Don't knock 4 cyl. performance... many of the world's fastest and best handling cars are 4 bangers.... The quickest (0 to 60) street legal (stock) car is a four cylinder.
If you want to go in a straight line (most of the time) fast and use more resources than a power plant... Go get yourself a V8...
Don't get me wrong, I love all kinds of cars, but a car does not have to have a big engine to be high performance... AND how about the pleasure one may find in proving you wrong, by making a Zetec Contour quicker than a Mustang? Defying naysayers....