Sleeper cars

everlast75

"A sleeper is a car that has high performance and an unassuming exterior. Sleeper cars are so called because their exterior looks little or no different from a standard or economy-class car. In some cases the car appears worse due to seeming neglect on the owner's part, typically referred to as "all go and no show". While appearing to be a standard or neglected car, internally they are modified to perform at higher performance levels."

As we have threads for Bangernomics and Luxobarges, I asked Osi if we should have a thread on here for any sleepers which might be for sale and he agreed.

I can't think of any limitations, other than they should fit the definition. Perhaps they should have a valid NCT but this can be changed if need be as the cars are added. Obviously car tax is irrelevant.

So car hunters and voyeurs.. work away!

Sexual Chocolate

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/volvo-t5-dohc-turbo/15281730

Edit : Car seems sold now. Was an S40 2.4 turbo

JoeA3

A filthy dirty Golf R in a subtle colour will look like any other humdrum diesel Golf to 95% of people. There's probably a few on carzone!

bazz26

I'll start.

Ford Mondeo 3.0 litre v6 petrol:


https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/ford-mondeo-3-0-ghia-x-serious-enquiries-only/15005810

Sexual Chocolate

bazz26 wrote: »

I'll start.

Ford Mondeo 3.0 litre v6 petrol:

Not too long ago he had that up for shy of 5k

cardshark

The tax rules in this country are so f***ing annoying!!

Would love one of the beasts above.

bazz26

Its only a boring Volvo:


https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2007-volvo-s80-3-2-awd-1-owner-low-mileage-new-nct/15776168

bazz26

Golf R32 in inoffensive silver:


https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/volkswagen-golf-2008-volkswagon-r32-250bhp-r32/15543513

I don't think any of these look anyway as fast as they are, I was behind a faster looking 2016 316d on the way to work this morning

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/bmw-335i-sport-tax-till-aug-nct-2018-286bhp/15386363




https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2005-bmw-535d-se-fsh-with-only-116k-miles/15322362




https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/mercedes-benz-e-class-e350-bluef-cy-amg-sport-cdi/13266962

easygoing39

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/toyota-corolla-t-sport-1-8/15520794

Yours ma's Corolla,but with 192 BHP,138 MPH top speed and €636 motor tax!

tedpan

Augeo wrote:

I don't think any of these look anyway as fast as they are, I was behind a faster looking 2016 316d on the way to work this morning

None of those German cars are sleepers. They look like they're going to be quick..

Eg. Most car people know that a 335i has a 3.0 litre twin turbo

tedpan

tedpan wrote: »

None of those German cars are sleepers. They look like they're going to be quick..

Eg. Most car people know that a 335i has a 3.0 litre twin turbo

Really.
I disagree
The 5 series looks like a 520d and the 335i is an SE looking much like any other 3 series Coupe.

mloc123

tedpan wrote: »

None of those German cars are sleepers. They look like they're going to be quick..

Eg. Most car people know that a 335i has a 3.0 litre twin turbo

Pop the 335i badge of and everyone would assume it is a 316d like 90% of them are

tedpan

Augeo wrote:

Really. I disagree The 5 series looks like a 520d and the 335i is an SE looking much like any other 3 series Coupe.

Yeah, sleepers usually give nothing away.

The Volvo above is an excellent example. The Mondeo is nearly as good although if you're a car person, the alloys tell you it's a fast ford.

bladespin

tedpan wrote: »

Yeah, sleepers usually give nothing away.

The Volvo above is an excellent example. The Mondeo is nearly as good although if you're a car person, the alloys tell you it's a fast ford.

Totally agree, think grey steel wheel Corolla with 3l ingin (if there was such a thing).

I do know a roadracer who used to have a Transit with a Rover v8, was only ever used as a toy though.

draiochtanois

This post has been deleted.

ironclaw

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2006-audi-a3-tfsi-quattro/15528152

2006 A3 Quattro (200BHP / 3DR)

(Full disclosure, this is my car and not intended as an advert)

bladespin

Defo not a sleeper, needs to be exact opposite of what you'd think a performance car would be - wolf in sheep's clothing.

Lotus Carlton

A dressed down R32 would be excellent.

s15r330

I think some people on here need to rethink their definition of a sleeper.

A friend of mine had a vauxhall nova, with a 2litre turbo engine giving over 300bhp, that's a sleeper.

I had a starlet turbo, looked like your average 135bhp starlet, but it had 298bhp.

A sleeper is something that will surprise even a car enthusiast, a t5 volvo isn't a sleeper, its a t5 volvo, if you know cars you know its going to be fast.

Perfect example
http://forum.retro-rides.org/thread/178447/1990-peugeot-205-20v-turbo

J.pilkington

easygoing39 wrote: »

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/toyota-corolla-t-sport-1-8/15520794

Yours ma's Corolla,but with 192 BHP,138 MPH top speed and €636 motor tax!

Crap alloys are a giveaway

jelutong

I don't think the op had modified cars in mind when starting the thread.

s15r330

jelutong wrote: »

I don't think the op had modified cars in mind when starting the thread.

Well seeing as most sleepers are modified cars. There aren't very many factory cars that will suprise a car enthusiast, there are always tell tale signs.

To me a sleeper is a car that when you see it take off you're reaction is total surprise.

draiochtanois

This post has been deleted.

bladespin

draiochtanois wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Snap

s15r330

draiochtanois wrote: »

Ford Transit powered by Jag XJ 220

That interviewer is hard to listen to

heroics

draiochtanois wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

That is my idea of a sleeper.

bladespin

bladespin wrote: »

Defo not a sleeper, needs to be exact opposite of what you'd think a performance car would be - wolf in sheep's clothing.

Lotus Carlton..................

Yeah, back in 1992 no one would have thought this (in out of factory guise) was a fast car compared to a plodding 1.8 on steelies... no more a sleeper than a Sierra Saphire Cosworth was.

bladespin

Augeo wrote: »

Yeah, back in 1992 no one would have thought this (in out of factory guise) was a fast car compared to a plodding 1.8 on steelies... no more a sleeper than a Sierra Saphire Cosworth was.

How many cossies did you see? Real ones that is among the mix of wannabees, the odds of seeing a LC was lottery stats, if you saw one I guarantee you just assumed it was a vectra, especially if they'd switched over to the steel wheels and removed the spoiler.

bladespin

bladespin wrote: »

How many cossies did you see? Real ones that is among the mix of wannabees, the odds of seeing a LC was lottery stats, if you saw one I guarantee you just assumed it was a vectra, especially if they'd switched over to the steel wheels and removed the spoiler.

Not me bud, not me

Switching over to steel wheels and removing the spoiler? Are you serious? That was done frequently on the ones you saw was it?

bladespin

Augeo wrote: »

Not me bud, not me

Switching over to steel wheels and removing the spoiler? Are you serious? That was done frequently on the ones you saw was it?

If you wanted a sleeper that's what you did, or switch to more whitebread alloys.

Ever been to Brands or the IOM? you'll see plenty of 'understated' cars.
It was common enough to de-badge and 'cloak' desirebale cars in the UK, theft risk was the main reason, just like everyone wanted the GTi but no-one wanted a GTi badge.
Name's not bud btw.

bladespin

bladespin wrote: »

If you wanted a sleeper that's what you did, or switch to more whitebread alloys.

Ever been to Brands or the IOM? you'll see plenty of 'understated' cars.
It was common enough to de-badge and 'cloak' desirebale cars in the UK, theft risk was the main reason, just like everyone wanted the GTi but no-one wanted a GTi badge.
Name's not bud btw.

sort of like a 335 SE

Effects

tedpan wrote: »

if you're a car person, the alloys tell you it's a fast ford.

My Da's 1.8 Mondeo had the same wheels.

farna_boy

I think the question that needs to be answered before we go any further is if a sleeper car is either

• A high powered car that is modified to look unassuming
• An unassuming car that has been modified to be fast or
• A high powered car that comes from the factory and is a special edition that not many people will know about

An example of the third scenario might be a Galant VR-4, that almost looks like a normal Galant except for the VR4 badge and a twin turbo 280bhp engine

.

bladespin

farna_boy wrote: »

I think the question that needs to be answered before we go any further is if a sleeper car is either

• A high powered car that is modified to look unassuming
• An unassuming car that has been modified to be fast or
• A high powered car that comes from the factory and is a special edition that not many people will know about

An example of the third scenario might be a Galant VR-4, that almost looks like a normal Galant except for the VR4 badge and a twin turbo 280bhp engine

A bit of all 3 imo, essentially it's the surprise factor you would have over someone is something more blatant.

Carpentry

Any Mini Cooper S, usually 1.6 supercharged with 170 ponnies, looks like teenagers college car.

You wont get car looking more "usual" as this yet will trash you from the start.






Also any lad in sportified Glanza. Same thing as with Cooper S.

TallGlass

A sleeper car is a quick car that insurance companies give reasonable quotes on.

bladespin

TallGlass wrote: »

A sleeper car is a quick car that insurance companies give reasonable quotes on.

No, that's a unicorn or a hens tooth

whippet

It's always been the 190e cosworth for me .. especially the 2.5 without the mental evo spoiler

Sexual Chocolate

tedpan wrote: »

Yeah, sleepers usually give nothing away.

The Mondeo is nearly as good although if you're a car person, the alloys tell you it's a fast ford.

To be honest the alloys are ghia x spec wheels. They can be got from factory at the time with the 2.0 petrol and diesel (130bhp) and both V6's.

The J Stands for Jay

farna_boy wrote: »

I think the question that needs to be answered before we go any further is if a sleeper car is either

• A high powered car that is modified to look unassuming
• An unassuming car that has been modified to be fast or
• A high powered car that comes from the factory and is a special edition that not many people will know about

An example of the third scenario might be a Galant VR-4, that almost looks like a normal Galant except for the VR4 badge and a twin turbo 280bhp engine

.

Anyone who played Gran Turismo would spot a VR4 straight away.

farna_boy

McGaggs wrote: »

Anyone who played Gran Turismo would spot a VR4 straight away.

Debadge it and I wouldn't be so sure. Even at that most people wouldn't give it a second glance.

On the other hand most people would see the Glanza and the bonnet scoop and guess something was up, even if they just thought it was modified by a boy racer.

JohnBoy26

farna_boy wrote: »

Debadge it and I wouldn't be so sure. Even at that most people wouldn't give it a second glance.

On the other hand most people would see the Glanza and the bonnet scoop and guess something was up, even if they just thought it was modified by a boy racer.

They would though

Panrich

I came up behind a car a while back with a badge I didn't recognise and it was toddling along at abut 90 kph. I was debating whether to overtake when it took off and left me for dead in two seconds flat. It was stopped outside a shop in the next town and I got a close up of the badge. An internet search told me it was a Holden GTS.

farna_boy

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

They would though

I think you are vastly over estimating the amount of people who have either played Gran Turismo or give a flying **** about cars.

To be honest, I'm not sure that I would recognise a debadged vr4 since that era Galant was already aggressively styled.

The point I was trying to make was that if a car has a massive spoiler or a bonnet scoop, most people who don't care about cars will tweak that it isn't a normal slow/boring car.

Feel free to post your own version of sleeper cars so we don't get bogged down in crap though.

Phil.x

To me this is what sleepers are all about.

https://youtu.be/YN3hJIhREzs

grogi

Carpentry wrote: »

Any Mini Cooper S, usually 1.6 supercharged with 170 ponnies, looks like teenagers college car.

You wont get car looking more "usual" as this yet will trash you from the start.

Any self-respecting car lover will recognise Cooper S - it is obvious by the looks of its tail pipes. And everyone knows what an original Mini Cooper was...

bladespin

grogi wrote:

Any self-respecting car lover will recognise Cooper S - it is obvious by the looks of its tail pipes. And everyone knows what an original Mini Cooper was...

Not really about car lovers, they'll spot the tells; wider tyres, extra pipe etc, it's more for the 'I've a fast car' brigade who know f all about cars.

tedpan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAxNjwGCWac

Supergurrier

BMW E60 535D with a remap

Volvo S60 2.4 T5 with a remap

Hot hatches are not sleepers sorry

s15r330

Supergurrier wrote: »

BMW E60 535D with a remap

Volvo S60 2.4 T5 with a remap

Hot hatches are not sleepers sorry

I had a starlet that probably would have made a show of both of those, so sorry yourself!

jacksie66

This post has been deleted.