Manual gearbox, hydraulic steering where you can still find it, an engine that breathes on its own. Six cars you can buy new in 2026 that still ask something of the driver.
Any electric family car will out-accelerate a 1990s supercar. Speed has become a commodity. What has become rare is the car that involves you: a gearbox you operate, a steering wheel that tells you what the front tyres are doing, an engine whose sound changes with revs rather than with a software setting. These are the cars still being made that do that, and they will not be made for much longer.
Six, from €30,000 to €200,000
- Mazda MX-5, from about €33,000. The cheapest way into the club and arguably the purest. A thousand kilos, a manual gearbox with the best shift in the industry, rear-wheel drive, a roof that opens by hand in three seconds. Buy the 2.0 litre.
- Toyota GR86, from about €38,000. A small coupe with a naturally aspirated flat four, a manual and a chassis tuned to slide gently. The last of a kind at this price.
- Alpine A110, from about €68,000. The most beautiful sports car of the decade and the lightest at 1,100 kilos. Only an automatic, and it is the one car on this list where that does not matter, because the rest of it is so alive.
- Lotus Emira, from about €95,000. The last petrol Lotus. A supercharged V6, a manual gearbox, hydraulic steering. Buy one before the company forgets how.
- Porsche 911 GT3, from about €200,000 and a waiting list. A 4.0 litre flat six that revs to 9,000 rpm and a manual gearbox offered at no extra cost. The reference.
- Morgan Plus Four, from about €85,000. A wooden frame, a BMW engine, a manual, and a way of travelling that has not changed since 1950. Not for everyone. Entirely for some.
Speed is cheap now. Feel is expensive, and it is getting rarer every model year.
What analogue actually means
Three things, in order of importance. A gearbox you operate yourself, because choosing the gear is choosing how the car behaves. Weight under 1,400 kilos, because mass is the enemy of every sensation a car can offer. And an engine without a turbocharger, because response and sound are what the turbo takes away. Hydraulic steering is a bonus; only Lotus and Morgan still offer it. Everyone else has electric assistance, and the good ones, Porsche and Alpine, have learned to make it talk.
Living with one
None of these is a sensible only car, and none of them is trying to be. The MX-5 and GR86 make reasonable dailies for a man without children. The rest are the second car, the Sunday car, the car for the pass. Running costs are lower than you fear: the Japanese cars are cheap to service, the Alpine and Lotus reasonable, the Porsche expensive but predictable. Residuals on all six are strong, because the market knows what it is losing.
Why now
Emissions rules, noise rules and the cost of developing a manual gearbox for a shrinking market mean that most of these cars are on their final generation. The next MX-5 may be electric. The Emira is the last combustion Lotus by decree. The GT3 has a manual because Porsche’s customers demanded it, and demand can only hold the line for so long. If a car like this has been on your list, the list has a deadline.
Questions we get asked
Is a manual really better?
Faster, no. More involving, yes, and on a road rather than a track that is what matters. The best modern automatics are extraordinary and slightly boring.
Which one holds its value best?
The GT3, then the Emira as the last of its kind, then the Alpine. The MX-5 depreciates gently and then stops.
Can I daily drive an Alpine?
A man without children and with a garage, yes. Boot space is a weekend bag and a coat. The ride is better than most hot hatches.
