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While the sleeper formula has remained unchanged, power levels have gone up drastically, and modern sleeper cars are faster than ever before.
For many gearheads, one of the most exciting segments in the auto industry is sleeper cars. Sleeper cars have plain, unassuming designs that blend in effortlessly with normal traffic, but once the road opens up, they're fast enough to shame some of the best sports cars.
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Manufacturers have known about gearheads' love for sleeper cars for decades, which is why there's a wide selection comprising both classicsand modern options. While the sleeper formula has remained unchanged, power levels have gone up drastically, and modern sleeper cars are faster than ever before. Let's explore five fantastic classic sleeper cars versus five modern ones that would obliterate them in a race.
Audi and Porsche are two of the largest automakers not just in Germany but in the rest of the world. So, when they join forces to build a car, you know it'll definitely be special, even when it is a large, ugly wagon. That's exactly what the 1990s Audi RS2 Avant was.
The RS2 Avant wasn't a good-looking car by any stretch of imagination, but it made up for that with its mighty powerplant - a 2.2-liter inline-five engine belting out 311 hp, paired with Audi's superb four-wheel-drive system. With a 0-60 of under 5 seconds, the RS2 Avant was among the quickest '90s cars.
The RS2 Avant was a revolutionary wagon that gave Audi the perfect formula to use when coming up with its performance wagons. Audi has perfected the formula over the years, and its current flagship wagon - the RS6 Avant - is miles ahead of the RS2 Avant.
For one, the RS6 Avant has a sleek design that looks much better than the RS2 Avant. It's also a lot faster, as it comes with a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 dishing out 583 ponies and 590 lb-ft of torque - almost twice the RS2 Avant's figures.
When Volvo introduced the V70 in 1996, there was nothing really special about it. The V70 was an ugly five-door wagon with a boxy shape and not much power to work with.
Thankfully, Volvo went back to the drawing board and came up with the much-improved V70 R a year later. Although the V70R looked the same as the V70, it had a more luxurious interior with the finest leather and the most powerful Volvo engine available at the time - a 2.5-liter twin-turbocharged five-cylinder unit sending 247 hp to all wheels.
Volvo's Polestar division is currently among the most promising EV automakers. However, before Volvo turned Polestar into an EV manufacturer, the division was in charge of building performance versions of normal Volvo models. Polestar's work with the V60 wagon will forever be remembered.
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The V60 Polestar has one of the most complicated drivetrains in any car, as it's made up of a turbocharged and supercharged engine paired with two electric motors. A combined output of 415 horses and 494 lb-ft of torque makes the V60 Polestar extremely quick.
Ford's biggest flex is the fact that it has never gone bankrupt. However, it did come close in the '80s, but the marque managed to avoid it thanks to one awesome model - the Taurus.
There was nothing really special about the Taurus, but it performed so well in the market that Ford got through the tough period unscathed. In 1989, Ford decided to build an ultra-fast version of the Taurus, resulting in the Taurus SHO. The Taurus SHO was equipped with a 3.0-liter Yamaha V6 making 220 hp, giving it a 0-60 of 6.7 seconds and a top speed of 143 mph.
One of the biggest automotive news of the year is that, for the first time ever, BMW is building a wagon version of the Popular M3. Dubbed the M3 Touring, this insane car will be among the fastest wagons ever made.
BMW built the M3 Touring to celebrate the first M3's 50th anniversary. It's based on the M3 Competition and comes with the same engine - a 3.0-liter twin-turbo straight-six dishing out 503 hp.
Buick isn't known for making performance cars. However, it did make one of the best American performance cars of the '80s - the GNX. The GNX was a limited edition of the Grand National that Buick built with the help of McLaren.
The GNX kept the Grand National's boring styling elements, but under the hood, it was a whole new car thanks to McLaren's magic. With its upgraded V6 engine and new turbocharger, the GNX made around 300 hp and 420 lb-ft of torque, allowing it to accelerate to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds and top out at 124 mph - pretty slow, by modern standards.
When Cadillac introduced the CT5 in 2019, it wanted to crush European executive sedans like the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and Audi A6. While the CT5 matched its competitors in looks, comfort, and luxury, it wasn't powerful enough, which is why Cadillac built the extreme CT5-V Blackwing.
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The latest CT5-V Blackwing comes with a 6.2-liter supercharged V8 cranking out 668 ponies and 659 lb-ft of torque. It takes just 3.4 seconds to accelerate to 60 mph and can achieve a top speed of 200 mph, making it one of the fastest four-door sedans.
The SS badge is typically the first sign that what you're looking at is a fast Chevy car. However, those who saw the badge on the seventh-generation Impala SS doubted its authenticity, as it was just a boring-looking four-door sedan.
Things got a bit more interesting under the hood, though, as the Impala SS had the same engine as the Corvette - a 5.7-liter LT1 V8 making 260 ponies and 330 lb-ft of torque.
Over the years, GM has owned multiple foreign companies, including Saab, Holden, and many others. Sometimes GM likes to rebadge its popular foreign models and sell them in the US market under domestic brands like Chevrolet, which is exactly how the 2017 Chevy SS sedan came to be.
The Chevy SS was essentially a rebadged Holden Commodore SS, and it was fantastic. Despite its boring design, the Chevy SS was powered by a 6.2-liter V8 generating over 400 horses, making it super fast.
Martin is a seasoned content creator who has been writing about cars for over a decade, and has been in love with them for even longer. Growing up, Martin was surrounded by gearheads who instilled a deep love and understanding for cars in him at a young age. He loves to learn and write about all the developments happening in the auto industry - especially in the EV space. When he's not writing about cars, he likes to spend quality time with his wife, kids, and fur baby.