I'd get a vw air-cooled beetle, fastback, or karman ghia.

You can turn a stock 1600cc into a 1914cc for $1000. Put a turbo and carb on it for another $1500 , a trans for $1200 and some slicks for another $300.

Lighten the car up a little by tossing out the interior and bumpers and basically you have a 10.5 car. Use used parts and its way cheaper. Install a small Nitrous unit and you`ll be going high 9s. You will you have a daily driver (take off the slicks) that will smoke 5.0 stangs, corvettes, and vipers (until 100-120 mph) and still pull over 1 g on a skidpad.

They also make the best sleepers as most people on the East Coast have no clue how fast they can be.