Five most affordable 300kW cars

Bragging rights are an important part of sports car ownership for many buyers and nothing says power quite like a figure beyond 300kW.

Although locally the VT Series II HSV GTS spearheaded relatively affordable access to a power digit beginning with ‘3’ in the late nineties, the period between 2003 and 2008 saw the real boost of models accessing that sort of power figure.

Here the rules are: cars either side of a decade old, in good and original condition (based on the classifieds ad and photos) with around 150,000km.

2006 Chrysler 300C SRT8

If you want maximum stomp for nix, then this now-$21,000/140,000km rear-wheel drive Yank sedan will do the trick. The 6.1-litre V8 with 317kW and 510Nm accelerated to 100km/h in a claimed 5.0 seconds. With a five-speed automatic, US build and an old E-Class chassis, don’t expect finesse to match the Fine Music channel; best to crank up Gangsta’s Paradise instead.

2007 HSV Clubsport R8 or 2008 FPV F6

To save a fight, we won’t split Red from Blue. For both camps, it is worth spending $25,000 on a VE or FG generation rather than being tempted by a marginally cheaper older model. Although a Commodore SS is just moving past 300kW, the Clubsport R8 had 307kW (and 550Nm) eight years ago.

Or, go boosty with the 4.0-litre turbo six Ford with 310kW (and 565Nm) for the same coin.

2004 Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG

Not only does the E55 AMG boast a monstrous 350kW, but the blown 5.4-litre V8 also makes 700Nm. We saw a straight example with 140,000km on the clock for $31,000. Never mind the five-speed automatic, this big Benz bruiser claims 0-100km/h in 4.6 seconds. If you want newer than 2004, there’s the 2006 E63 upgrade with 6.2-litre naturally aspirated V8, 378kW/630Nm, and seven-speed automatic for $45K with similar kays.

2007 Audi S6

Buying an S6 today will set you back $10,000 more than the above Clubsport R8 or F6, with an example we cited asking $35,695 with 158,000km on the clock. However where the HSV and FPV asked around $70K new, this sports-luxury large Audi sedan cost $195K new. It’s hard to resist a Lambo-shared 5.2-litre V10 with 320kW and 540Nm, driving all wheels through a six-speed auto. Value of the S6 viewed another way: a 309kW RS4 of the same year cost $164,500 new, and today asks $45K.

2006 BMW M5

An E60 M5 will ask $10K more than a Benz E55 AMG, but for $45,000 it’ll be a couple of years newer (2006) even if kilometres are similar. The 373kW/520Nm 5.0-litre V10 delivered a 4.7sec 0-100km/h, but sadly in Australia only through a controversial seven-speed single-clutch automatic tagged ‘SMG’ – so we’d love to keep money up our sleeves to swap it for the manual, which sadly was only available in the States. That conversion may create the best 300kW-plus bruiser of all.