I won't repeat what is a lot of good advice so far. I think a lot depends on budget for the initial car purchase. Best option to me is a GT350 or GT350R. Next is the Mach 1 because it has a lot of the best bits from the GT350. Plenty of people track 5.0 GTs so not sure why it was said they aren't good track cars. The performance package options definitely shortcut a lot of things you will have to add on your own otherwise. Other than that, the 2018+ engine is pretty bulletproof and I would for sure go with a manual transmission. Rev match or heel to toe is all personal preference, for me personally heel/toe is really satisfying purely because it is a more raw car/driver experience.