If you're looking to hit the track once a month with a four-wheeled toy, an older Mazda MX-5 is probably the best and most inexpensive way to get into the hobby.
At the other end of this scale is KTM's new X-Bow GTX, which is a purpose-built track car that will glue you to the seat after you drop almost half a million dollars on one.
Built as a hard-core successor to the original X-Bow, this new GTX has been described by KTM as its “most spectacular, beautiful and technologically advanced vehicle.” And it isn't hard to see why.
Unlike the old X-Bow, this new one features a competition-spec roll cage that's GT homologated according to FIA Appendix J. Meaning that this can be used for both tracks days and in professional racing series.
As you would expect from a car that looks like a space ship, performance is near out-of-this-world, with a turbocharged Audi powerplant sitting behind the driver. It is a tuned version of the 2.5-litre five-cylinder that you'd find in an RS3.
Thanks to a new intake system and wastegate, the KTM-tuned engine produces a hefty 390kW and 650Nm of torque which is sent to the rear wheels through a six-speed sequential transmission.
While KTM has remained reasonably tight-lipped about the GTX's performance, it tips the scales at just over a tonne, meaning that it would possess an insane power-to-weight ratio.
Arguably the coolest aspect of this car is how the fighter jet-styled canopy opens out from the body. This mechanism means that it misses out on getting wing mirrors, but the GTX replaces them with a pair of cameras instead.
But then comes the issue of a price, and availability. Over in Europe, it going to go on sale for a touch over $400,000 without any taxes or shipping included, then you've got the issue of getting it over here.