define performance.
300hp? 400hp? 450hp?
i think the vast majority of people would consider 1hp per cube to somewhat be a performance motor. and you can absolutely make 318hp on a beer budget.
if the qualifier is 400hp, then no. you can't build a cheap 400hp 318 starting from zero.
if your goal is 400hp, and the budget is limited then it makes sense to start with bigger cubes. that's just plain *** common sense.
however... the advent of affordable aluminum heads has the benefit of making it much easier to attain lofty HP goals. there is also now the availability of less expensive pistons for better compression and these together spread across all displacements. so, technically it is now cheaper