The Corvette, the Porsche 911, and the BMW M3. These are all sports cars that we know and love, good to look at and super fast. But, what if I told you there are a few cars that you wouldn’t even notice, but they could eat Vettes, 911s and M3s for lunch?
These are the cars you see driving down the road that look like just any old car. But under that soft and cuddly outside, these are monsters inside! That’s right, baby, we’re talking about sleepers!
Jeep Grand Cherokee Trailhawk
First, if you don’t know, a sleeper is a car that looks like any other normal vehicle, but under the hood it packs a serious punch! Sleepers are seriously some of the most fun cars to own. There’s nothing like smoking someone’s flashy sports car in your unassuming station wagon.
The first sleeper on this list isn’t even a car. This is the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk. On the outside, it looks like any other bland Jeep Grand Cherokee, a boring, off-road-capable family-hauler. But that family is capable of hauling ass.
The Trackhawk hides a monster of a 707-horsepower 6.2-liter under the hood! It’s rocking the same engine from the notorious Dodge Challenger Hellcat! Some mad scientists at Dodge lifted this nuclear missile of an engine straight out of the Hellcat and squeezed it into the Jeep Grand Cherokee!
And what’s even crazier is that the Trackhawk has all-wheel drive. That means this giant SUV with room for kids and a dog actually accelerates faster than the Hellcat the motor came in! 0 to 60 is crushed in just 3.5 seconds! That is insane! I want to buy the man in charge of this project a drink because he just turned the supercar category upside down!
It’s faster than the Gallardo, F430, R8, 911 GT3 and many more hero cars. And even better, it costs far less than any of them! Starting around $90,000, it’s not a bad way to spend your money. That’s because it can take your kids to school in the mornings, race an M5 or an RS4 at night, and tow your boat to the lake for a nice family getaway for the weekend! Now, this makes it not only one hell of an awesome sleeper, but also one of the greatest cars of all time!
Lexus GSF
Up next, we have a super sedan, and I’ve hardly heard its name thrown around, so it’s a juicy one. The name of the game is the Lexus GSF! Yeah, I just said it, a Lexus! What? Hear me out…
The Lexus GSF is one of the best sleepers of modern times. With its 5.0-liter V8 pumping out 467 horsepower, it’s certainly no slouch. Plus, no one expects a punch from a big old Lexus! This low-key sedan can keep up with an M2, Mustang GT, Gallardo… the list is pretty damn long!
It flies under the radar of most people, and that’s because it looks like something my dad would drive! Just look at it! It’s your run of the mill, boring, normal sedan. But challenge one at a stoplight, and it’ll leave you in the dust! Plus, it’ll be packed with four passengers laughing at you as it leaves you behind.
The GSF is the performance variant of the more humble GS series, which, being a Lexus, is a really nice luxury car that just makes you want to sink into its plush leather seats and fully decked-out interiors. But beware, unlike the normal GSs, the GSF is not to be messed with!
Jaguar XJR 575
Nothing really beats a screaming fast sedan, in my opinion, and the GSF is a solid, razor-sharp saloon that’s surprisingly fast. But what if you want something with a little more… Machismo. Bravado. Grunt. Well then, you, my friend, should check out the Jaguar XJR 575!
A car with a long name, and an even longer body, you wouldn’t assume this stuffy old British limousine would be a wolf in sheep’s clothing. But you’d be wrong, and here’s why: Jaguar wanted to take their XJ sedan line-up and turn it up to 11, because the British are crazy like that! It’s probably something in their tea.
The Brits at Jag gave the XJR 575 a 575-horsepower 5.0-liter V8 that’s powerful enough to rocket this land barge to 60 miles per hour in only 4.2 seconds! That makes it even faster than the GSF! Plus, it’s bigger and more luxurious too! I love it when automakers stuff a big motor in a big car.
And, thanks to the monster under the hood, the XJR 575 will rotate the earth backwards when you hit the gas! You know, I might have to look closer at normal sedans. Sounds like there’s a lot of them that will embarrass your friend’s M4!
Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio
Speaking of sedans, the next one on this list is no different. I’m talking about the Alfa Romea Giulia Quadrifoglio! That’s right, even the Italians had to have some fun with four doors! The Alfa is gorgeous with its smooth curves and triangular front grill. It’s definitely some eye candy!
However, it’s not just good to look at, it also hauls ass! Alfa managed to squeeze out an insane 505 horsepower from a tiny 2.9-liter twin-turbo V6 for this car. I don’t know about you guys, but that sounds like black magic to me! The Giulia Quadrifoglio reaches 60 miles per hour from a dig in a blistering 3.7 seconds. That’s supercar territory from an unassuming sedan! This should be impossible!
Thank you, Alfa, for defining what a modern sleeper should be! It runs circles around cars like the M4, the C63 AMG, and the Corvette! Remember that next time you see this eye candy on the road.
BMW X5M
Moving onto another SUV, this is a bit of a doozy! It’s the BMW X5M! Hold on, an X5? Isn’t that what every other well-off dad drops their kid off school to in? Yes, yes it is! That’s what makes it so special! BMW took their midsize family SUV, refined the suspension, gave it a lower stance and huge tires, and dropped in a monster of an engine!
Its 4.4- litee twin-turbo V8 makes about 600 horsepower. And with a formidable all-wheel-drive system, this thing puts the pedal to the metal! It does the 0 to 60 in an eye-watering 3.7 seconds! That’s ridiculously fast, as fast as the Giulia Qadrifoglio! I can’t imagine pulling up to a stoplight next to an X5M, revving at him thinking the M badge was fake, and simply watch the X5M disappear into hyperspace!
Seriously, the X5M is not only one of the fastest SUVs on the planet, its 0 to 60 time puts it squarely in the middle of supercar territory, toying with cars such as a 911 GTS and M5!
Chevrolet SS
Last, but definitely not least, another American sleeper, the Chevy SS! It’s another big-body sedan with humble looks, but don’t let that fool you, it’s hiding a huge 6.2-liter lump under the hood, which is good enough to scoot it 60 miles per hour in 4.5 seconds! In fact, the LS3 engine is straight out of the C6 Corvette. So, technically, you could call this the four-door Corvette Chevy never made!
Look out GSF, this is one car that will match you rev-for-rev! But, did you know the Chevy SS is actually a Holden Commodore? If you’ve heard that name before, it’s because the Commodore is a very popular car down under in Australia! And since Chevy is the parent company of Holden, they decided to bring it over to the States under the Chevy badge! Thank you, Chevy!
Although somewhat rare, the Chevy SS isn’t that hard to find for a decent wad of cash. And you can light the rear tires up as you leave the dealership. Every Aussie would approve that!
You must be logged in to post a comment.