The highest mileage sports cars for sale right now

If you're like us, a common pastime in quieter moments is to peruse the classifieds, usually with a hypothetical budget, and see what's out there in used car land.

While deep down the rabbit hole a thought occurred: what are the highest mileage performance cars currently for sale in Australia?

As ever, there must be some rules. Generally, the cars below are fewer than 15 years old; anything older and having a lot of kilometres isn't particularly remarkable, though there are a couple of exceptions.

Likewise, in general these are higher end cars, but there are a couple of more regular inclusions if the kilometres seem somewhat exceptional for the type or age of car.

As well as a deep dive into the pool of well-used performance cars, this article is also somewhat of a celebration. Every single one of these cars has been bought by someone who clearly loves driving and isn't afraid to do so at every opportunity – to hell with maintenance costs and resale!

So, without further ado, in alphabetical order.

2015 Alfa Romeo 4C

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Covering almost 100,000km in five years isn't particularly noteworthy in a Kia Cerato or Subaru Impreza but doing so in a tiny carbon-fibre sports car bereft of creature comforts takes real commitment. The price of $65,000 is perhaps a little optimistic, as it has four times the mileage of any other 4C for sale.

2005 Aston Martin DB9

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As a luxury grand tourer, Aston's intent was for buyers to drive the DB9 long distances in comfort. This example, offered for $70,000, has clearly been enjoyed with that in mind, covering 173,000km in its lifetime, or almost 12,000km a year.

2007 Audi RS4 Sedan

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Not only is the B7 RS4 a former Performance Car of the Year, therefore a brilliant machine, it seems it's quite hardy as well given the number of relatively high mileage examples available. Top of these is this sedan with 199,000km for which you'll need $30,500.

2017 Audi R8 V10 plus

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If ever there was proof that today's supercars are daily useable it's this R8 V10 plus. Whoever bought it clearly loved driving it as it's covered an incredible 83,300km – that's almost 30,000km a year! The mileage has cut its value in half ($199,000) but that's money well spent in our book.

2014 Audi R8 LMX

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One last Audi and a very special one. Only three examples came to Australia of just 99 worldwide, so you'd expect them all to live sheltered lives in hermitically sealed garages. Not this one, which has clocked up 49,000km in its six years on the road. Yours for $210,000.

2008 Bentley Continental GT Speed

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It's difficult to think of too many nicer places to spend a long drive than in a Bentley Continental GT. If it's a Speed with 449kW/750Nm of twin-turbo W12 up front, even better. The owner of this example clearly agrees, as it's clocked up 169,054km. A lot of car for $148,888.

2005 BMW M5

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E60 M5s are bargains right now. Of course, they come with the risk of crippling maintenance costs due to the technology involved, but how can you argue with a 373kW, 320km/h, V10-engined sedan for $27,500? Only downside is 208,000km on the odometer.

2007 BMW M3

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If all the tech in the M5 is a bit scary, the E92 M3 is a little less scary, especially as this one comes with a traditional manual. Like the RS4, there are plenty of big-km cars out there, but this one ranks first with 201,000km and a price tag of $30,000.

2013 BMW X6 M

Let's face it, the exterior of the X6 M is pretty challenging. The easiest way to avoid looking at it is to get behind the wheel, which is possibly how this twin-turbo V8 monster SUV racked up 155,554km in around seven years, more than 20,000km a year. Available for $42,908.

2009 Ferrari 599 Fiorano

According to Ferrari USA, it's V12 models are driven around 8000km a year, which makes this 599 Fiorano below average. However, with 73,062km on the clock it's enjoyed plenty of use, though if you want a V12 GT from Maranello for less, a 612 Scaglietti of similar mileage can be found for half this 599's $238,990 ask.

2012 Ferrari 458 Italia

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The 458 Italia will go down in history as one of the all-time great supercars, so you can't blame this owner for wanting to drive it as much as possible. Not only is it in a great spec, but all the cobwebs have well and truly been blown out over 53,000km. Listed at $309,000.

2004 FPV Typhoon

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Even the most ardent FPV fan would struggle to describe the GS as 'exotic', but we had to throw a couple of Aussies on this list. The Typhoon changed the Aussie muscle car game, kicking sand in the face of the V8s at the time and this example has covered 311,000km and asks for $19,999.

2010 HSV Clubsport GXP

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The Clubsport GXP was HSV's attempt at an entry-level model and it ticked that box quite nicely, particularly for one punter who clocked up more than 30,000km a year in this manual example. It's currently showing 311,738km and is listed at $17,989.

2008 Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera

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Another car with unusually high mileage is this Gallardo Superleggera. Again, 72,272km isn't particularly high in the grand scheme of things, but for a stripped-out track-focused supercar it's an unusual amount of use. It's $228,000 for our 2007 PCOTY runner-up.

2003 Lamborghini Murcielago

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Here's one exception to our 15-year rule but surely a well-used three-pedal Murcielago is worth bending the rules for? If you've deep pockets, this V12 supercar can reach intergalactic mileagesbut 91,000km is still a little over 5000km a year, pretty decent for a car of this type. It also still looks a million bucks, which makes $275,000 seem good value!

2010 Lotus Elise

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Once you're actually in, an Elise is remarkably comfortable and easy to drive, so combine this with the reliability of its Toyota-sourced powertrain and low consumables costs due to its lack of weight and suddenly the thought of clocking up 111,230km in 10 years isn't so strange. You can take the reins for $43,990.

2005 Maserati Quattroporte

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With one of the best-sounding engines you'll ever hear, is it any wonder the owner of this Maserati Quattroporte couldn't stop driving it? Almost 200,000km (189,345km) is fine going and thanks to the depreciation that comes standard in this class of vehicle it can now be had for $32,980.

2005 Mercedes-Benz C55 AMG

The C55 is a bit of a forgotten car, a gruntier, more luxurious contemporary of the BMW E46 M3, but it certainly had no problem munching miles if the 250,000km on this example is anything to go by. Best of all, it can be had for the price of a basic hatch at $22,000.

2006 Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG

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AMG's 6.2-litre M156 is a worthy inductee into the engine hall of fame and you can sample it in 375kW E63 guise for just $34,900 if you don't mind an odometer reading of 215,052km.

2009 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X MR

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Lancer Evos are known for being mechanically tough but the fact we only received the VI TME and later X officially means big-km cars are few and far between. This X MR is the mileage leader with 201,000km and can be yours for $33,000.

2010 Nissan GT-R

It seems the R35 GT-R is a relatively hardy machine, with plenty of examples around the 100,000km mark, this 2010 Premium showing 137,000km is even tuned to 450awkW! A supercar basher for $79,000.

2006 Porsche Cayenne Turbo S

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Wow. The Cayenne Turbo S is the top branch of Porsche's SUV tree and this owner took advantage of that 4.5-litre twin-turbo V8 and monster carbon-ceramic brakes, accumulating 298,000km! Presumably anything that's going to go wrong has gone wrong in that time (perhaps a dangerous assumption) so this could be good buying at $49,990.

1989 Porsche 911 Carrera 4

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Another example of rule breaking, but just to prove that driving your car needn't be a bad thing, look at this 964 Carrera 4. Its condition means it still commands $105,000, despite a whopping 305,765km on the clock.

2013 Renault Megane RS265 Cup

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For something a little more affordable, check out this Megane RS265 Cup, one of the greatest front-drive cars ever created, for just $11,995. Sure, it's showing almost 200,000km (189,000km) but at the price surely a bit of maintenance can be budgeted for.

2014 Renault Clio RS200

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Renault's main aim with the most recent Clio RS was to make it more useable and it seems to have worked, this limited edition Monaco GP example clocking up 176,500km in just six years – almost 30,000km/year! Available for $14,500.

1998 Subaru Impreza WRX hatch

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Another example of rule-breaking but this WRX hatch is not only very cheap ($3950) but it's driven the equivalent of around the earth and then to the moon and then some.

2016 Tesla Model S P90D

Last but certainly not least, this Tesla Model S proves range anxiety is a myth, the owner racking up almost 40,000 emissions free kilometres a year, a total of 159,900km since 2016. Teslas also seem to be retaining value quite well, this example listed at $98,900 despite the heavy use.