The Cheapest RWD Sports Cars of 2025

If you take the ten least-expensive rear-drive sports cars available in 2025, you wind up with a list containing four-, six-, and eight-cylinder options covering a $70,000 span of starting prices. Half the entries are Japanese, three are German, and two are American. And because we’re looking at the cheapest ones, you won’t find a Porsche 911 or a Mercedes-AMG on this list.

• Nissan

  Nissan Motor Corporation is a Japanese automaker founded in 1933 and the parent automaker of Infiniti and formerly Datsun. Nissan produces a wide variety of mass-market vehicles, including popular SUVs like the Rogue, sedans like the Sentra, and trucks like the Nissan Frontier, but is also responsible for iconic sports cars like the Nissan Z and GT-R. Since 1999, Nissan has been part of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance (the name changed when Mitsubishi joined in 2016).

  Founded

  26 December 1933

  Founder

  Yoshisuke Aikawa

  Headquarters

  Nishi-ku, Yokohama

  Owned By

  Publicly Traded

  Current CEO

  Ivan Espinosa (as of 1 April, 2025)

• 

  Toyota

  Toyota is a Japanese automaker founded in 1937 that has developed a reputation for reliability across a multitude of segments, from sports cars and family sedans to pickup trucks and off-roaders. Famous models from the brand include the Hilux, Land Cruiser, Camry, Crown, and Corolla, the latter being the world’s best-selling vehicle nameplate, with more than 50 million Corolla-badged vehicles being sold since it was first introduced. Toyota typically competes in the mainstream market, but is also famous for launching Lexus as a luxury sub-brand to take on Mercedes-Benz.

  Founded

  August 28, 1937

  Founder

  Kiichiro Toyoda

  Headquarters

  Aichi, Japan

  Owned By

  Publicly Traded

  Current CEO

  Koji Sato

There are some great choices with both turbocharged and naturally aspirated engines across all price ranges, and you’ll even find a trio of mid-engine cars on the list, too – as well as America’s cheapest car with 400 horsepower, which turns out to be a Nissan.

For this feature, we’re listing the ten least-expensive 2025 model year rear drive sports cars from cheapest to most expensive. MSRPs used are the base prices for the cheapest model in the lineup. Prices were correct at the time of writing, but may change at any time. We’ve listed them from the cheapest to the most expensive.

1

2025 Mazda MX-5 Miata

Starting MSRP: $29,530

In 2025, the MX-5 Miata’s sub-$30,000 starting MSRP makes it the most affordable rear-wheel-drive sports car you can buy. Four trim grades are available, as are both soft and power-retractable hard-top roof options. This two-seat model doesn’t have a back seat for the kids, but it’s small, light and rigid body and sport-tuned chassis give it impressive reflexes, let alone maneuverability. The four-cylinder MZR engine loves to work, and keeps your fuel bill down, too.

2

2025 Toyota GR86

Starting MSRP: $30,000

The second-generation of Toyota’s rear-drive sports coupe, the GR86, features a standard limited-slip rear differential, six-speed stick, and fast-spinning, naturally aspirated 2.4-liter flat-four engine with 228 horsepower. Racy interior styling elements include a big digital rev counter, front and center. The GR86 feels light, lively, eager and responsive, and works better the harder it’s driven.

3

2025 Subaru BRZ

Starting MSRP: $31,210

The Toyota GR86’s twin, the Subaru BRZ, is the next rear-wheel-drive sports car on our list. It’s slight price premium is good for third-cheapest rear-drive sports car. Subaru is the boxer-engine brand, remember: and if you’ve got one of their boxer-engined SUVs in the driveway and you’re looking for a sporty addition, then the BRZ might just make the perfect new member in your family fleet. Like the GR86, the lightweight, rear-drive BR-Z captures an authentic feeling of fun at the wheel.

4

2025 Ford Mustang

Starting MSRP: $31,920

The latest Mustang combines a styling overhaul with plenty of familiar tech, including its turbocharged 2.3-liter EcoBoost engine powering the most affordable version of the car, the EcoBoost Fastback. Don’t let its four cylinders fool you, the EcoBoost packs a punch, and helps keep the front axle light. The latest Mustang’s new body conceals a high-tech new interior, and you’ll find some big power output numbers relative to the price, especially if you feed it 93-octane gas.

5

2025 Nissan Z

Starting MSRP: 42,970

We’ve now made a $10,000 jump from the previous car, but the Nissan Z has the performance credentials to back up the price premium. Standard with a twin-turbo VR V6 engine and six-speed manual, this slick two-seater is the latest attainable sports car to capture decades of Nissan sports car and motorsports history into a package you can drive every day. It’s also the first car on our list into 400-horsepower territory.

6

2025 BMW Z4

Starting MSRP: $54,500

We’ve now made a nearly $12,000 jump up the pricing ladder again, and we’re sitting just below $55,000 for the BMW Z4’s sDrive30i grade. Under the hood, its a 2.0-liter turbo four with 255 horsepower and an eight-speed automatic, top optional of course. Like the MX-5 and Nissan 400Z above, the BMW Z4 is also a two-seater, for a particularly sporty and personal feel.

7

2025 Toyota GR Supra

Starting MSRP: $56,250

The reincarnated Toyota Supra is distinctive, powerful, and athletic. If you’ve got the space, the melodic howl of its furious BMW B58 straight-six engine is your constant companion while browsing the gears at full throttle via the heavy but precise six-speed manual shifter. This do-it-all rear-drive two-seater is quiet and comfortable for road trips, and eager and confidence-inspiring on the race track.

8

2025 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray

Starting MSRP: $68,300

Though its the cheapest machine on our list with a supercar-like mid-engined configuration, the Corvette Stingray is still more than $30,000 away from being the priciest machine on the page, not to mention the only one to tickle the 500-horsepower mark. The bang for the buck in the latest Corvette is unmistakable. Same goes for the gut-punch torque, lightning-speed gearchanges, and laser-straight launches enabled by the latest Vette’s trick rear axle, which helps make great use of all the firepower bolted between the rear wheels.

9

2025 Porsche 718

Starting MSRP: $72,800-$74,900

The next mid-engine rear-drive sports car on our list is actually two. The Porsche 718 represents two machines, the two door Cayman Coupe, and the convertible version, the Boxster. Each has two-trunk functionality and a smooth, efficient and punchy base engine. You get a 2.0-liter flat-four turbo mounted low and wide behind the passenger compartment, good for 150 horsepower a liter.

Porsche’s seven-speed PDK dual-clutch automatic transmission is standard kit, though you can opt for a manual six-speed as a 0-dollar option if you like. Both help demonstrate the benefits of being light, aerodynamic and fuel efficient: they’re surprisingly modest on fuel when you aren’t heavy on the throttle. Good luck with that.

10

2025 Lexus LC 500

Starting MSRP: $99,750

The final machine on our list takes us into six-figure pricing territory with 471 horsepower and one of the most beautiful two-door bodies on the road today. The Lexus LC 500’s naturally aspirated V8 is a gem, and its one-of-a-kind interior and powertrain have given it tremendous appeal in both the new and used markets. The look, sound and sensation of the LC 500 will turn in rear-drive motoring pleasure for years to come.

Sources: Nissan, Toyota, Ford, Lexus, Subaru, Porsche, Chevrolet, BMW, Mazda.