My friend and I raced in the Rally America (was SCCA when we started) and the NASA (not the space agency) clubs in the pacific northwest. We started in a small 2 wheel drive and ended up finishing up in a 2.5RS Subaru. If you are looking to get into this, I can only give you this advice:
1) Start by volunteering. There is a rally race close by. Really. Even in the U.S. Google is your friend, as is http://specialstage.com
2) Co-drive, that is, be the navigator. I only drove a couple times and had one of the best seats in entire rally most days by riding shotgun.
3) Go rally-cross. No safety equipment needed other than a helmet (most clubs will provide one) and a seat belt. You could even use your daily driver.
4) Buy (or better yet, rent, a cheap-o, already built, first car. Small, front wheel drive, cheap (as long as it’ll pass technical inspection). You won’t kill yourself, probably, at the speeds these cars will give you. Learn to drive fast, before actually driving fast.

The rally community I was (and am) involved in were great. Top notch competitors and when the going got tough, everyone bands together.