I'm compelled to comment on some of the posts that focus on what choices would be the most sensible and practical and methodical and incremental....
Well, all of that kind of advice is comparable to the angel sitting on your right shoulder....
And then there's the devil on your left shoulder, "To hell with him! Life is short brother, live a little, get what gives you the biggest stiffy my friend!!"
My instincts tell me that HWJunkie is looking for something that kind of satisfies both shoulders, a car that is fairly effective and not too expensive for the track, but that satisfies some of the "evil" traits of lust and horsepower and image.
In short, a car that you'd really feel emotional about having in your garage, that can double-time it as a track car too..
And why not?? Not everybody is out to take on a new hobby with such fervor that each step and each decision is carefully crafted and contemplated for the best results...
Some of us dive into a hobby just to have a blast, no less, no more... Don't need to start in a gutted-out Golf, thank you, so that I'm better prepared, trained, and can ultimately be faster... I'm not here just to win, necessarily. I'm here to GRIN, and winning would be definitely help, but it's not life or death.
So get a car that flat-out pushes all your buttons, within your budget, and go flog it... If you get passed by a Lotus, so be it... If it doesn't make your heart skip a beat when you walk into your garage, it's just a tool for racing, which makes it 1-dimensional..
When I got back into dirt bike riding and hair scrambles, I hadn't ridden in awhile... The angel on one shoulder said I should get a nice used 125 and get my feet back under me... The devil on the other shoulder said "125's are for sissies"..., So I got a new KTM520 that was an absolute rocket, and fought it and held on for dear life until I finally acclimated. It wasn't the "right" or "smart" way to go about getting back into amateur competition, but I love that stinking bike, and I wouldn't have done it differently, and I wasn't out to be the next Ricky Carmichael anyhow...
Or snow boarding/skiing is another one. I could get a professional instructor, and concentrate all of my efforts on being a better technician on the slopes.... Screw that, takes too much time away from my vacation, makes it seem too much like WORK, and I'm here to have a blast, even if my style and my technique is a tad sloppy....