This sleeper Cadillac absolutely surprises us all and manages to defeat a brand new Dodge Charger SRT.

A sleeper car is defined by Wikipedia as “a car that has high performance and an unassuming exterior.” And it doesn’t get more unassuming than a car so old that it probably has grandkids.

It’s so old, in fact, that we’re not quite sure exactly what car it is. The shield on the front and back are unmistakable markers for Cadillac, which makes this sleeper either a Series 61 or a Series 62 from the early ‘50s most likely. Both had big V8 engines and were used in motorsports although the original cars had but a fraction of the power of a modern Dodge Charger SRT.

While we’re on the subject, that’s a Charger SRT 392 with a big 6.4-L HEMI V8 under the hood. One of the more popular models from Dodge, the 392 puts out 485 hp and 476 lb-ft of torque. Zero to sixty is done in 4.2 seconds on its way to a top speed of 182 mph.

Quarter-mile times are typically measured in the mid-12-second range. It’s 8-speed automatic with paddle shifters makes it a very forgiving car in drag races, but not necessarily the fastest.

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God knows what’s under the hood of that Caddy, but it’s gotta be something special for it to even consider taking on a Charger.

And indeed, it must have been. Due to the Cadillac’s heavy chassis, it spins its wheels quite a bit off the line and allows the Charger the early lead. It eventually finds its grip and is able to catch up, and then even pull ahead slightly.

By the time the finish line arrives, the Charger has managed to post a time of 12.96 seconds at 108.8 mph. That old Cadillac? It finished in 12.72 seconds at 114.64 mph.

That just goes to show, don’t judge a book by its cover. It might be hiding a modern V8 with a supercharger.

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