It’s exhilarating to feel a turbocharger cut in; the push in the back and the whistle as it spools up are hard to beat for performance-car enthusiasts.

For a long time, the principal exponents of forced induction have been as fashionable as a kipper tie and beige slacks, but right now the 1970s and ’80s are hot property on the market – and nothing says so more than a turbo. As you can see from our selection of fast cars, there’s an offering to suit all budgets.

The Nissan 300ZX isn’t necessarily the first car you’d think of, but it has all the zed-car history you would ever need.  As for the Porsche, Ferrari and Jaguar options, they speak for themselves – although it’s the bargain Brit that impresses for its cheap entry into the 200mph club.

£250,000
Ferrari F40
It was Enzo’s final road car, introduced to celebrate the 40th birthday of the Ferrari marque. And what a present the F40 was, with 478bhp on tap and a maximum speed of 201mph. Buyers loved it new, and still do today – although, with 1315 examples built, it’s hardly rare.



£125,000
Jaguar XJ220
Jaguar’s fastest-ever road car wasn’t a massive success, and despite its 213mph top speed buyers felt short-changed because the original prototype was powered by a 6-litre V12. But somehow the turbocharged V6 XJ220 gets more appealing as the years pass, and the car’s massive width is diminished by newer supercars. While £125,000 would buy you one of the best, they have been known to change hands for as little as £60,000.

£25,000
Porsche 911 turbo
We’ve been saying it for a while, but the current – relative – low values of Porsche 911 Turbos
can’t remain so for much longer. There’s all the badge cachet you could want, while performance and excitement aplenty are delivered from the marque’s first turbocharged road car. Pushing out 260bhp, the original 3-litre model might not be the best of the breed but, with a mere 2873 built and far fewer remaining, it’s an awful lot of car for the money.

£5000
Nissan 300ZX
THE 1990 nissan 300zx was part of a wave of desirable Japanese sports models that included the Mazda MX-5 and Honda NSX, and which forced us all to re-evaluate the desirability of Oriental cars.  The 300ZX managed to reignite the zed-car franchise after years of obesity, and made them cool again. Still a bargain – but beware non-turbo automatics, imports with no history and high-mileage examples. There are still enough around to be very picky.