1. Renault A610 (1992-1994)

The French car certainly had performance, handling and looks in its favour. But if people were going to fork out for those qualities in a rear-engine configuration, they looked to Germany not France. Sales in the UK didn’t even reach 100 so you’ll be getting a rarity.

You’re not getting Germanic levels of solid reliability either. The GRP body won’t rust, but everything underneath it can and does. This is a stressed vehicle, so watch out for tired and tetchy mechanicals and electricals. You’ll need around £10,000 before you can start to find a decent one.

2. Volkswagen Karmann Ghia (1955-1974)

This was designed from the outset to be the working man’s Porsche 356. It looks beautiful, yet the air-cooled motor and mechanicals are far from Porsche pricing. Of course, you have to accept that you are buying basically Beetle mechanicals, so watch out for everything you’d watch out for in a Beetle. Rust is a problem.

You might be able to find one of the even prettier coupe versions for around £10k, but at that price it will keep on costing you. A fully sorted one could be as much as £30,000.

3. Porsche 911 Carerra (2006-2010)

The 996 was the first iteration of the 911 with the liquid-cooled engine and new chassis. For some reason, this isn’t viewed as a highly desirable model, although that is bound to change at some point. There were some engine problems but they were overstated to a degree and, if they were going to go wrong, they’d have done so by now.

However, be wary of problems firing it up or engine rattles, and watch out for oil leaks. If it’s an okay one, and most are, you’ll be buying a proper supercar that is bound to come into fashion in the future. You can find a decent one for less than £10,000, but that figure will get you a good one. Supercar at far from supercar pricing.

4. Skoda Rapid 136R Coupe (1987-1990)

Yup, an old Skoda from pre-VW days, with just a 1.3-litre engine in the back producing only 62bhp. What is this doing here? Even back in the day this was not a popular car here in the UK as the old Skoda brand was viewed as more of a joke than the maker of fun cars. Which was our loss.

Back in 1987 Autocar magazine reckoned it was the perfect stepping stone for someone on their way to owning a Porsche 911. They really are enjoyable and good. However, you’ll have to work to find one, and expect the owner to be an enthusiast. If you front up at least £3000 you will be pleasantly surprised at how much fun you’ve just bought.

5. Smart Roadster (2003-2006)

For about £2000 you can buy a rear-engined car that still looks surprisingly good, even though it’s been out of production for ten years or so. It goes reasonably well and handles quite sweetly and there’s every chance you’ll sell it for more than you pay for it.

But bear in mind that it was the rate of warranty work that sunk the Roadster, so check out everything, especially the gearbox. They needed regular servicing, so check for evidence of that. Even so, any build problems will have manifested themselves by now, which means you can get a smart Smart Roadster without too many worries.