I think the ITS E30 is an overlooked gem honestly. It may not be the cheapest buy/build, but it is a great reliable platform, good brakes, good torque, good power, good handling. A fair amount of them are around with cages now due to Spec E30.

And, they were overlooked for years due to the presence of the E36 in ITS. They can be fast (Matt Reppert and Harold Corbin in the SEDiv do very well with theirs).

I've driven a lot of SMs and an ITA Miata, and I have to say you have to like that kind of driving experience to really enjoy the car. It's a momentum car, and very different from running a higher hp/torque S car like mine (TR8) or a Z car. If you like that kind of experience, then by all means an ITA or 99 ITS Miata are great choices.

You can't go wrong with a 2nd Gen RX7 either. Just way too many of them out there, fast, reliable and sorted.