Hidden Gems: 5 Killer Sleeper Cars

[RED_DET]

http://autos.yahoo.com/news/hidden-gems ... 43214.html

I will say no more, as one of those sits in my garage.

[gwoods]

I want the 12 second mini van

[OriginalWheelman]

I want the 12 second mini van

I had one. It was AWESOME. I was 19 and "needed" a van to move the band around to our non-existent gigs. Ah, youth.

[gwoods]

pics?

I rent the current dodge mini van when I can its fast for no reason 0-60 in 7 seconds for no reason at all.

[Bubba1]

pics?

I rent the current dodge mini van when I can its fast for no reason 0-60 in 7 seconds for no reason at all.

I agree with the most of that sleeper list but I dunno about that Ford LTD LX. Might be fun to list some of the others like:

Chevy Cobalt Turbo SS: impressive little car and no one notices them
Dodge Omni GLH (yes, ugly little econobox but GLH stood for Goes like Hell). They did and were the predecessor for the
Neon SRT-4 (yes they're a neon and built like cr@p, but until they fall apart, they're impressively quick

[OriginalWheelman]

pics?

I rent the current dodge mini van when I can its fast for no reason 0-60 in 7 seconds for no reason at all.

I don't think I have any pics. I'd have to dig through my photo albums and look. That was back in the days of 35mm and before camera phones so I'm not even sure I have one. I know Dan probably has some but I have no idea how to get in contact with him anymore.

[gwoods]

Cobalt SS !!! that is the most under rated under appreciated car in the history of cars. Neon SRT-4's at least had a following but the Cobalt was just unloved!

[Dattebayo]

I got one too. Too bad no one goes in that forum here anymore...

[Gold Digger]

I love the write up for the turbo Caravan.

For two years, Dodge offered the Caravan with a turbocharged 2.5-liter Turbo II four and a five-speed stick. Cranked to a moderate boost of 12 psi, a largely stock Caravan turbo can hit the quarter mile deep into the 12s. Imagine the depression you’d kick off handing somebody’s a** to them in a wood-paneled, seven passenger loser cruiser.

That last sentence...

Best.
Line.
Ever.

[OriginalWheelman]

It's so true though. I love sleepers. Most times when you whoop someone with a sleeper they react positively, and ask lots of questions "What's in that thing?" "That's crazy." Etc..

With that van, people got mad. Most people wouldn't even look at me if we met up at the next light. I got a lot of angry glares, quite a few middle fingers, the occasional "F*** you!" and so on. People hated getting beat up on by a mini-van. I had an Aerostar once with a 2.9 Ranger engine with headers and a few mods, not as fast as the Caravan but it sounded mean and was RWD so it had the play around factor, but that Dodge was just so fun to piss people off with. You almost have to drive it all day with this face.

[dre1507]

A friend of mine had a mean Cobalt SS, but he sold it when he moved to Japan for a few months. Owned an R32 GTR when he was over there.

[Dattebayo]

Finding a turbo minivan is harder than finding an unmolested s13 these days. And they forgot all about the old Omni hatch....

[WDRacing]

The Buick GS is NOT a sleeper. Not sure why that car is on the list at all.

The Ford LTD is cheap because it's an awful looking dog turd with a V8. V8 doesn't equal sleeper if it the car is so god awful ugly you claw your own eyes out before you manage to get inside it.

That list is not a good one. I really only agree with the SER and Caravan.

Dodge Omni GLH (yes, ugly little econobox but GLH stood for Goes like Hell).

I concur. The Omni GLH was my first introduction to drag racing in HS. A friend of mine kept trying to get me to come out to the track with him, was his Omni. I finally went and couldn't believe how fast that little fvcker was. It was able to trounce my 78 Monte without even trying.

[Bubba1]

The Buick GS is NOT a sleeper. Not sure why that car is on the list at all.

You're probably not old enough, but the Buick GS really was considered a sleeper when they were new. Back in the 60's thru early 70's, Buicks were mostly known to be slightly upscale, soft riding, highway cruisers you took to the early bird special at the local diner with your AARP card. But the GS' were powerful enough to be competitive right out of the showroom at the local drag strip despite the luxury goodies in it. I believe AZHitman once owned one. I had a buddy in college that owned one too. Very easy to smoke the tires in that beast. Very fast car in its day and it blended well into the crowd. Of course stopping and cornering were not a priority with them.

[alms24sebring]

Ive always wanted the turbod caravan! There was one at my old job that this guy had. Low miles but had amillion and one oil leaks, and automatic I think.

[WDRacing]

You're probably not old enough, but the Buick GS really was considered a sleeper when they were new.

Correct. However, since the article was just written about sleepers that include an 04 model, I figure it should be somewhat accurate. Pretty much all models of the GS are known to be fastasfvck vs whatever they come across on the daily 9-5 dash to and from work. Back in the day when compared to other muscle cars, maybe, but I still don't think they can be considered as a sleeper to anyone that's not a waterhead. The article was written for the gearhead audience, the author should have known better.

[Bubba1]

Correct. However, since the article was just written about sleepers that include an 04 model, I figure it should be somewhat accurate. Pretty much all models of the GS are known to be fastasfvck vs whatever they come across on the daily 9-5 dash to and from work. Back in the day when compared to other muscle cars, maybe, but I still don't think they can be considered as a sleeper to anyone that's not a waterhead. The article was written for the gearhead audience, the author should have known better.

I agree.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Absolutely agree with WD: Buick GS is hardly a sleeper. It's loud '60s Buick styling and anyone who knows the slightest thing about cars (including my mother for crying out loud) would spot it for a musclecar a mile away.

Along with the Omni GLH, there was another hot K-car:

Shelby CSX. Hot Dodge Shadow. First time I saw one, I thought some ricer tard had gotten his hands on a Shelby vinyl and slapped it on the windshield of his Shadow.
Not SUPER sleeperish since it does have some sportier bodywork. But it's a gorram k-car.

[WDRacing]

Image is busted Chris.

[BusyBadger]

I'm a little surprised that the SVT Contour didn't make the list. Numbers aren't jaw-dropping, but better than most would expect based on the packaging...bland, bland, bland.

[zacmil]

I'm a little surprised that the SVT Contour didn't make the list. Numbers aren't jaw-dropping, but better than most would expect based on the packaging...bland, bland, bland.

Word to your mother. My first car was a Contour SE, rather than an SVT, but it came with the same engine, and that little car was impressively quick. My dad, who owned it before me, actually bought it because he thought it was such a sleeper.

[MinisterofDOOM]

I don't think the SVT Contour qualifies as sleeper. It's more like ricer. Enough flamboyant glued on bodywork for an entire Scion factory on one single car. It SCREAMS attentionwhore stoplight-racer.

[Bubba1]

I don't think the SVT Contour qualifies as sleeper. It's more like ricer. Enough flamboyant glued on bodywork for an entire Scion factory on one single car. It SCREAMS attentionwhore stoplight-racer.

I agree. I think my perception of a "sleeper" is similar to MoD's. That is, a car that is significantly quicker than it portrays itself to be. The SVT Contour was a fairly peppy car for what it was, but Ford added too many styling touches to it so you could tell from a distance it wasn't the more anemic base model version. So not a sleeper

[Repo Man]

I don't think the SVT Contour qualifies as sleeper. It's more like ricer. Enough flamboyant glued on bodywork for an entire Scion factory on one single car. It SCREAMS attentionwhore stoplight-racer.

I agree. I think my perception of a "sleeper" is similar to MoD's. That is, a car that is significantly quicker than it portrays itself to be. The SVT Contour was a fairly peppy car for what it was, but Ford added too many styling touches to it so you could tell from a distance it wasn't the more anemic base model version. So not a sleeper

Joel is dead-nuts on here.

My two votes for great sleepers are the Turbo Regal in granny form as seen here:



It had the exact same drivetrain as the Grand National, which was still considered by some to be a sleeper, but not nearly like the T-Type with a vinyl roof.

THIS is not very sleeper-like, lol:



Wicked:


The other one is the Dodge Spirit R/T, which was quite quick for it's time:

[Dattebayo]

No way the Regal is a sleeper. Nope. The guy down the street from where I grew up collects them and I've always thought they looked like they could be something quick.

[BusyBadger]

No way the Regal is a sleeper. Nope.

[Repo Man]

How old are you two?

[Jesda]

I'm going to add the Saab 9-5 Aero sedan to this list. If you sneak up on one on the highway, it will rape you with its overboost. Same with the 9-3 Viggen and any Volvo R, T5, or T6.

Those conservative Swedes made some quick cars.



The W-body Buick Regal GS, with $500-$1000 of minor mods (pulleys, intake, exhaust, maybe headers) absolutely hauls. Same with the supercharged Grand Prix (same powertrain).

[gwoods]

I had a buddy in HS that had a late 80's Daytona Charger Shelby Turbo, that car was quick 175 hp 200lb of torque. we were racing around on a rainy day and he lost control and put it thourgh a barbwire fence and pretty deep into a freshly harvested Arizona corn field. It drove out of it, then the next day we went to lunch at TacoBell. When he made the righthand turn out of the shopping center and nailed it the car came apart, the transmission/engine fell out and went under the car it was hilarious to me then, him now.

Looked almost exactly like this one

[BusyBadger]

How old are you two?

I'm older than you are.

...so, I got to see the Regal when it was new on the roads and knew it wasn't something to take lightly. I'll give you that it wasn't typical of what most thought of as fast (or fast looking) post Burt Reynold's beer run movie, but everyone I knew knew it could run.

I'm in complete agreement with you about the Spirit though. I had a roommate in B'town that called his "Balls in a Box".

It's more like ricer. Enough flamboyant glued on bodywork for an entire Scion factory on one single car. It SCREAMS attentionwhore stoplight-racer.

Yeah, attentionwhore.