel more exotic than James Bond, and if that's what you're looking for, skip that Mustang GT and go for an Aston Martin DB7 V12 Vantage. The Aston brand is deep into exotic car territory, that checks the name. The DB7 V12, as the name suggests, has a V12, and besides a Bugatti with a V16, it does not get any more exotic than a V12.

The DB7 V12 also follows the Aston Martin golden ratio design language, meaning that the car is striking and is bound to attract attention anywhere it goes. Pricing makes the case even stronger than the design does. KBB currently lists 2000, 2002, and 2003 DB7 Vantage examples starting as low as $24,990.

Classic.com tracked market average for the DB7 Vantage is $26,864, a genuine V12 Aston for well under Mustang GT money. The engine backs up the price. Aston Martin's own spec sheet lists a 5.9-liter, 60-degree V12 producing 414 horsepower and 398 lb-ft of torque.

Buyers who track down the six-speed manual get the quicker of the two gearboxes: Aston clocks the manual car's top speed at 184 mph, a full 19 mph higher than the automatic. With an Aston Martin GT V12 soundtrack, the looks, and the feeling of being one of the most famous secret agents ever, the Aston Martin DB7 V12 experience sure is more exotic than a Mustang.