Bang for your buck in a track car

[Darren]

Stay away from them -- like you said they are all heavy, don't handle particularly well, and there aren't very many of them on the race track.   Turbos are also notorious for motor issues, all of them.  You'll spend half the time at the track worrying about them.  Also if it's strung out and you're running race fuel then there goes the budget right there!  I know Todd loves his Civic turbo, and its fast as stink, but the fuel costs have to be his most expensive part of running that car.

Scot's S2000 that Todd linked is a great deal, that is a very fast and well done car.

You don't want to get something that has expensive or difficult to find parts, that has to be one of the criteria.  If my Integra has a bad axle I can run to any parts store near any track and buy an axle for $45.  Compare that to a Porsche axle at $350 or more.

Low budget means low weight -- the lower the weight the lower your running costs for tires, brakes, fuel, etc....It also makes it accellerate, handle, brake better.