Top 4 best sleeper cars in Australia

Let’s talk sleepers. In fact, what is a sleeper car? In the motoring world, a sleeper is a vehicle that hides its performance potential from the world, only revealing its true potential when the driver nails the throttle.

Historically, sleepers have been the preserve of customisers and car modifiers as they attempt to fool onlookers into thinking their car is a run of the mill sedan or hatchback when, underneath, it’s actually a high performance weapon.

There’s a theory that the sleeper concept was born of the prohibition era in the USA when moonshine runners souped up stock looking cars as a means of outrunning the law while not drawing attention to themselves otherwise.

But the merits of the sleeper soon became more widely known and within the modified street-car culture, the sleeper is one of the most fascinating.

The street machine world has embraced the sleeper concept and some of the best sleeper cars Australia has ever produced include absolutely stock looking small cars like Cortinas, Escorts and Toyota Corollas, with gigantic engines and modified suspension, all hidden beneath standard bodywork.

Typically, the military world has played a part, too. Back in WW2, both sides used navy vessels that looked like normal merchant ships but were actually heavily armed and far from harmless.

Called the Q-ship, these sleepers of the oceans soon gave their name to the road-going variety, hence Q-car became another name for a sleeper.

Pop culture should take a bow for the promotion of the sleeper, too. Online games like Forza Horizon 5 (FH5) offer the chance for players to modify cars into sleepers, including European, American and Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) models.

Even TV shows like Street Outlaws have helped the sleeper cause. The ratty, dishevelled but seriously fast Farm Truck that stars in the show is a classic example of the sleeper concept.

Historically, the best way to get hold of a sleeper is to build your own or have a workshop tackle a sleeper for you. The individual nature of sleepers means there’s not really an online classifieds section for sleeper cars for sale, but if you know what you’re looking at, you’ll spot them in the fine print.

The best sleeper cars are the ones that nobody would ever imagine to be performance cars in the first place. So for any sleeper build car choice is critical.

You don’t want anything flashy or sporty looking, or the magic is lost before you even start. In fact, the best cheap sleeper cars tend to be the best sleepers full-stop, because the homely, lived-in look helps complete the illusion.

That said, you’ll still spend lots on making the thing perform sufficiently for it to be called a sleeper in the first place.

So much for the home-made sleeper, are there any cars out there right now that you can buy new and have yourself a sleeper of sorts?

Historically, there have been plenty. Things like the original BMW M5 or the Mercedes-Benz E500 (otherwise known as The Hammer) fit the bill with their sensible styling and stonking drivelines.

Japan, too, has produced a few sensible four-door bodies with banzai drivelines, starting with the Prince Skyline GT2000 way back in 1964, while Europe has contributed unassuming street rockets like the Audi RS4 Avant around the turn of the century.

And what about today’s crop of new cars…any sleepers hiding there? Well, yes there are. Obviously, car makers are loathe to paper over any sporty elements of their latest models, so the illusion is never as convincing as a home-made sleeper, but that’s not to say there are no brand-new cars that fall loosely into the sleeper category. So which ones would they be?

Tesla Model 3 Perf

Price: $80,900

It looks pretty much like any other Tesla 3 (or any other Tesla, for that matter) and there’s only really the Performance badge to give the game away. Until you floor the throttle, that is, when the twin motors of the 3 Performance conspire to fling you and it to 100km/h in about three seconds flat.

Pros: Stunningly priced given the performance.

Cons: You need to deal with the Tesla cultural baggage.

Kia EV6 GT

Price: $99,590

On the surface, it looks kind of like a cross between a big hatchback and an SUV. But under that lies a true performance car that can out accelerate plenty of Ferraris. All-wheel-drive makes it grippy, too.

Pros: Can charge at up to 350kW

Cons: Very little frunk space.

Audi RS6

Price: $249,915

Audi has always done a nice line in very fast wagons, and the current RS6 is no exception. If anything, it’s even better than the fast Avants that went before it. With a twin-turbo V8 engine and 441kW under its belt, it’s an awesome drive in a sensible package.

Pros: More than just thrust; there’s handling as well.

Cons: Expensive.

Ford Ranger Raptor

Price: $90,440

If you miss the wider track and bigger wheel arch flares, and it’s not painted in that shouty orange, a Raptor in a sober colour is a great sleeper. People think it will take off like any other diesel dual-cab, but the twin-turbo V6 petrol engine gives it almost 300kW and stomp to match.

Pros: It can still haul a load.

Cons: Hope you have a fuel card.