Dean, that Renault kicks ass! I wouldn't mind finding a little car like that, or a 510, or equivalent for an AutoX car. Theo's got the right idea w/ his Ghia... a small old car, with lots of cheap parts for racing!
Anyway, as I mentioned before, my 1st car was a '86 Ford Escort 5 Door Automatic. That thing couldn't get out of its own way, nor could it safely drive on the freeway at 65mph. But it was still able to pile a bunch of people into (including hiding underclass chicks in the hatch under a blanket) to go to lunch in High School.
However, I learned to drive in my mom's '92 Camry V6. That thing actually had some guts. 3.0L all aluminum V6, 185hp! IIRC, it's 0-60 was the same as that year's Mustang GT... I'm not sure if that's good for the Camry, or bad for the Mustang.
My friend had the exact same car, down to the color. But he power-braked and launched that thing all the time... by the time we graduated HS, my mom's car still ran great, and his ran like ass.