WHERE HAVE ALL THE AFFORDABLE DRIVER'S CARS GONE?

Affordable performance cars seem to be a dying breed. We look back at a recent golden age - and highlight where cheap thrills can still be found, new and second-hand

- STEPHEN DOBIE

TIME FOR A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE. Not several decades back, to witness Group B rallying in its pomp or the rise of the '70s supercar wedge. Nope, we're more modestly rewinding 14 years. You join me for a plodge across Porthmadog Beach at the start of Coty 2008. There's no six-figure exotica to be seen, for this is the first leg, where a bunch of real-world contenders are being whittled down to one cut-price hero that'll attempt to embarrass a 997 GT2 and Nissan GT-R in southern France. Oh, and unleaded is less than a quid a liter. Happy days.

The cast is strong. There's a sub-£50k BMW M3 with a proper gearstick in the middle and a Lexus IS F to give it a decent scrap. We've two brand new Renault Sports, neither wearing a Clio badge just to prove the breadth of the firm's hot hatchback range. Nearby is an Impreza special with 325bhp, like it's still the really early days of Evo, not to mention a delectable little Alfa Romeo coupe with a Prodrive chassis alongside the recently relaunched VW Scirocco. The real world looks awfully fun indeed.

Especially in the context of 2022's performance car landscape. Now that the M3 has soared into luxury car territory and Renault Sport production has ceased entirely, none of those aforementioned cars exist in today's market. Only the Mini JCW, Caterham R500 and Abarth 500 have soldiered on from that autumn 2008 shoot, albeit in slightly different forms. Quick Minis haven't fully grabbed our attention for a while now and while Abarth's commitment to stiffly sprung Fiats with overwrought names deserves a hearty salute, we can't imagine buying one new. We still adore a quick Seven, but true attainability evades it on account of a Caterham surely only ever being a second (or third) car.