Sleeper cars are cars sidelined by the auto world for being ordinary or ugly, but they hide their extremely high performance under their unremarkable exteriors. So often, many motorists disguise these sleeper cars for their snail-like looks until they decide to race them, and they are left chasing at their taillights.
Why manufacturers decided to shoehorn big fat engines into these dull sleepers is beyond us. Arguably, the birth of sleeper cars originated with the 1955 Chrysler C-300 that featured a 300-hp engine, making it one of the most powerful cars in the USA back then. Today, factory sleeper cars possess the hidden potential of being tuned into improbable spooky levels.
The bottom-line? The following classic sleepers proved that going fast isn’t only reserved for exotic sports coupes — it can be achieved by a seemingly sedate package as well.
10 1989 Ford Taurus SHO
The Ford Taurus supposedly came about when Ford found themselves with a massive surplus of powerful but small Yamaha engines. These engines were meant to be shoved into another Ford car, but its production never materialized. With all those Yamaha engines lying around, Ford decided to drop them into the Ford Taurus – Ford’s popular passenger car at the time.
This gave birth to the Ford Taurus SHO (Super High Output). The Ford Taurus produced well over 200 hp and impressive torque, big enough to outrun other sports cars produced during the same period. The Taurus SHO resembled the normal Ford Taurus, except that it had the name “SHO” embossed on its rear bumper.
9 1980s Shelby GLHS
Based on the Dodge Omni, the Shelby GLHS remains one of the top sleeper cars. The Dodge Omni was a common car in the ‘80s but was slow and ugly, very different in performance compared to the Shelby-tuned version. Propelling the Shelby Dodge Omni GLHS was a turbocharged inline 4-cylinder engine.
The Shelby Dodge Omni could do the quarter-mile run in less than 15 seconds and attain a top speed of 140 mph, hence the acronym GHLS ("Goes Like Hell S'more"). The Shelby GLHS was produced from 1986 to 1987, making it a limited production compact car.
8 1986 BMW M5
The M5 has the right to be referred to as the granddaddy or blueprint of the fast sedans we have today. At the heart of the 1986 M5 was the famous M88 inline 6-cylinder engine. The M88 engine was meant to power the famous M1 supercar — a car developed for racing, but since the Procar championship got canceled, BMW found themselves with a bunch of engines having no chassis to mount them in.
BMW had no alternative; they dropped the M88 engine into the BMW E28 5-Series sedan. Up to date, the M5 nameplate still soldiers on following the subsequent BMW 5 Series evolution.
7 1996 Toyota X100 Chaser
Were it not for the Ford Taurus, the Toyota X100 could have walked with the accolade of being the sleepiest sleeper car among them all. The Chaser lineage was once linked to the Cressida, having identical basics such as 4 doors, an RWD drivetrain, plus a big body.
The difference between the two units was that the Toyota X100 Chaser possessed the heart of the Supra sports car — the legendary inline 6-cylinder 2JZ engine. By now, everyone knows how capable these engines are, and there's a massive aftermarket that makes it possible to extract ridiculous amounts of power.
6 1980s Buick Grand National
The birth of the Buick Grand National took place in the mid-1980s when Buick decided to produce turbocharged performance versions of the Regals but instead named them Grand Nationals. The majority of these units came in black exterior paint jobs and black or gray interiors.
Buick also produced special performance versions to boost the Grand National to even higher speeds; the WE4 and the GNX. The Grand National even managed to outperform Corvettes at the time. GM’s top sports car was getting outperformed by the Grand National, a car associated with elderly drivers, proving it’s one of the best sleeper cars produced by Buick.
5 1987 Mercedes-AMG Hammer
There are many performance wagons today, but few can match the 1987 Mercedes-AMG Hammer. Its greatness is already in the name “Hammer,” a hard-hitting sleeper and one of the best passenger sedans ever produced. AMG was crafting mad motors, a time when they were just a tuning company.
Lying under the hood of the Hammer was a 6.0-liter V-8 engine churning out way over 375 hp and 400lb-ft of torque — a real bruiser even by today’s standards. The Hammer leaped from 0-60 mph in a scant 5 seconds flat and hurtled the quarter mile in 13.5 seconds. On a straightaway, this beast could hit a top speed of 178 mph.
4 Mercury Marauder
The Mercury Marauder’s first run only lasted two model years; it was a high-performance version of the Grand Marquis. It was a muscle sedan built on an identical concept to the 1990s Impala SS. This sleeper car was powered by a 4.6-liter V8 engine with dual overhead cams producing well over 300 hp (an engine that propelled the 2003-04 Mustang Mach 1).
The Marauder could sprint from 0-60 mph in 7.5 seconds. Don’t be mistaken by the Marauder looking like a government official’s car; it’s quite fast, making it one of the best sleeper cars. It came mostly with a black paint job.
3 Chevrolet Impala SS (7th Generation)
Produced by Chevrolet between 1994 and 1996, the 7th Generation Impala SS was a muscle sedan designed for car enthusiasts who yearned for speed, interior space, and more room in their trunks.
Under the hood of the Impala SS was the LT1 engine, a unique upgrade that set it apart from the Chevrolet Caprice police package. The engine — a 5.7-liter LT1 V8 — was from the Chevrolet Corvette and was capable of delivering 260 horsepower. Transmission of the Impala SS wasn’t strong enough to handle all the juice coming from the LT1 engine — but most owners swapped the default transmission system for performance-oriented transmissions.
2 1989 Vauxhall-Lotus Carlton
Lotus outdid themselves in the late ‘80s to early '90s when they came up with the Vauxhall-Lotus Carlton, also called Opel Lotus Omega or Lotus Omega. It was a sports sedan that took on the heavyweights like Porsche and Ferrari. It beat the Testarossa in the 0-60 mph sprint.
Lotus was famous for producing race cars that prioritized lightness and chassis balance ahead of power. Unlike the rest, the Carlton was a two-tonne behemoth fitted with a 3.6-liter inline 6-cylinder engine driving 377 hp to the rear wheels along with 419l b-ft of torque. Coupled to the engine was a 6-speed ZF manual gearbox.
1 Plymouth Duster 340
Duster cars were sold in the USA from 1970 to 1976. They were based on the Plymouth Valiant. The Duster cars were known to be slow, compact economy cars, but some versions were fitted with 5.6-liter V8 engines.
The Plymouth Duster 340 was a well-crafted muscle car. Despite its big size, the Duster 340 could still frustrate car owners who tune their Dodge Chargers with powerful Hemi engines leaving them to eat the dust with a much cheaper Plymouth Duster.