Nope unfortunately i never drove any of those, the GTO seems like a fun choice especially the latter model with the ls2, the scary thing about the s2000 is driving it surrounded by people with large trucks/suvs in a small roadster, otherwise it's quite a drivers car.
Btw since you mentioned it i had quite a soft spot myself for the 2g eclipse with 4g63 (que in people with crank walk jokes)
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And yes I do have an old diesel focus i keep around as a backup car, usually i just drive around a 2.0 TDI golf 6 (140hp/236lbs tq 45+mpg) when not using the subway (big city/ I work downtown) or when i don't have a demo car available for the week.
If you think me in a focus is funny just think about this: my summer vacation was in Monaco, the rental i got from Avis was a 1.2l fiesta
......BTW i did get my 3rd degree black belt in parking over there...had to parallel park over and over a manual car in tiny tiny spots on streets with 20+ degrees slopes common in the area
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As far as sport(y) cars what I can tell you from driving:
Both the focus ST and Rs are tons of fun (some of the best noise too) but not available across the pond, FWD too
The evo x is quite nice but almost too clinical (i had the dual clutch version so not being a manual took some of the fun away)
never tried the old evos....really curious how they measure up
the lancer ralliart is not bad basically a scaled down evo at half the price
had an 2006-ish sti (lease return)...quite liked it but it was just a tad too hash (ok for me but veto-ed by the gf)
the rest were euro luxo barges and suvs/trucks
I can give you plenty more details on those if you want since i had them for quite a bit to drive around
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hmmm...lets see if i can make some alternative suggestions about what you can consider around that budget:
2008-ish 3 series 328i with the 3L inline 6 230hp should prove decently sporty, with a bit of luck maybe you can score a 335i I6 TT engine 305HP underrated
BUT if you want something truly unique you can consider this: an rx7 with an ls1 transplant...Japanese chassis American power
not more pesky tt rotary.
There was at least company making a kit for this a little while ago.
Just imagine people looking at your car and hearing a v8, before you ask the ls1 should not mess up the balance since it's quite a small compact engine