The Chevrolet Corvette has always been America's favorite sports car, and there's a good reason for that: it's a jack of all trades, offering solid performance, great looks, and decent handling. But as you're correctly suspecting, it's also a master of none. Even today, with the C8 Corvette Stingray being arguably the best bang-for-the-buck sports car on the market, it isn't really the perfect option for every enthusiast.Buyers looking for Corvette-like performance but with more points in specific areas like handling, acceleration, or luxury, will find several other sports cars to be much better suited for their needs, and for cheaper, too. We list six of the best ones, namely targeting alternatives for the last two generations of the Corvette: the front-engined C7 and the new mid-engined C8. Each sports car on this list brings features and characteristics the Corvette lacks while offering Corvette-like performance and pricing, if not better, making it an excellent substitute. MKV Toyota Supra 3.0 Power: 382 Horsepower David Alpert / HotCarsDespite having one of the most controversial initial releases, the new Toyota GR Supra is now gaining a lot of traction among car enthusiasts. It's currently the perfect C7 Corvette alternative for several reasons. Firstly, the layout. It's a front-engined, low-slung, rear-driven sports car that weighs nearly the same as a C7 Stingray and offers similar power and performance figures. Toyota claims 382 horsepower from the BMW-sourced B58 twin-scroll turbo inline-six, but real-world dyno runs put the output closer to 388 horsepower at the wheels. That explains why the Supra offers pretty comparable 0-60 mph and 1/4 mile times to the base C7.The Supra is the perfect car for someone who wants something newer, German (but tuned by the Japanese), and tuner-friendly with serious performance overhead. Supras are notoriously reliable and cheaper to maintain than a Corvette, too. Annual maintenance will set you back as little as $561, compared to $919 you'd pay on average to keep the C7 Corvette on the road. Expect to pay around $50,000 for a well-kept, used Supra. You can also find these with a notchy 6-speed manual, but be prepared to pay a slight premium if you want to row your own gears. Porsche 718 Cayman GTS 4.0 Power: 394 Horsepower PorscheThe 4.0 Cayman GTS is one of the last pillars of the naturally aspirated flat-six Porsche experience and the only naturally aspirated 718 you can still buy for under $100k. It's the perfect C8 Stingray alternative for drivers who want laser-sharp handling, Porsche refinement, and a 6-speed manual transmission. Providing the power is a high-revving naturally aspirated 4.0-liter flat-six pushing 394 horsepower to the rear wheels only. And like with the Corvette C8, the engine is mid-mounted.The boxer gives the 718 GTS a very low center of gravity and helps the car launch to 60 mph in just 3.8 seconds and cover the 1/4 mile in 12 seconds flat. Not as quick as a C8 Corvette (11.2 seconds), but not bad. Still, buying a Cayman is more about handling, driving feel, and refinement than outright performance. This is a car we expect to only get more valuable with time, but examples that have been on the market for a couple of years can still be found in the low $80s, such as this one that recently sold for $83k. Lotus Emira V6 Power: 400 Horsepower LotusBuyers looking for a solid mid-engined alternative to the new C8 Corvette need look no further than the brand-new Lotus Emira. Lotus's most refined sports car to date, the Emira looks like a baby Ferrari and comes with a supercharged 3.5-liter Toyota V6 pushing 400 horsepower and 310 lb-ft of torque to the rear wheels only. Importantly, the Emira is about 400 pounds lighter than the Corvette. So, despite lacking in sheer power, it makes up for it in the handling and steering responsiveness department.The Emira is the perfect C8 alternative for someone who wants an exotic-looking car that's reliable and wants to row their own gears. The six-speed manual transmission comes standard in the Emira and features exposed gear linkage in the cabin for extra sporty flair. Really nice ones will set you back between $80,000 and $90,000 right now. And unlike the C8, it's pretty safe to say you won't see another one on the roads all that often. Nissan Z Power: 400 Horsepower NissanA successor to the 370Z that's been on the market for a solid decade and a half, the new Z is a compelling modern alternative to a C7 Corvette for anyone chasing outright performance without the price tag. Brand-new ones are selling in the low-$40k range, the same as what you'd pay for a used C7 Stingray. Yet they offer a serious twin-turbocharged V6 pushing 400 horsepower to the rear wheels with strong, torque-rich acceleration. It's not only the cheapest car on this list to buy, but also to maintain, with annual upkeep costing about $500 on average.Retro styling, strong aftermarket support, and a six-speed manual transmission make this the perfect sports car for tuners and JDM fans. Buyers who want their Z a bit more tuned up from the factory can also go for the more expensive NISMO version, which adds in a NISMO-tuned engine bump to 420 horsepower and 384 lb-ft of torque, exclusive track-focused upgrades like stiffer suspension, Recaro buckets, aero, and Akebono brakes. 2004-2006 Lamborghini Gallardo Power: 575 Horsepower Bring A TrailerSo far, we've covered modern alternatives to C7 and C8 Corvettes, but despite its age, the Lamborghini Gallardo is simply too good to leave off this list. Hear us out: two cylinders more than a Corvette, proper gated manual transmission, a raging bull logo, and mid-engined setup, all for about the same price as a new Stingray. Did that get your attention?The Lamborghini Gallardo may be old, but it's the ultimate mid-engined Corvette alternative for gearheads who appreciate not only power but also aggression, exhaust note, and shifting gears. Early base models push 520 horsepower from a naturally aspirated 5.0-liter V10, which is enough for a 0-60 in about 4 seconds. Considering what it offers, the Gallardo is still quite underrated, and you can find nice used ones for as low as $76,000, looking at recent sales of early models on Classic.com. It's a remnant of a dying breed, and we expect prices to go up soon. 2017-2020 Jaguar F-Type SVR Power: 575 Horsepower JaguarThe Jaguar F-Type SVR may look fancier and more refined than your average Vette, but it's actually the car world's equivalent of a Peaky Blinder. That's because, under the sheet metal, the SVR hides the same aggression and attitude you'd find in the C7 Corvette Z06. It's still a front-engined, rear-wheel-drive sports car, but Jaguar bolted a supercharger onto the V8 and tuned it for the track. The result is 575 horsepower and a ridiculous 516 lb-ft of torque to the rear wheels, helping the Brit to 60 mph in about 3.3 seconds.The F-Type SVR covers the 1/4 mile in as little as 11.7 seconds and tops out at an even 200 mph. That means it's significantly quicker than a C7 Stingray and only a bit slower than the Z06. Keep in mind that's still a 3,759-pound luxury coupe we're talking about. They have depreciated beyond all reason, too, making them perfect C7 Corvette alternatives for anyone looking for a better combination of stylish luxury and speed. Used examples go for $61,622 on average, but we have a feeling that may not be the case for long.Sources: Classic.com, J.D. Power, RepairPal, Car and Driver.