Unfortunately I am too tall for the "little" cars unless I keep the top off - permanently. Poses a challenge being 6'3" with long legs.

Funny that a catfish Camaro would be mentioned, I almost bought a collector's anniversary edition with a blown engine for around $2K. Almost. Would have been easy to have that engine be rebuilt from top to bottom and have a beast of a vehicle for 7K or so. I wouldn't be opposed to it though.

I think realistically I could never stomach paying more than 25K for any car, not that I have 25K laying around right now as it is. I already have my slow car that I have fun driving fast and that's my 98 4Runner with 375HP at the crank. I like that I can floor it and not go so fast that it isn't safe. I am about to regear it down to 5.29's this year with stock tires so it'll have tire shredding torque down low and be a blast to peel out with. I hope to get it on the track sometime soon too. With that in mind, I'd be going for a small to medium sized sedan sort of car if it ever came to it. I appreciate all the suggestions as I'm a novice when it comes to the performance world and there's so ferocious engines and platforms that I've never even heard about before.