Fast And Frugal: 15 Quickest Sports Cars With The Best Fuel Economy

To some, the terms “high performance” and “fuel efficient” might seem oxymoronic when applied to sports cars, but that’s not necessarily the case.

Sure, some of the quickest cars on the planet get dismal fuel economy, like the 691-horsepower Lamborghini Aventador Roadster that’s rated at just 12 mpg in combined city/highway driving and roars to 60 mph in just 3.1 seconds. On the other hand, a base Porsche 911 Carrera that gets to 60 in a sufficiently swift 4.6 seconds and is rated at a combined city/highway 28 mpg, which is equivalent to what a far more passive compact crossover SUV attains these days.

We combed through the Environmental Protection Agency’s posted fuel economy ratings and compared them against the published acceleration times for all makes and models to identify 15 sports cars that can leap from 0-60 mph in less than six seconds, yet maintain a combined city/highway rating of 20 mpg or better. 

1. Alfa Romeo 4C

Like all the cars presented in this slide show, the Alfa Romeo 4C is estimated to attain 20 mpg or better in city/highway combined driving, yet can reach 60 mph from a standing start in under six seconds. 4C: 24/34/28 mpg city/highway/combined; 0-60 mph in 5.3 seconds; MSRP (2015) $53,900.

2. Audi S5

18/28/21 mpg city/highway/combined; 0-60 mph in 5.2 seconds; MSRP $53,100.

3. Audi TTS

23/27/25 mpg city/highway/combined; 0-60 mph in 5.8 seconds; MSRP $51,900.

4. BMW 650i

17/25/20 mpg city/highway/combined; 0-60 mph in 5.2 seconds; MSRP $88,700.

5. BMW M4

17/20/26 mpg city/highway/combined; 0-60 mph in 4.4 seconds; MSRP $65,400.

6. BMW Z4

Z4 sDrive35i: 17/24/20 mpg city/highway/combined; 0-60 mph in 5.9 seconds; MSRP $57,500.  Z4 sDrive35is: 17/24/20 mpg city/highway/combined; 0-60 mph in 5.3 seconds; MSRP $66,350.

7. Chevrolet Corvette

17/29/21 mpg city/highway/combined; 0-60 mph in 4.2 seconds; MSRP $55,400.

8. Ford Mustang

With Ecoboost turbo-four engine: 22/31/25 mpg city/highway/combined; 0-60 mph in 5.3 seconds; MSRP $23,681.  With 3.7L V6 engine: 19/28/22 mpg city/highway/combined; 0-60 mph in 5.7 seconds; MSRP $23,895.

9. Jaguar F-Type

Base F-Type: 19/28/23 mpg city/highway/combined; 0-60 mph in 5.0 seconds; MSRP $65,500.  F-Type S: 19/27/22 mpg city/highway/combined; 0-60 mph in 4.8 seconds; MSRP: $77,300

10. Lexus RC

19/28/22 mpg city/highway/combined; 0-60 mph in 5.8 seconds; MSRP $42,780.

11. Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class

SLK 300: 25/32/28 mpg city/highway/combined; 0-60 mph in 5.8 seconds; MSRP $47,000.  SLK 350: 21/29/24 mpg city/highway/combined; 0-60 mph in 5.5 seconds; MSRP $59,200.  AMG SLK55: 19/28/22 mpg city/highway/combined; 0-60mph in 4.4 seconds; MSRP $67,518.

12. Porsche 911

911 Carrera: 20/28/23 mpg city/highway/combined; 0-60 mph in 4.6 seconds; MSRP $84,300.  911 Carrera S: 19/27/22 mpg city/highway/combined; 0-60 mph in 4.2 seconds; MSRP $98,900.  911 Turbo S: 17/24/20 mpg city/highway/combined; 0-60 mph in 3.5 seconds; MSRP $182,700.

13. Porsche Boxster

Boxster: 22/32/26 mpg city/highway/combined; 0-60 mph in 5.7 seconds; MSRP $52,100.  Boxster S: 21/30/24 mpg city/highway/combined; 0-60 mph in 4.9 seconds; MSRP $63,900. Boxster GTS: 22/31/25 mpg city/highway/combined; 0-60 mph in 4.8 seconds; MSRP $74,600.

14. Porsche Cayman

Cayman: 22/32/26 mpg city/highway/combined; 0-60 mph in 5.4 seconds; MSRP $52,600.  Cayman S: 21/30/24 mpg city/highway/combined; 0-60 mph in 4.8 seconds; MSRP $64,100.  Cayman GTS: 22/31/25 mpg city/highway/combined; 0-60 mph in 4.7 seconds; MSRP $75,200.  Cayman GT4: 18/23/20 mpg city/highway/combined; 0-60 mph in 4.4 seconds; MSRP $84,600.

15. Nissan 370Z

19/26/21 mpg city/highway/combined; 0-60 mph in 5.2 seconds: MSRP $29,990.

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