Ford Escort RS Cosworth, 1995, 21k, £79,898
Aside perhaps for the epoch-making introduction of the McLaren F1, no car better defines the boom-and-bust ‘90s than Ford’s whale-tailed Escort. Probably you had to be there to really grasp the hold it had on the enthusiast imagination at the time, but it landed plum on the nexus between high performance, semi-attainability and wild desire. Clarkson had one. We all wanted one. And while it was hardly the standout homologation car to drive in a decade full of low-volume specials, its appeal among collectors has hardly waned at all. Hence the reason you’ll still pay a very high price for a lightly used one. This one, in Imperial Blue with only 21k on the clock, is £80k.
BMW M5 (E39), 1999, 70k, £31,995
If the Escort Cosworth was obviously a contender to save for Sunday best from day one, the E39 M5 was bought to be driven - a lot. It appeared toward the end of the ‘90s, but its oversized V8 was very much a product of a decade where the concept of ‘more’ was being embraced wholeheartedly. Also, with all due respect to the E46, it was the inch-perfect proportions of the E39 that speaks to BMW’s glory years thirty years later. In terms of power and prestige - and thrillingly understated performance - there is nothing quite like the M5. Certainly not today, which is probably why the model is still coveted. Big miles tend to mean you’ll pay modern classic prices rather than classic classic money - here’s one with 70k on the clock for £32k. Lovely.
Lotus Elise S1, 1999, 13k, £29,995
So timeless is the Elise (and long-running) that you could arguably twin it with any decade in the previous three, not least because Lotus hardly let up in its enthusiasm for selling the thing. But that diminishes its innovative achievements when new, and the impact it had on those who came into possession of one before the end of the millennium. Moreover, thanks to the direction that its maker is now headed, it will almost certainly go down as the quintessential Lotus and be traded among track day enthusiasts for as long as there are tracks to drive and petrol to burn. You needn’t pay £30k for one, but if you’re after something like the original experience in immaculate, low-mile condition (like this Norfolk yellow example) that’s how much they currently cost.
Peugeot 306 GTI-6, 1998, 78k, PH Auction
All things being equal, the ’90s is probably more famous for hot hatches than iconic sports cars. But which one to go for? Certainly the impact - both dynamically and culturally - of the Peugeot 205 GTI cannot be overstated. Yet it’s a hard car to recommend when people attach increasingly wild valuations to surviving examples. So we’d be inclined to nudge people toward the other end of the decade and the considerably more sophisticated 306 GTI-6. Not a pioneer of exceptionalism in quite the same way, just a wonderful, practical, picture-perfect and (relatively) cheap-to-buy hatchback. This one, currently making its way through PH Auctions, has no reserve and is probably about as good as they come. Grab with both hands.
Porsche 911 Turbo (993), 1996, 32k, £224,900
For some people (potentially anyone a bit too into the 1995 action-comedy Bad Boys) the 964 is the defining 911 of the ’90s. But that fails to acknowledge the 993’s unique place in the model’s lineage: straddling, as it does, both the prospect of air-cooled engines and the introduction of the Weissach axle. You won’t need us to tell you that some still regard it as the last ‘proper’ 911 - and while that’s semantic poppycock, there is no arguing with its reputation, nor the epic variants that resulted from its four-year existence. The Turbo, with its standard all-wheel-drive system derived from the 959, ranks highly among them, and is cheaper to buy than the seven-figure Carrera RS and GT2. Still a chunk of change, mind: as this Basalt Black example proves, anything well-kept and sparingly used will almost certainly be a six-figure purchase.
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 5 GSR, 1998, 116k, £30,995
Where to end? How about near the death, when it seemed like everyone and his dog was spending their free time importing Mitsubishi Lancers from Japan? The same could be said of the R33 and R34 GT-R, but they were specialist cars, and seldom seen. Buying an Evo V or VI was a lot cheaper and easier and delivered an astonishing amount of bang for your buck. In fact, as we’ve argued before, much of what occurred in the subsequent decade was presaged by the astonishing things that Active Yaw Control and a turbocharged four-cylinder engine could do for your pleasure centres. None of that thrill is gone either: drive one today and you’ll immediately know what all the fuss was about. One like this GSR from 1998. Standout in Dandelion Yellow and yours for £31k.
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