Ok, I had a scary realization when I went to the Aston Martin dealership to get the paint code for our car. I was walking past a line of v8 vantages and realized my dad and I could have split one and been on the road for roughly the same amount as we have into our Camaro, which isn't quite finished. When its done, it could probably hang with the little Aston, provided we're not driving

Still, the point I'm trying to make is that when you add up all the time time invested, into a price that accurately reflects the hours, by and large, pro-touring cars aren't necessarily cheaper. I'm guessing Jackass cost a bit more that a ZR1, and isn't quite as fast around a track. I'd love to see those two cars run though.
I suppose the point I'm trying to make in regard to the over-priced, over-engineered Euro car comment is that, while expensive, if you were to build a car that was just as well engineered it would probably cost more. BTW when I say build I'm assuming that a majority of the build will be done by a shop.
I think we need SW's opinion here.
BTW, I'll contribute to the Bad Penny shipping fund just because I'm a bit of a topgear geek.
Matt