Kim's right.
When I was on my P's I remember only one guy had to worry about power to weight laws - and that was with his Mum's Volvo 740 Turbo wagon. TX3s were OK IIRC.
Most people had Corollas, Escorts, Lasers, Celicas, Geminis (and the occasional Lada).
These days you have E30 BMWs, DC2 Integras, EK Civics, MX5s, SSS Pulsars - heaps of other fun, sporty 4-cyl cars under $10k that are fun to drive, look cool and relatively economical to run.
Each to their own... but if I was 19 again, running the gauntlet of the law and 6-cyl turbo fuel bills is something I'd rather not worry about.