Buying a fast car VS. Making a good car fast for cheaper

Let's jump right in. Take the Corvette Z06 for example. Sure, it has some more aggressive styling, but at the end of the day, it has 100 extra horse power and a little better handling and braking than the base model Corvette. The price difference? About $25,000.

An E46 BMW M3 has 333 hp from it's inline 6 cylinder engine. A 330i has 235 hp, but a used one can be picked up for about $15k from a site like ebay. An M3 in the same condition? $30-$35 thousand dollars.

Now, a 3 series will never be an M3 - lets just put that on the table right now. But - you can buy a 3 series, make a few grand worth of improvements, and have a car with many of the same features, a similar look, and similar performance for tens of thousands of dollars less.

The same thing goes for the Corvette. A simple head and cam swap on on a base model C6 will make MORE power than the Z06. The suspension and brakes can be upgraded as well, and it'll cost a lot less than a brand new Corvette!