I can name two, right off the top of my head that will run circles around the GTI, for similar and less money, and guess what? One of them IS American. The MX5 in MX5 Cup form, and the Solstice in SSB form.
The MX5 Cup has alot of factory and sponsor support going for it, not to mention the exposure it has gotten in the press. Though in stock form, the car has a flawed suspension with springs that are too soft, this is fixed in the cup car.
As for the Solstice, well, bolt in your roll cage, put on your hard top and go racing in Showroom Stock B. Guess what, it won the national championship this year at the runoffs, and probably would have taken 2nd as well, were it not for a tire puncture.
Both of these cars could be obtained for less than what it will cost to race an overweight, wrong wheel drive VW, and will beat its lap times, to boot.
Of course, somebody who is thinking of trying racing for the first time (who is not independently wealthy) should probably not be considering doing it with a brand-new car, but that’s a whole different topic…