Supercar Swag For Supermini Cheddar

Living in the UK isn't perfect, but when it comes to the used car market, we are truly blessed.

So desperate are new car buyers to show off to their neighbours that they're always on the hunt for the next model - and used car values quickly head south.

For the price of that new supermini your neighbour is out there polishing every Sunday, show him what a real car is by buying one of these for the same price.

TVR Chimaera

You can start by waking that neighbour up in the morning, as the Chimaera is loud enough to disturb the dead. Little more than £5k nets one of TVR's finest, though prices are rising sharply for good ones. You get between 240-340bhp depending on the model, but that thunderous V8 will take you to 60mph in five seconds max.

Maserati 3200 GT

For a third of the price of a stupid Fiat 500 special edition, you this boomerang-bottomed beauty - with some of the coolest tail-lights you ever did see. A twin-turbo, 3.2-litre V8 provides the punch, with a minimum of 363bhp on tap. It's the classiest here, shrugging off its ten-grand entry price, and perfect for those trips to Monaco you'll feel like doing all of a sudden.

Chevrolet Corvette C4

Nobody offers bang for buck like 'Merica. Nobody. Okay, so you'll have to put up with left-hand drive on this side of the pond, but there's 5.7 litres of bulletproof V8 under the hood, kickin' out 205 horses in early models and 300-plus in later cars. Ignore the nay-sayers, Corvettes are cool. Pay four grand for one, and they're even cooler.

Toyota Supra Twin Turbo

"I said a ten second car, not a ten minute car..." Yeah, okay, so the Supra's rep has suffered at the hands of Hollywood, but even in standard form the twin-turbo Supra's performance should be enough to shed Mia Toretto's undergarments. Officially it makes 276bhp, but there's potential for a lot more. Four grand starts you off.

BMW M5 (E39)

Coming a close second to the Maserati on heritage, you can't get much more thoroughbred than a bona-fide M-car. The E39 M5 is one of the best, with a 400-horse V8 that'll get you to 60mph in around 5 seconds. Like a polar bear in a snowstorm, it's stealthy but deadly. If you want even more power, its E60, V10 successor is lurking around the £12k mark...

Mercedes-Benz CLK55 AMG

BMW M Division's natural rival is AMG at Mercedes. AMG works on the ethos of dropping a huge engine into an unassuming saloon or coupe, and sticking a tiny badge on the back to denote it. The huge engine here is a 360bhp, 5.4 litre V8. The unassuming coupe is the curvy C209 CLK, and the net result is a 5.2sec 0-60mph time.

Mitsubishi Evo VIII FQ300

We all know the story of where the FQ comes from ("Fiddlesticks, that's Quick" or similar). And whoever named it wasn't lying. It's another 5-second 0-60mph car, but it'll murder anything else here on a twisty or slippery road, and it starts from £8k. Your neighbour will think you're a complete yob, but what does he know? He bought a Honda Jazz.