Subaru BRZ/Scion FR-S

This is looking very interesting.  2600 lbs, 200 hp at 7,000 RPM. That's better weight/power than a Miata.  RWD, with lim. slip diff standard. 151 lb-ft—could have used a bit more torque, but that's ok. Subaru starting at $24K.  Scion will sell the same package under the name FR-S, for probably a couple grand less.  My car buying experiences in the past few years tell me that the best bang/buck would be to get the bottom-cheapest version available (since all have the same drive train) and improve on that.

Article on the Subaru BRZ.

Article on the Scion FR-S.