Top five budget Ferrari wannabes you can buy

Everyone wants a Ferrari – but wanting one and being able to afford one are two very different things. So, while you’re saving up, we’ve compiled a list of cut-price options that might just pass as a real Ferrari … or at least a really cheap imitation. A faux-rrari, if you will. Here are five to consider.

You can’t go for any old Tiburon. What you’ll need here is a second-generation model, built between 2002 and 2008. Like these. And preferably in red.

You’re halfway there. Next, order yourself some prancing horse badges off eBay, stick them on with some $5 double-sided tape and you’re done – ready for some mainies in the CBD on a Saturday night.

Find your next Hyundai Tiburon here on carsales.

The Toyota MR2 is a smaller option, and arguably a better choice for a few reasons. It’s a legitimate mid-engined sports car, with drive sent to the rear wheels and only two seats.

The second-generation MR2 in particular, built between 1989-1999, was often referred to as the “poor man’s Ferrari” and “baby Ferrari”.

Better still, there are actual kits available to make your MR2 look like an actual Fezza. But, like anything, there are some not-so-great examples.

There are some Toyota MR2s that are inching their way closer to Ferrari prices...but you can still bag a bargain under $20k.

Find your next Toyota MR2 here on carsales.

Another Toyota, another kit car. Yep, they make Ferrari kit cars for these too – and someone’s already had a go. But if you don’t want to go to that much effort (and dosh), go for the old debadge/rebadge mod and maybe a lick of paint or vinyl wrap.

What you’re gonna need is a seventh-gen Celica (1999-2006) like these, a good imagination and some more of those eBay badges.

Find your next Toyota Celica here on carsales.

You’ll be hard-pressed finding a decent one of these rear-drive sports cars for under $10K. But stretch a bit further and there are now a few good used Toyota 86s priced under $20K, and same goes for the Subaru BRZ.

If you stand far enough away, tilt your head and close one eye, you’d probably be forgiven for mistaking the Nissan 300ZX for a Ferrari of the same era – late 1980s and ’90s.

The Japanese coupe might not be as pretty or as fast as a supercar from Maranello, but you’ll have a better chance convincing your Tinder date that you drive a Ferrari in this bad boy than you would in a Navara.

Find your next Nissan 300ZX here on carsales.

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