Poor mans GT4?

OptionZero

Could be right. I just remember it stole the GT3 stuff on one end and they made special gt4 specific suspension on the other, beefed up the engine a bit, better brakes, wing, cooling, blah blah

A more interesting attempt would be an Sw20 MR2 with a V6 swap. Been a while since i read up on any of this but the V6 from late 90's/early 00's Camry/Avalon can be easily fitted, over 200 hp, 3 to 3.5L. Build that up or supercharge (might even have a legal TRD kit!), standard suspension upgrades

then you might be getting close

It'll just be hard to find a clean hardtop MR2, but the engines are cheap and plentiful, and you might have a streetable, lightweight mid-engined car that approximates the feel