What is the best car that is relatively cheap
Dodge Daytona, you can find it laying around in a barn somewhere for free.
Countach HE is underrated and can be had for minimum in the AH if you don’t already have one. Same for the Torana and Torana HE.
Subaru and Mitsubishi are cheap and popular for going fast. The Porsches are real good also.
Lotus?
So many good ones
There’s a few cars in the 25g pool that can be quite fast and handle well for less money on top of not requiring expensive swaps.
The Crown Victoria (RWD V8) comes to mind, the SVX (AWD) is quite capable as well.
Let’s also not forget that the XJS is 25g and comes with a V12 out of the box.
My recommendations take into account how little money you need to get them “up to speed” on top of being the cheapest cars in the game.
I like to race S1 class and I haven’t gone through a lot of cars considering what’s available, but currently I like the '02 Skyline GT-R.
After upgrading, I find it does respectably against S1 pro drivatar AI, at 115% difficulty. I usually race 6 laps, and unbeatable is still out of reach.
2002 Corvette Z06 is a good budget buy. 35,000 credits and competitive in Class A and S1. But it really depends on what you are looking for here, it’s a bit vague
I really like the Ferrari 488 gtb when tuned for racing, it handles very good.
Ferrari 458 Speciale. Download a highly rated tune and vrrrmmmm!!