This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
A sleeper (American English) or Q-car (British English) is a car that boasts high performance while having an unassuming exterior. [1] [2] [3] Sleepers are usually developed on the platform of a non-athletic class of vehicle, most often that of an economy car. In addition to looking modest, a sleeper car may sometimes appear to be a "beater" — a car that is in a visibly poor condition due to seeming neglect and lack of maintenance on the owner's part — though this is intentional and commonly described as "all go and no show"; these cars are internally modified to achieve very competitive levels of performance while being presented as a standard or neglected car. The American name for this type of vehicle comes from the term sleeper agent, whereas the British name is derived from the Q-ships used by the Royal Navy.
The British term has been in use since the aftermath of World War II. In the February 1963 issue of Motor Sport magazine, British journalist Bill Boddy states: "the modifications carried out by Lotus have turned the Lotus Cortina into a 'Q' car par excellence" in a highlight of the high-performance Cortina's unassuming exterior. Likewise, in the 1956 British film The Long Arm (known as The Third Key in the United States), the term is used in reference to unmarked police cars patrolling the city of London by night, indicating that it was in use among British law enforcement at least a decade earlier. [4]
In July 1964, British magazine Motorcycle Mechanics carried an announcement from editor Bill Lawless of the use of two unmarked police "Q-cars" — a black Daimler SP250 and a green Austin A40 Farina — patrolling the A20, a road between London and Maidstone. [5]
The Chrysler 300 letter series began in 1955 with the Chrysler C-300. [6] [7] With a 331 in3 (5.4 L) FirePower V8, the engine was the first in a production passenger car to be rated at 300 hp (220 kW), and was by a comfortable margin the most powerful in American cars of the time. By 1957, with the 300C, power was up to 375 hp (280 kW).[ citation needed ] These cars were among the first sleepers,[ citation needed ] marketed as high-end luxury cars from the traditional luxury marque Chrysler, but with a high-end homologation racing engine. However, these cars lose their "sleeper value"[ opinion ] due to both their rarity (this series was highly luxurious; it was made in limited numbers and examples are very expensive), and the well publicized successes of Carl Kiekhaefer in NASCAR racing (1955–1956); though the model is an important precursor of the muscle car.
The 1968 Mercedes-Benz 300SEL 6.3 was a powerful sedan with a subdued exterior. [6] [8] [9] A trend of overtly powerful saloon cars with subtle body modifications is exemplified by the work of Mercedes-AMG and Brabus on unassuming Mercedes saloons.
The 1986 Lancia Thema 8.32, fitted with a Ferrari V8 engine, has been described by Road & Track as "one of the weirder sleepers to come out of the 1980s". [10] [11]
The car which is most often credited[ who? ][ citation needed ] as the start of the production Q-car trend in Europe is the 1990 Lotus Omega, which started out as an Opel Omega/Vauxhall Carlton. [6] [12]
The first Q-car was invented by the Soviet NKVD in 1938,[ citation needed ] when imported Ford flathead V8 engines were installed on GAZ M-1 cars. After WWII they were replaced by GAZ M-20G cars equipped with adapted powertrain from GAZ-12 ZIM and special-purpose equipment. Those, as well as their successors, were available either in black color (or possibly GAI road police livery) for the security details of the KGB's 9th Directorate or in common colors for the surveillance teams of the 7th Directorate. After the M-20 was discontinued, 603 GAZ-23 cars were produced in 1962-1970, combining modified GAZ-21 body with slanted GAZ-13 engine and transmission, better brakes and KGB equipment. They were followed by similar GAZ-24 modifications: GAZ-24-24, -25, -34 and -35, over 2000 mostly produced during 1970s and 1980s. GAZ-31012 and 31013 based on the GAZ-3102 were only produced in black in very small numbers (~300) starting from 1985. In Post-Soviet Russia the practice was discontinued, with special services acquiring imported cars.[ who? ][ citation needed ]
Some vehicle owners create sleepers by swapping more powerful engines, [13] or making other performance modifications, like adding a supercharger or turbocharger, leaving the external appearance as it came from the factory. Sometimes hints of the car's true nature are visible: wider tires, a lower stance, or a different engine tone or exhaust note. Gauges and instrumentation are often kept to a minimum. Some owners go as far as to use weight reduction techniques employed by other performance enthusiasts, removing items not fundamental to street racing, such as rear seats, trim, spare tire, air conditioner, power steering, or heater; bumpers and headlights may also be replaced with lighter items.
The Chrysler 300 "letter series" are high-performance personal luxury cars that were built by Chrysler in the U.S. from 1955 to 1965 and were a sub-model from the Chrysler New Yorker. After the initial year, which was named C-300 for its standard 300 hp (220 kW) 331 cu in (5.4 L) FirePower V8, the 1956 cars were designated 300B. Successive model years were given the next letter of the alphabet as a suffix, reaching the 300L by 1965, after which the model sequence was discontinued while the "300" remained. At its introduction it was advertised as "America's Most Powerful Car".
The Mercedes-Benz S-Class, formerly known as Sonderklasse, is a series of full-sized luxury sedans, limousines and armored sedans produced by the German automaker Mercedes-Benz. The S-Class is the designation for top-of-the-line Mercedes-Benz models and was officially introduced in 1972 with the W116, and has remained in use ever since. The S-Class is the flagship vehicle for Mercedes-Benz.
The Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL 6.3 was a full-sized luxury performance car built by Mercedes-Benz from 1968 to 1972. It featured the company's powerful 6.3-litre M100 V8 from the flagship 600 (W100) limousine installed in the normally six-cylinder powered Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL (W109). The result was a nearly 2-ton sports sedan with muscle car performance. At the time of its release it was one of the world's fastest four-door cars.
The Chrysler 300 is a full-size luxury car manufactured and marketed by Stellantis North America and its predecessor companies as a four-door sedan and station wagon in its first generation and solely as a four-door sedan in its second generation.
The Mercedes-Benz G-Class, sometimes colloquially called the G-Wagen is a four-wheel drive automobile manufactured by Magna Steyr in Austria and sold by Mercedes-Benz. Originally developed as a military off-roader, later more luxurious models were added to the line. In certain markets, it was sold under the Puch name as Puch G until 2000.
The Mercedes-Benz GLE, formerly Mercedes-Benz M-Class, is a mid-size luxury SUV produced by the German manufacturer Mercedes-Benz since 1997. In terms of size, it is slotted in between the smaller GLC and the larger GLS, the latter with which it shares platforms.
The Lancia Thema is an executive car produced by the Italian automaker Lancia between 1984 and 1994, and one of four cars to share the Type Four platform alongside the Alfa Romeo 164, Fiat Croma and Saab 9000. The Thema was first shown in Turin Motor Show in 1984.
Brabus GmbH is a German high-performance automotive aftermarket tuning company founded in 1977 in Bottrop. Brabus specialises mainly in Mercedes-Benz, Maybach and Smart vehicles. They have also modified other vehicles too, including Porsche.
The Mercedes-Benz W211 is the third generation Mercedes-Benz E-Class made from 2001 to 2009 in sedan/saloon and station wagon/estate configurations – replacing the W210 E-Class models and superseded by the Mercedes-Benz W212 in 2009.
The Mercedes-Benz W126 is a series of passenger cars made by Daimler-Benz AG. It was marketed as the second generation of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, and manufactured in sedan/saloon (1979–1991) as well as coupé (1981–1990) models, succeeding the company's W116 range. Mercedes-Benz introduced the 2-door C126 coupé model, marketed as the SEC, in September 1981. This generation was the first S-Class to have separate chassis codes for standard and long wheelbases and for coupé (C126).
Renntech Inc. is an American high-performance automotive aftermarket tuning company founded in 1989 in with headquarters in Stuart, Florida. RENNtech specializes in engineering, designing and manufacturing parts for Mercedes-Benz, AMG, Maybach and Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vehicles as well as European luxury vehicles. RENNtech also operates a full Motorsport division named RENNtech Motorsports fielding a Mercedes-AMG GT4 racecar in SRO's North American GT -series. RENNtech Classics was founded to offer a wider range of services for owners of early RENNtech, Pre-Merger AMG, and Classic Mercedes-Benz vehicles.
The Dodge Charger is a full-size four-door sedan, first introduced at the 2005 North American International Auto Show and built by American automobile manufacturer Stellantis North America, a subsidiary of Stellantis. It is available in rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive drivetrains. The Charger was developed to continue the Dodge Charger line with its muscle car heritage, and replaced the Dodge Intrepid as Dodge's full-size sedan. The seventh generation Charger debuted for the 2011 model year.
The Daimler 2.5 V8/V8-250 is a four-door saloon which was produced by The Daimler Company Limited in the United Kingdom from 1962 to 1969. It was the first Daimler car to be based on a Jaguar platform, the first with a unit body, and the last to feature a Daimler engine after the company was bought from the Birmingham Small Arms Company by Jaguar Cars in 1960. The engine is the hemispherical head V8 designed by Edward Turner and first used in the Daimler SP250 sports car.
The ME Four-Twelve is an American high-performance concept car that was engineered, developed and produced by Chrysler in 2004. The name is a combination of the Mid-Engine with Four turbochargers on a Twelve cylinder engine.
Executive car is a British term for a large car which is equivalent to the European E-segment and American full-size classifications. Executive cars are larger than compact executive cars, and smaller than luxury saloons / full-size luxury sedans.
Daimler V-8 engines were designed for the Daimler Company by Edward Turner and produced from 1959 to 1969. Initially used in the SP250 sports car and the Majestic Major saloon, the engine was mostly used in the Daimler 2.5 V8 saloon made with Jaguar Mark 2 unit bodies from 1962 to 1969. Approximately 20,000 of the 2.5-litre version of the engine were made for use in the SP250 and the 250 saloon, while approximately 2,000 of the 4.5-litre version were made for use in the Majestic Major saloon and its limousine variant which remained in production until 1968.
The Daimler SP250 is a sports car built by the Daimler Company, a British manufacturer in Coventry, from 1959 to 1964. It was the last car to be launched by Daimler before its parent company, the Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA), sold it to Jaguar Cars in 1960.
A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration.
The Sunbeam Tiger is a high-performance V8 version of the British Rootes Group's Sunbeam Alpine roadster, designed in part by American car designer and racing driver Carroll Shelby and produced from 1964 until 1967. Shelby had carried out a similar V8 conversion on the AC Cobra, and hoped to be offered the contract to produce the Tiger at his facility in the United States. Rootes decided instead to contract the assembly work to Jensen at West Bromwich in England, and pay Shelby a royalty on every car produced.