When asked to name the most fun car, most gearheads would say the fastest car that comes to their mind. The faster and more powerful a car is, the more fun it's perceived to be. While this is true in most cases, sometimes fast cars can be scary to drive. This happens when a fast car has questionable build quality, bad handling, is unsafe, or has other issues that make gearheads wish they bought another car.
After some research, we found five sports cars so fast that they scare gearheads away. We also found five cars that, despite being slow, are guaranteed to leave a fat smile on your face every time you get behind the wheel.
10 Slow But Fun: Volkswagen Golf GTI
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The Golf GTI needs no introduction, as it's one of the greatest hot hatches of all time. While the Golf GTI wasn't the first hot hatch, it's widely considered to be the reason why the hot hatch segment has grown in popularity over the years.
The first Golf GTI was introduced in 1975, and gearheads instantly fell in love with it. It had enough practicality to be a daily driver but had the power and driving dynamics to tear it up on a track. Since then, Volkswagen has produced millions of them and is still doing so to date.
9 Fast And Scary: 1992 Dodge Viper
In the early '90s, Dodge wanted to prove to everyone that it had what it takes to build a world-class sports car. The result was the Viper — a stylish supercar with a massive 8.0-liter V10 generating 400 hp and 465 lb-ft of torque.
On paper, the Viper looked ready to take on the best European sports cars of the '90s. However, it had one problem — with no driving aids like traction control or ABS, the Viper was almost impossible to control. It was so dangerous that it was nicknamed "The Widowmaker."
8 Slow But Fun: Mazda Miata
The MX-5 Miata is Mazda's pride and joy. Ever since it was introduced in 1989, the Miata has sold well over a million units, making it the best-selling two-seater sports car of all time.
There's a lot to love about the Miata — a superb design, reliability, affordability, and best of all, driving feel. The Miata is based on the Jinba Ittai ideology, which, according to Mazda, prioritizes driving feel over speed. As such, while the Miata tops out at 130 mph, it's still a blast to drive.
7 Fast And Scary: RUF CTR 'Yellowbird'
The CTR is a fantastic sports car built by little-known German company RUF in the late '80s. Looking at the RUF CTR, it's impossible to ignore its resemblance with the Porsche 911. Well, that's because it was based on the 930-body Porsche 911 Turbo.
While the 930-body Porsche 911 Turbo was a great car, it was known to have massive turbo lag that would cause drivers to lose control at times. Naturally, the CTR had the same issues, but much worse since it was more powerful.
6 Slow But Fun: Ferrari Mondial
The Ferrari Mondial is one of the most hated sports cars of all time. Introduced in 1980, the Mondial was developed to be Ferrari's entry-level model and was equipped with a 3.0-liter V8 developing a measly 214 hp.
Granted, the Mondial wasn't fast. 0-60 took around 10 seconds in the early versions, making it one of the slowest Ferraris. Still, the Mondial is a Ferrari, and as you'd expect from any Maranello-built car, it's a joy to drive.
5 Fast And Scary: Porsche Carrera GT
The Carrera GT is widely considered to be one of the best Porsches ever built. It was praised for its power and advanced technology, and, with a 5.7-liter V10 pumping out 603 hp and 435 lb-ft of torque, it was one of the most powerful sports cars of the 2000s.
However, the reason why the Carrera is on our list — and also why many gearheads love it — is because it was one of the last analog supercars. It doesn't have modern driving aids, which is why it should only be driven by pros, preferably on a track.
4 Slow But Fun: Porsche 924
Developed to replace the 914 as the entry-level Porsche sports car, the 924 is yet another sports car that receives a lot of hate from gearheads. The 924 received a lot of criticism for its weak performance, largely because it was powered by a 110-hp four-cylinder engine mated to a three-speed transmission.
However, we believe that the 924 is harshly treated. Being the first Porsche with a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive configuration, the 924 was fun to drive, which explains why Porsche sold over 150,000 examples.
3 Fast And Scary: Koenigsegg CCX
Koenigsegg builds cars that are fast enough to break the production car speed record, and the CCX is no different. The CCX was introduced in the mid-2000s to take on the Bugatti Veyron's record. It had a 4.7-liter twin-supercharged V8 generating a massive 806 hp, giving it a top speed of 259 mph.
The only problem with the CCX was that it didn't have enough downforce, something that became clear when The Stig crashed it when filming a Top Gear episode. Thankfully, Koenigsegg realized the problem and added a rear wing to fix it.
2 Slow But Fun: Subaru BRZ
When Toyota bought a 10% stake in Subaru, one of the things that came out of the new partnership was the Subaru BRZ, which was developed alongside the Toyota GT86. The BRZ is a sleek, sharp-driving fastback coupe that earned great reviews for its styling but not so much for its performance.
The BRZ is not fast, as it takes more than 7 seconds to get to 60 mph and has a top speed of around 130 mph. However, since it's a lightweight coupe that sends all its power to the rear wheels, it feels fast and goes around corners effortlessly.
1 Fast And Scary: Noble M600
Little-known British manufacturer Noble doesn't build many cars, but it will always be remembered for giving us the M600. The M600 was developed to compete against the best European sports cars. For one, it had a proper supercar design and was mostly made of carbon fiber to keep weight at a minimum.
The M600 was also extremely powerful, thanks to a 4.4-liter twin-turbocharged V8 blurting out 650 horses. Despite being so powerful, the M600 lacked modern driving aids like electronic stability control and ABS, which is why many gearheads avoid it.