What’s the best “sleeper” car of all time?
You don’t realize that a car is a sleeper until it’s too late. Whether on drag strip or race track, you challenged it and wound up seeing nothing but its taillights. A “sleeper” doesn’t look fast, but it performs far better than it looks. The Buick Regal T-Type Limited is one of my favorite examples of the breed. It sports all the performance of the Grand National, clad in unassuming chrome trim and packed with top-level Limited luxury features inside and out.
Sleepers have likely been around since people were souping up Model Ts. Take this 1915 Ford Model T Sherman Super Fire, with a claimed 50 horsepower and a four-speed transmission. That’s more than double the engine’s factory output, and the vehicle clearly looks like its built for racing. But it doesn’t have to be.
All (most?) of the performance bits that make the aforementioned red Model T speedster so special can be added to a stock-looking, mundane Model T Doctor’s Coupe. Indeed, the cozy coupe intended for medical professionals would be quite the sleeper with more gears, way more power, and a resultant increase in speed and acceleration.
You could call such a machine a precursor to Urgent Care. Or perhaps a sleeper T Doctor’s Coupe is more of an Urgent Car?
No matter, a sleeper is a formula well known by aftermarket parts vendors looking for more sales and increased awareness. But even manufacturers are known to see the business model for themselves.
I’ll spare you the historical spiel on how a famous racer came together with a newly minted CEO to make the 1984 Ford LTD/LX, but suffice to say that making a Mustang GT–infused sleeper on one of the more forgettable derivatives of the Fox-body platform proved that the concept had merit.
All of this is a very, very roundabout way of encouraging you to answer my question:
What’s the best sleeper car of all time?
***
Check out the Hagerty Media homepage so you don’t miss a single story, or better yet, bookmark it. To get our best stories delivered right to your inbox, subscribe to our newsletters.
My Fav was my 68 Camaro with the 250 ci in line 6 ,it left many small block V8 scratching their heads in disbelief
Well I understand the Ford LTD that I presume is yours. My family owned a Ford Fairmont of the same fox series with the 302 v8. These were pretty rare in my neck of the woods but even rarer was the special order that we were offered when the order was cancelled. All I can say is lights and sirens deleted. Lighter and quicker than the LTD, and quicker than the Mustang. Only problem in the far north was the lightweight “thin metal that was a rust magnet. Oil spray yearly help, but eventually it died an early death.
Pea green 427 Biscayne with 327 emblems!
I love downbadging a car for this specific purpose!
Best Sleeper Car of all Time, hands down a 1967 Mercury XR-7 GT.
‘S’ Code got you an FE big block with a 4 speed in what looked, at a stop light, like a bone stock luxury car.
428 cubic inches or 390 cubic inches, your choice. It’s a Cobra, without the Shelby badges.
And this true sleeper would also be painted Black, of course.
Motor Trend thought so too: 1967 Car of the Year. They said it should be called ‘King Cougar’.
Somebody help me with the exact model. I remember there was a Volvo wagon that was quite the performer for it’s time. I can’t recall if it was a late ’80s or ’90s model. I know there have been later higher-performing Volvos, but this one I’m thinking of was definitely a sleeper.
Think you’re referring to a 740 Turbo…
In 85 they had that turbo sedan looked really great that was a sleeper
07 silver grand prix ,with GXP badges removed. Totally invisible!
Go back to 1968…when a little boxy German sedan started showing up in the US…with a blue and white badge that said “BMW” (“…was that British Motor Works?”). If you were driving any import sports car other than an XKE, a 911 or something exotic and Italian, you quickly learned not to engage in stop light grands prix with one ‘of ’em…nor could you keep up with ’em on a twisty back road either. Especially when painted an innocuous white, beige or silver, at least for fellow import enthusiasts, the 2002 was a real sleeper, and proved you could have sports car handling, room for four, and their luggage.
For a fun read, Google David E Davis’ April 1968 Car and Driver story, “Turn Your Hymnals to 2002.”
I would say any real AMG Mercedes, especially if debadged. They look like any ordinary Mercedes with AMG wheels, but pack a considerable punch. The 2 I’ve been fortunate own have been a 1999 E55 and a 2004 CL55. The CL has the supercharged V8. Looks like a big, comfy coupe, but will move when you hit the gas.
85 Dodge Daytona sweeper Dodge Omni turbo sleeper Mitsubishi starion sleeper that’s my pic in the ’80s these cars were very deceiving
I had 2 Taurus SHO’s. The 89 blended in with every other “jellybean” car on the road with few visual clues. The 92 was not as stealthy. Both were quick for the day. The best one I ever made was a 72 Skylark 4 dr. with the 340 hp 400 cu.in. Pontiac engine from my wrecked 70 Grand prix. In the early 80’s when I did that, the car was a consistent high 13 second runner. That easily outran just about anything from the factory and was such a plain wrapper that no one gave it a second look.
My little Austin Mini was a sleeper in a different way. They did not sell them in the US for many years while still available in Canada, and on a trip through New England I surprised a fellow in a Vette coming down a mountain. He was surprised when I passed him and disappeared down the mountain through the tight bends; he did not catch me until we got down onto the regular roads when he went roaring past with a look of disgust at this little car which he could not match on the twisty bits.
I vote for the Buick T-Type as a classic sleeper. Most looked at it and figured it was just a standard V6 regal and not one of those Grand Nationals . At the time there was a wealth of information available to implement significant performance upgrades which I took full advantage of. My standard line after many stop light adventures when asked “what the heck do you have in that car” was this – “This is my fathers Buick” that tended to receive many interesting comments.
I would like to add the Modern ( 2012) Chrysler 300 SRT8 with the 6.4 hemi under the hood. I have surprised quite a few Mustangs and Chamero’s that didn’t know what it was. Also the 6.1liter Dodge Magnum wagons from 2006-2008.
I recall Car and Driver testing a BMW 2002tii that they proclaimed as a genuine sleeper. Fun to rip through the gears and would corner well to boot. But my experience with a sleeper was from back when anything was possible. As a fledgling mechanic (while still in high school,) the shop I worked in specialized in imported vehicles, and the local Air Force base gave us plenty of business. There were a few exceptions to that, one being an elderly real estate agent that drove a 1964 Chevy Impala four door sedan. It was metallic tan with a white roof and had full wheel covers. He had purchased the car new from the Chevy dealer that was right next door to our shop, and had grown dissatisfied with the service there. He had gotten to know our shop owner at the local bowling alley, and had us do tune ups and oil changes on his car. I really didn’t know what was special about the Impala until the first time I was asked to take the agent home when he came by one morning for a regular service. The shop owner, Lee, told me to “…take the long way” back to the shop via the freeway and “open it up a bit.” This would mean a seven or eight mile detour at 70+ MPH and then a seven mile jaunt through town before arriving back at the shop. After dropping the old guy at his front door, I headed for the interstate. “It’s just an Impala. I wonder why I’m supposed to be on the freeway,” I wondered. As I drove down the onramp I walked into the throttle and to my great surprise, this funny honking noise came through the firewall. The Powerglide dropped into first gear and that old crate pinned me to the seat! Bam! High gear and the speedometer said 95 MPH! And continued to climb until I lifted at 120 indicated. “What in the world…” I said to myself. Upon arriving at the shop, Lee opened the hood and explained to me what I was looking at. “327, solid lifter cam, dual WCFB carburetors. The owner never gets this thing about 35 mph driving it around town, so the plugs get fuzzy and it’s not happy. This is why we blast it down the freeway and get the carbon out of it. We don’t charge him for the ‘tune up’ because we really don’t need to do anything. We adjust the valves every six months or so, and change the oil at the same time. Then we charge him.” I asked why the old agent would have this powertrain in this car. “Beats me,” Lee said. “He bought it like this from next door, brand new.” I’ve always wondered what happened to that unicorn! That was a sleeper!
I grew up near Detroit, where Woodward Avenue stoplight racing was a thing. In 1966 a fellow engineering college student built a heavily modified 57 DeSoto Firesweep. He chose this model for its light weight in spite of its large size. He began by stripping more weight. He probably removed a few hundred extra pounds. Nothing was left untouched, except it looked stock from the outside, like he was driving his dad’s car. He installed a well-built 392 Hemi, 727 TorqueFlite with a moderate stall converter, quiet exhaust, and higher ratio differential. There were some minor suspension mods. He sometimes ran cheater slicks, the only giveaway. He ran it once at a local drag strip, just to get a time slip. I would really like to know what this mild mannered car did on the strip, but never did.
He could beat anything stock quite easily, but you have to realize that most races were over when the leader pulled away with no hope of being caught. He had his launch technique honed to the consistency of a robot. I rode with him once, and this was the hardest accelerating street legal car I have ever been in. Driving technique was actually simple: bring up the throttle while easing off the brakes, lift a little for the 1-2 shift, and then wide open up to top end if necessary. Traction, even with street tires, was very dependable. What a blast. Probably not that impressive for today’s cars, but surprise is the ultimate fun of a sleeper.