Browse through the pages of just about any history book on performance vehicles, and the term “hot hatch” will inevitably show up, usually in close proximity to the letters GTI. The formula is a familiar one—take a rather unassuming, practical car, add performance goodness, and simmer until frothy and delicious. Volkswagen followed this recipe back in 1976 with the Rabbit, turning the small, three-door hatchback into a pocket-rocket GTI. It wasn’t a terribly fast car, but it made all the right noises while offering ballet-dancer balance and super-glue grip. The term “hot hatch” was born, though six years would pass before that first-generation, Mark I GTI (renamed Golf for the domestic market) would hit U.S. shores. It was replaced just two years later by its slightly larger, slightly more powerful successor, the Golf GTI Mark II.

Mustang clubs are about as common as all-you-can-eat Chinese buffets. There are clubs for old Mustangs, new Mustangs, convertibles, specific models, specific colors (yes colors), and of course, clubs for the SVT faithful. The good news here is that yes, there is a Mustang club in your neck of the woods, wherever your woods happen to be. If, however, you want to associate only with the Cobra crowd, that may be a bit tougher unless you stick to internet chatting only. Most Mustang clubs—even the ones specializing in a particular Mustang genre—welcome all breeds of the horse, and that’s okay because Mustang fans generally love other Mustang fans, whether behind the wheel of a V-6, GT, or Cobra. There is a dark side however; drop an SVT badge on anything other than a bona-fide Cobra, and true Cobra owners will strike with great vengeance and furious anger. For these folks, the SVT badge is a sacred item, so if you’re thinking of sprucing up a V-6 or even a GT with Cobra badging, think again. At least if you want to be part of the Mustang crowd and have two working legs.

“The fix” are two words perpetually connected with the 1999 SVT Cobra. To make a somewhat confusing story very simple, it goes like this: Design flaws in the intake and exhaust caused the car to make less than the 320 horsepower advertised by Ford. Average losses were in the 30 horsepower range, but some folks claimed as many as 50 ponies were missing from their Cobra. The fallout caused Ford to stop Cobra production, issue a recall, and “fix” the cars already in circulation so they actually produced all 320 horsepower. All Cobra owners were notified of the problem and asked to deliver their cars to the nearest SVT dealer for service, which consisted of a new upper and lower intake manifold, new exhaust system, and a PCM reflash.

When the concept of Keepers was bouncing around the NextAutos office, there was a tinge of trepidation about discussing Mustangs and Camaros. Aside from the fanatical, insanely-large following enjoyed by both cars, they’ve been covered, featured, mentioned, compared, discussed, reviewed, and otherwise overblown by just about every publication on the planet. As such, you’ll never likely never see a Mustang GT or Camaro Z28 in this neck of NextAutos cyberspace, but some of the specialty models do stand a chance, such as the 1999 and 2001 Mustang SVT Cobra.

Here’s where the frustration of dealing with recurring S4 mechanical maladies all but disappears. YouTube is full videos that feature turbo S4s committing various acts of horsepower heroics (like the Nurburgring vid posted above), and that’s due to the devout following of Audi owners on the whole. The unassuming styling of the S4 however, combined with the Biturbo’s ease of tuning make it an Audi favorite despite the car’s relatively short North American lifespan. As such, S4 owners have an extremely broad enthusiast community when it comes to technical help, aftermarket tuning, spare parts, or just friendly camaraderie. In fact, there are so many web sites in cyber land devoted to all things Audi that we could never hope to list them all, but we can offer a few suggestions on groups both big and small.

Most performance enthusiasts—and especially the fans of Q-ship performance—are well aware that the much-loved Biturbo S4 does have a dark side. Yes, Audi was pumping out some cool cars back in the day, but questionable quality, poor reliability, and astronomical repair costs have become a trademark characteristic for Audis of this era. Talk to just about any S4 driver and you’ll get a similar story of mechanical maladies that either total thousands of dollars, or take the car off the road for weeks or months at a time while the owner gathers parts for the repair. As such, the best S4 purchasing advice is to have extra money set aside for repair work. You’ll need it.

The biggest concern—or rather concerns—with the twin-turbo S4 are in fact the twin turbos, which are prone to early failure for a number of reasons. A proper repair will kick you in the groin to the tune of $6000, but that includes upgraded turbos and all the necessary hardware to handle the higher horsepower of the improved setup. Yes, money can be saved by sticking with factory stock turbos, but either way, the engine must be yanked to handle the repair. Most Audi experts agree that, if such an effort is taking place, it’s best to replace all the so-so parts with goods that will actually last. S4 drivers can then focus on flimsy half-shafts, loose seats, and notchy six-speed manual gearboxes, especially in the first two cogs.

Those are just some of the S4-specific concerns. Other issues such as sensor failures, noisy wheel bearings, and occasional electrical gremlins are common pitfalls among many Audis from this generation—including the S4. At least parts are still relatively easy to come across, but like the turbos, be prepared to shell out big bucks for most items, and even bigger bucks for labor.

This maintenance-heavy regimen is certainly one of the reasons why the Biturbo S4s are a relatively affordable purchase, despite their rarity. Even seldom-seen S4 Avant station wagons like this eBay find are available without breaking the bank. Okay, so that Avant has a salvage title, but this non-salvage eBay S4 sedan with 71,000 miles (pictured above, along with the Avant) is quite a bargain as well. Quality B5 S4s should fall in the $10,000 to $15,000 price bracket, with project cars coming in well south of that. Of course, even the good cars could require a major maintenance investment, so once again, the word on S4 shopping is to have spare cash on standby when the repair fairy visits your garage.

Despite the finicky nature of these cars, S4 enthusiasts continue to invest hours of time and vaults of greenbacks to keep these super sedans on the road. They also pitch in to help form a dedicated enthusiast community ready to not just talk the talk, but to help other S4 owners keep their rides near the top of the sport sedan food chain. We examine that community in our final Keepers segment on the S4, coming very soon. Until then, hook up with other enthusiasts and offer more advice to future S4 owners in the NextAutos Forums.

+ NextAutos Forums: Audi S4

+ eBay find: Audi S4 Avant station wagon

+ eBay find: Audi S4 Sedan

+ Keepers: Audi S4 B5-Series

+ Keepers: Thunderbird Turbo Coupe

In lieu of Audi’s all-new unveilings at the Frankfurt Motor Show , the timing couldn’t be better for a flashback to one of the company’s defining performance offerings. We’re speaking of course about the Audi S4 sedan that first appeared on Yankee soil way back in 1992. The formula hasn’t changed much over the years, but when it comes down to a specific S4 genre, we look to the second-generation B5-series S4 as the version that roundhouse kicked the sport sedan segment of the day, becoming a performance legend in the process.

Originally based on the slightly larger Audi 100, the B5-series S4 actually debuted on the smaller A4 platform in 1997. The original S4 concept of turbocharged power with all-wheel drive grip made the transition to the smaller car, though the first-generation, single-turbo five-cylinder engine evolved to a twin-turbo (or Biturbo in Audi speak) V-6 making 261 horsepower. Unfortunately, it would be another three years before American shoppers could partake in this new S4, as Audi didn’t begin importing the car until the new millennium. The U.S. spec S4 also lost a few ponies in the process, dropping the boosted output of the tiny 2.7-liter, 30-valve engine to an even 250. It was still enough to power S4s to 60 miles per hour in well under six seconds, and the choice of a six-speed manual or a five-speed Tiptronic transmission gave enthusiasts a proper interface for gear selection. All-wheel drive grip allowed the S4 to launch like a scalded pig, and though that same system added a significant amount of heft, the car was poised enough to be a welcome companion in the turns, regardless of weather conditions. And lest we leave out the S4 Avant wagon; few things tickle our funny bones like unassuming sleepers, and while the sedan is plenty sedate to go unnoticed, a 150 mile-per-hour station wagon is just…neat.