SLIDESHOW The greatest Q-cars of all time e don’t need to tell you that the Lamborghini Aventador SVJ is quick. It would still look like a fast car even if it were powered by a lawnmower engine. But at the other end of the spectrum, there’s a whole group of cars that conceal powerful drivetrains beneath the metal of a normal car. So let’s take a look at some of the best ‘sleepers’ ever sold and check up on how easy they are to buy today.
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Mercedes-Benz 500E 1991-1994
Lancia Thema 8.32 1986-1992
Volkswagen Passat W8 2001-2004
Rover 75 V8 2004-2005
The Thema 8.32 is an anonymous-looking saloon with a 212bhp 3.0-litre V8 from Ferrari stuffed in its nose. Mad, but it wasn’t actually much faster than the Thema Turbo, with its boosted 2.0-litre four-pot. The 8.32 could do 0-60mph in 6.8sec and topped out at 149mph, while the Turbo – which cost half as much – was pegged at 7.6sec and 140mph. Even worse, later cars fitted with a catalyst could manage only 7.2sec and 140mph. Nonetheless, what a thing. From £19,000 today.
Since its introduction in 1973, the Passat had long been a byword for anonymity – until 2001, when Volkswagen made a version with a 266bhp 4.0-litre W8 engine. It took just 6.3sec to reach 60mph, benefited from Volkswagen’s 4Motion four-wheel drive system and in most places had a standard six-speed manual gearbox. Only model-specific wheels, a small W8 badge and quad exhaust tips set it apart from less powerful variants. Used ones are available from £5000.
Running out of money fast, Rover decided to rework the 75 saloon and estate for rear-wheel drive and the 256bhp 4.6-litre V8 from the Ford Mustang. Only a model-specific grille and alloy wheels set the V8 apart from lesser 75s. Fewer than 100 were ever made. The sleeper to have that’s also a unicorn is the Tourer estate version, only 17 examples of which were ever made. The rarity of the V8 75 has enhanced values today, so you won’t get one for less than £25,000.
Volvo S80 V8 2006-2010
Tesla Model S P100D/Performance
BMW 550i 2010-2017
Thanks to Tesla’s forward-thinking design, the Model S still looks high-tech and desirable today, but let’s face it, it doesn’t look like a car that can blast from a standing start to 62mph in as little as 2.3sec, does it? That makes it comfortably (or, more accurately, uncomfortably) faster than the Lamborghini Huracán Performante. You can buy a used one today from around £50,000.
The 402bhp V8 BMW 550i may lack the glamour and power of the M5, but those model-specific twin exhausts give the Q-car game away. Most examples came fully loaded, and performance was swift: 0-62mph was dispatched in 5.0sec. There are around 350 on UK roads today, but the one you want is the Touring estate, and just a handful of these were ever sold in the UK. F10-generation 550is cost from £13,000 today.
Few luxury cars look more innocuous than Volvo’s S80. Most examples were powered by a 2.0-litre diesel engine, but it also was available with a silkysmooth 310bhp Yamaha V8 that sent its power to all four wheels. Cars so equipped look no different from their much humbler relations; only small V8 badges give the game away. It’s another sleeper that’s also a unicorn, with just 92 on UK roads today. A few are for sale from about £10,000.
82 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 16 MARCH 2022
2016-present
ROGER SMITH
It took a well-trained eye to tell the Mercedes-Benz 500E (W124 generation) apart from its cheaper, less powerful siblings doing taxi duty. It received a powertrain-specific front bumper, flared wheel arches and, of course, a model-name badge on its rear. Enthusiasts knew what they were seeing, but everyday motorists assumed it was an everyday E-Class with blownout suspension. Pushing the front wheels out was necessary to fit the 322bhp 5.0-litre V8, but this made it too wide for the W124 production line, so it was built by frenemy Porsche, and rather slowly: each of the 10,479 examples took 18 days. It was good for 0-60mph in just 6.1sec. A 500E isn’t easy to find today, but examples are to be had from around £25,000.
