The sound will be dependent on the cam, and the pipes under the car. You can make a V6(at idle) sound like a growling beast with the right pipes. Sounds like trash at WOT, but you get the idea.
Performance? Performance for any V8 is directly proportional to your wallet, and just as importantly what you can tolerate on your "Sunday drive". In general, you will need to pick which is more important, the track or the drive. I am 100% a drive guy, so to me a 383 or 440 is fine, so long as it is tuned to be responsive as all get out(not too big a cam or carb) can do amazing tire destroying burn outs at whim and won't break something every other tank of gas.
Truth is, anything you would find pleasing to just drive around is going to be hooked to a transmission that makes it launch slower. You can throw money at an OD unit to gear it better to help. Once you want it to RIP on the track, leaving a stop light on a leisurely drive becomes something else.
I would pick a side and build for it. A comfortable, easy to drive super dependable ride is going to get beat at the track, so long as you don't need to come in first place you can have it both ways then. Otherwise there is no magic bullet.
