Cheap and very cheerful coupes | Six of the Best

It’s difficult not to be a little sad that coupes don’t really exist anymore. We all know why – people didn’t buy them, hot hatches then hot SUVs became more popular – and yet nothing quite compares to a properly low-slung, smartly styled, front-engined two-door to get the juices flowing. There’s a reason coupe names are resurrected, and it’s because people have fond recollections of great cars. So let’s remember them. Fiat didn’t mess about with heritage when it came to a new two-door for the ’90s: its futuristic Chris Bangle-penned sportster looked like nothing else, and would simply be called ‘Coupe’. But add those distinctive looks to a sorted chassis and lusty turbo power and the Fiat was one of the performance cars of the decade. This 20-valve turbo is a live, no-reserve PistonHeads auction right now, benefitting from some restorative work this year, and still showing just 61,000 miles. Still looks fabulous, too – what a way to hark back.  

Speaking of the glory years, VW’s Scirocco replacement was an instant hit thanks to its chiselled good looks and engaging drive. But it was the VR6 engine that really made a hero of the Corrado, elevating it from a decent Golf-based coupe to proper performance car material. While expensive new, Corrado VR6s endured their time in the doldrums, only to begin their ascent a few years back as people began to realise (or remember) just how good they were. And durable – like a lot of German cars of the period, Corrados seem to wear their miles well (assuming proper care, of course). This Mystic Blue example is especially desirable as a late Storm special edition, and is said to benefit from every bill since new. Still cheaper than many of the classic GTIs, too…

A modern take on a classic recipe. For decades, the baby BMW would be one of the best coupes (or two-door saloons, really) around, combining smooth straight sixes with a rear-drive chassis for a unique offering in the sector. While not always the most sophisticated, various 3 Series provided ample entertainment for many. But as the two-door 3 grew and became the 4, so a space was vacated beneath it that the 2 Series perfectly fit into a decade ago. While the M2 remains the pinup of the range, there remains plenty to recommend the M Performance 235i and 240i, especially at this price point. As older BMWs appreciate and require more dedicated care, so the appeal of a car still in its first decade – yet still with a 3.0-litre six and a manual gearbox – surely increases. This one shows just 50,000 miles and comes with an M Performance Exhaust.

If there’s no replacement for displacement, no coupe is quite going to do it like a Monaro. Launched as a 5.7 LS1 in 2004 with regular and VXR models, a facelift followed in 2005 that increased the power of the standard engine and introduced a 6.0-litre LS2 for the VXR. This was when the Monaro got really serious, with power up beyond 400hp – then the later VXR500 signed off a caddish coupe in fine (silly) fashion. Any Monaro is a rare find now, with fewer than a thousand ever coming over 20 years ago; the 5.7 VXR is the hardest to find, the standard CV8 the most affordable, and the 6.0 VXR the ‘Ro we have here. Details are scarce as it’s a new listing, but don’t expect a low-mileage one that looks this good to hang around long. A V8, a manual and rear-drive is a very persuasive trio of talents at £15k.

Yes, yes, it’s a TT, but now Audi’s coupe has been culled it’s far easier to look more kindly on it. The TT was always stylish, always fast, and in its later iterations a tidy car to drive as well. There was plenty to like about it. As the Golf GTI became better and better, so the Audi two-door it shared so much with did as well. This Mk1 TT, as the keen will be able to tell, isn’t just any old 1.8 turbo: it’s the Quattro Sport, a run-out special edition for the original that actually changed quite a bit. The four-cylinder engine was upped to 240hp, the rear seats removed, the battery even relocated to the boot and the chassis upgraded. With just 800 RHD cars, they’re now highly prized as the best of the Mk1 bunch. This QS is low mileage, recently reduced and looks arguably better than ever – a fine cheap coupe candidate.

To prove how good the mid-00s were for this sector (and how red suits all the coupes), here’s a 2006 Celica T Sport. So that’s the same year as the Vauxhall and the Audi, but it’s hard to imagine three more different two-doors. After honking great rear-drive V8 and stripped-out, turbocharged Audi quattro, here’s a front-drive, high-revving Japanese lightweight. While it would have been less money back in the day, that’s how varied the coupe scene was, with plenty more on offer besides. The T-Sport’s main appeal was in its engine, the 2ZZ-GE more famously found in Lotuses screaming its 190hp heart out to 8,200rpm, but it handled smartly as well. While nobody needs reminding £10k is most certainly GT86 money – and that chassis will be sweeter still, even if the engine assuredly won’t – look at the condition of this Celica: 14 main dealer stamps, one owner, 74k and not a mark on it. Stunning.