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I know you discounted the use of motorcycle engines, but it is not impossible to rig them up for FWD; there are also small diesel engines used for motorcycles that have impressive efficiency numbers, if you don't wish to go with an inefficient 12,000+ rpm engine(Although if you did, given motorcycles using them can get 35+ mpg hwy, it is not unreasonable for a car with half the drag to get double that, although you may want more mpgs than that. You did mention performance... lol).
I like the idea of using the diesel engine from the smart ForTwo. With a few modifications, getting 120 hp out of one shouldn't be too expensive, and for a streamliner with a frontal area of 9 sq ft or less, insane top speeds would still be possible. A few hundred pounds of weight won't make a huge difference in highway fuel economy, although it will make a substantial difference with regard to acceleration and city fuel economy.
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