the escudo sucks at handling, but it definately has the top speed.
i would use the money to tune the viper (gts-oreca, i assume). its a pretty nice car.
get the zonda c12s or the toyota gt-one. they are both MR and real beasts. they have great HP and accel. some people say the zonda doesnt handle well, but i havent had any problems with it, after a little minor suspension tuning.
just play and have fun. u can buy a car, try it out, and if u dont like it re-load your saved game.