Vx220 are the same tub as a v2 Elise, the vx220 has a slightly wider track and runs 17's all around, most people seem to swap the 17" front to the same as Elises 16".
Ok so the vx220 i bought was a step further and running 355hp and it is a proper weapon on track, but a good stage 2 charged at circa 250hp would be a very very fast track car and can be bought for £10-£12k, for that kind of money, there really isnt much that will touch it and if you want to have a Lotus badge on the front with the same speed, look at spending twice as much. If you want just a 2.2 na, £8k will get you into one.
Whilst the civic are very fine to drive, they are wrong wheel drive.
P.s The national b race licence is nothing about speed or pace, the track part is just to demonstrate you are aware of racing lines and your surroundings, i.e other cars on track, you will not be asked to drive at speed, it was the easiest part of the test, we did ours in a Skoda Yeti