What Is a Sleeper Car?
A sleeper car or Q-car is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. It’s a car that looks unassuming but packs serious performance. The kind of car your grandmother would drive – dull and a little slow. However, the appearance is a ruse because underneath the beige exterior is a car that will embarrass many performance cars.
There are two types of sleeper cars. First is the factory hot rod, a car that an auto manufacturer built as a sleeper. The 2003-2004 Mercury Marauder is a great example. It looks like a typical Mercury Grand Marquis with 18-inch wheels but has a 300-horsepower DOHC V8 engine from a Ford Mustang Cobra.
The other type of sleeper car is custom/home-built. It’s like one of the Volvo wagons Paul Newman used to drive with a V8 powertrain. Here someone takes a car like a Volvo wagon, minivan, or unassuming compact car and builds a vehicle that blows the doors off a Chevrolet Corvette.
Do sleeper cars still exist?
Sleeper cars still exist. They will always live as long as there are car enthusiasts who have a sense of humor or who like to fly under the radar. If anything, sleeper cars are becoming more common because of the increase in electric cars like a Tesla, which is about as fast as a Chevrolet Corvette.
Other modern sleeper cars include the Toyota Camry TRD, Volkswagen Golf R, or Audi RS6 Avant. Each of these cars looks similar to their more benign versions but offers serious performance.
Which sleeper car is best?
The answer to that question is a matter of opinion or personal preference. However, some cars are generally regarded as among the best sleeper cars of all time. These cars include the aforementioned Mercury Marauder and Paul Newman’s Volvo wagon, seen from Car and Driver. Other vehicles on the list include the 1987 Buick Grand National GNX, Ford Taurus SHO, GMC Typhoon, Cadillac CTS, Dodge Magnum wagon, and Chevrolet SS.
What is the opposite of a sleeper car?
The opposite of a sleeper car is a car that showcases its performance with a sleek body or flashy paint. Vehicles like a Chevrolet Corvette or Dodge Challenger Hellcat are polar opposites.
Some cars look fast but aren’t that fast, including the Honda CR-Z, Toyota Celica, Pontiac Fiero, and most vehicles from the 1970s. These cars were “all show and no go” because they had underpowered engines or were built on economy car platforms. Some of these cars were never meant to be fast and were just designed to look the part.
What is the best thing about a sleeper car?
A sleeper car is like a well-kept secret. Some people don’t like to advertise they own a fast car but enjoy knowing the speed is there when they want it. They like the element of surprise or level of anonymity a sleeper car provides.
Additionally, some sleeper cars are cheaper to insure because they are classified as regular passenger cars, not performance ones. This is especially true of home-built sleeper cars.
Regardless of what type of sleeper cars you like, there are plenty of options to buy or build yourself. Additionally, with electric motor kits becoming more common, as featured by The Drive, it’s easy to turn any vehicle into a sleeper by retrofitting it with electric power.
