Wondering what your budget is? The car I was considering getting before I got into a Z or that I wanted to trade my GTI in for (you know...bc YOLO) was the Mini Cooper GP2. The color scheme is great...different shades of gray along with red stitching. Suppose to be a better handling car than the JCW Mini to begin with and more HP - so it might be something to consider. You'll have to buy used since they only came out for 1 year.
Here is one for sale I believe:
https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/l-Used...ting=177748705
Good luck.