The car can be made VERY fast. There are lots of after-market toys for the mod engine -- Stock they put 225 ~ at the crank -- but, spend between $1500 and $2500 on mods and you'll have one hell of a sleeper!
There are many sources for info -- start at
http://www.svtperformance.com and at UPR --
The block is strong.
Many aftermarket intake choices these days.
Gave my '98 to my son -- he's having a ball modding it -- he's doing 14s now -- shooting for 13s -- we'll see what summer brings.