Q-Cars & Sleeper Cars: Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing

Ever since the invention of the automobile, we’ve always wanted to drive faster than we did before. There are some who like the flash that goes with the speed, so they buy flashy sports cars like a Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche or Corvette. Then, there are some who like to fly below the radar and drive a car that seems mundane and common at first glance, but actually has a lot of power under the hood. These are called the “sleeper” or Q-cars. The term was derived from “Q-ships” of World War I, which were heavily-armed military ships that were disguised as civilian passenger or cargo vessels to fool and lure enemy warships.

After World War II, the United States experienced a windfall of wealth. Car enthusiasts demanded bigger and powerful cars and the automakers indulged them. In 1949, at a time when most intermediate American cars have inline-6 engines that churned out around 80 horsepower, Oldsmobile stuffed a 135-hp 303 cubic-inch (5.0-liter) Rocket V8 into their intermediate model, marketed it as the Rocket 88, and created perhaps the first Q-car. It can blend in unnoticed with the cars of that era yet it can reach 60 mph (100 km/h) in a little over 12 seconds, reach the ¼ mile in 18 seconds, and reach a top speed of 161 km/h. It dominated NASCAR or the National Stock Car racing series for a number of years.

The Horsepower Wars

Oldsmobile, which was under General Motors at the time, unwittingly fired the first shot that started what would later be known as the “Horsepower Wars”. The Ford Motor Company was not going to take it lying down, and Chrysler Corporation, not to be outdone, came out with the first of the “Letter Cars”, the Chrysler C-300 in 1955. Powered by a 355-hp 331-cid (5.4-liter) FirePower Hemi V8 with hemispherical combustion chambers and two 4-barrel carburetors, it accelerated to 100 km/h in 10 secs, ran the ¼ mile in 17.6 secs and was the first production car to exceed 200 km/h. It became the new dominant force in NASCAR.

When the song “409” by the Beach Boys became a hit, people started buying the popular Chevrolet Impala Super Sport. However, some drag racers preferred the sleeper look of the 1962 Chevrolet Bel Air and ordered theirs with a 409-cid (6.7-liter) Chevy V8 that produced 380 hp in stock form, getting from 0-100 km/h in 7 secs, hitting the ¼ mile in 12.2 secs, and achieving a top speed 176 km/h. In 1964, Pontiac, another GM car brand, stuffed an engine from a full-size model, the 389-cid (6.4-liter) Tri-Power V8 with three 2-barrel Rochester 2G carburetors, into their intermediate Lemans model, called it the GTO, and started the Muscle Car era. With 348 hp, it did 0-100 km/h in 4.6 secs, ¼ mile in 13.1 secs, and a top speed of 184 km/h.

Powering the Pony Car Battle

Ford’s introduction of the Mustang in April 1964 created another fierce battle among the Big Three American automakers for the new “Pony Car” market. Chevrolet came out with the Camaro in 1967 but in 1969, several customers ordered Central Office Production Order (COPO 9560), which is popularly known as the ZL1. Chevy produced just 69 stock-looking Camaros with 427-cid (7.0-liter) aluminum big block V8s stuffed in the engine bay that make 430 hp at 5,200 rpm and 610 Nm at 4,400 rpm. These lightweight cars are quick, hitting 100 km/h in just 3.9 secs, hitting the ¼ mile in 11.3 secs, and hitting a top speed of 196 km/h.

Ford replied with their 1969 Mustang Boss 429, fitting 1,359 Mustangs with a 429-cid (7.0-liter) semi-hemi V8 that made 375 hp at 5,200 rpm and 610 Nm at 3,400 rpm. It reached 100 km/h in 6.8 secs, the ¼ mile in 14 secs, and a top speed 188 km/h. By the Seventies, Chevrolet was dominating the Muscle Car scene with the 1970 Chevelle SS 454. 4,476 customers ordered Chevelles that were fitted with the 454-cid (7.4-liter) big block V8 LS6, which produced 450 hp at 5,600 rpm and 678 Nm at 3,600 rpm, that got them from 0-100 km/h in 5.6 secs, run the ¼ mile in 13.4 secs, and achieve a top speed of 208 km/h.

Meanwhile in Sindelfingen, Germany…

When it seemed that there were not enough dictators, heads of states, millionaires and celebrities who bought their top-of-the-line Mercedes-Benz 600 Grosser limos, Daimler-Benz AG had an overrun of 6.3-liter M100 V8 engines with mechanical fuel injection. So, they stuffed the M100 V8 into the engine bays of 6,500 W108 long-wheelbase models and created a masterpiece – the 1963-1972 Mercedes-Benz 300SEL 6.3. Producing 250 hp at 4,000 rpm and a mighty 500 Nm of torque at 2,800 rpm, the 300SEL 6.3 accelerated from rest to 100 km/h in 6.6 secs, ran the ¼ mile in 14.2 secs, and comfortably cruised at a top speed of 220 km/h.

Despite the OPEC-led oil embargo that led to a global oil crisis in 1973, there continued to be a big demand for luxury Q-cars. Daimler-Benz increased the displacement of the M100 V8 to over 6.8 liters and installed them in 7,380 W116 long-wheelbase models to come up with a follow-up masterpiece, the 1975-1980 Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9. With 286 hp on tap at 4,250 rpm and 546 Nm of prodigious torque at 3,000 rpm, this W116, albeit a bit heavier than the W108 it replaced because of new safety regulations, sped to 100 km/h in 7.4 secs, took the ¼ mile in 15.2 secs, and ruled the highways at 225 km/h.

Growing Demand for Q-Cars

Meanwhile, the folks at Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW) installed the M88 inline-6 engines intended for their M1 mid-engine sports car into their midsize 4-door sedans. The 1984-1988 BMW M5 (E28) got the 3.5-liter M88/3 that produced 282 hp at 6,500 rpm and 340 Nm at 4,500 rpm to take just 6.1 seconds to hit 100 km/h from rest; take just 14.1 seconds to run 400 meters (¼ mile) and top off at 259 km/h. After the E28’s successful run, BMW followed up with the 1988-1995 M5 (E34), fitting the later models with a 3.8-liter S38B38 inline-6 that made 335 hp at 6,900 rpm; 400 Nm at 4,750 rpm; 0-100 km/h times of 5.6 secs; ¼ mile times of 14 secs; and top speeds of 257 km/h.

The Ford Motor Company wanted an affordable Q-car for the masses and commissioned Yamaha to build a compact 3.0-liter 60° DOHC V6 engine that they fitted into the first-generation 1989-1991 Ford Taurus SHO (Super High Output). The front-drive SHO went from 0-100 km/h in 6.6 secs, ran the ¼ mile in 15.5 secs and reached a top speed of 231 km/h. In Italy, Lancia took the opposite route and installed 32-valve DOHC V8 engines, meant for the Ferrari 328 GTB/GTS sports cars, and shoehorned these exotic engines into the 1986-1992 Lancia Thema 8.32. The unassuming 4-door sedans with Ferrari V8 engines took just 7.6 seconds to accelerate from zero to 100 km/h, 17.1 seconds to cover the 400 meters (¼ mile) and take its five occupants to 237 km/h without a breaking a sweat.

Q-Cars into the Late Eighties & Nineties

The sixth generation of the Mitsubishi Galant (E33) midsize 4-door sedan, which was made from 1987 to 1994, produced a rally-proven variant that is quintessential Q-car. The Galant VR-4 Turbo AWD is powered by a turbocharged 2.0-liter 4G63 DOHC 16-valve inline-4 that spools up 195 hp and 275 Nm of torque, and then distributes it to all 4 wheels to accelerate to 100 km/h in 7.3 secs, reach the ¼ mile in 15.6 secs and attain a 215 km/h top speed. Another Japanese automaker, Nissan, decided that the quickest way to make a factory Q-car is to make a 4-door version of its racy Skyline GT-R and call it a day.

Mercedes-Benz couldn’t leave well enough alone and stuffed a 164-hp, 228-Nm 2.6-liter M103 inline-6 from the W124 midsize sedan into the W201 4-door compact sedan. The 1986-1988 190E 2.6 Sportline looked like any other 190E except that it accelerated faster to 100 km/h in 8.2 secs, reached the ¼ mile in 16.5 secs and sped up to 216 km/h. In 1996, Volvo stuffed a 247-hp 350-Nm turbocharged 2.3-liter 5-cylinder into their 850 model and went racing. The 850R Wagon took just 7 seconds to get to 100 km/h, 16.3 seconds to cover 400 meters, and hit a 240 km/h maximum velocity.

From Mundane to Dressed-up

The 7th-generation Chevrolet Caprice became a staple of taxi cabs and police cars in the mid-90s. GM made a civilian version of the Caprice police-package by installing the 260-hp, 447-Nm 5.7-liter LT-1 V8 from the Corvette and enhancing the braking and handling of the Caprice. The 1994-1996 Impala SS may have had a short production life but it terrorized the streets with its 6.5-sec 0-100 km/h acceleration, 15-sec quarter mile times, and 230 km/h top speed.

At the dawn of the SUV’s popularity, GM’s truck brand added a turbocharger to their corporate 4.3-liter V6 to produce 280 hp and 488 Nm and create the 1992-1993 GMC Typhoon. The midsize 3-door SUV went from 0-100 km/h in 5.3 secs, reached the ¼ mile in 14.1 secs, and achieved a top speed 203 km/h. But the Typhoon, and its Syclone pickup truck sibling, with their lowered suspension, bright wheels and low-profile tires, spoilers and aero packages, precluded the GMC duo from being real Q-cars.  After all, a sleeper or Q-car does not announce itself immediately. It just quietly leaves other vehicles in the dust, either at stoplight drag races, at quarter mile strips, or on long fast highways.

Revising Plans for Our Project Car

There are many other Q-cars that we have not mentioned but we hope you get the point. Q-cars are made to look inconspicuous and look like their slower stablemates but in reality, they pack a lot of power and can accelerate quicker, cover the quarter mile faster, and reach higher velocities that only flashier and purpose-built sports cars can reach. Truth be told, while working on this article, we started to think of revising the restoration plan for our 1983 Mercedes-Benz 500SE (W126) project car. Instead of turning it into a clone of George Harrison’s 500SEL AMG, were thinking of keeping the look all-stock but we would like to have M117 V8 engine balanced, blueprinted and its displacement increased from 5.0-liters to 6.0-liters to add power and torque.

Since our is an early W126 (1979-1985) with ribbed side claddings, we’d like to replace the 15-inch Benz-2 wheels and 215/65R15 tires that came with our project car, and reinstall original “Mexican Hat” Bundt alloy wheels, except we’ll use 15-inch ones from the R107 SL instead of the factory-fitted 14-inch Bundts. Then, we will install slightly fatter 225/60R15 tires for better traction, install Brembo disc brakes, and upgrade the shock absorbers and suspension components, to make it handle better. We’re even thinking of having it repainted back to its original Lapis Blue metallic factory finish to make it look factory stock. We’re getting excited just by imagining our W126 turn into a luxury Q-ship, err… Q-car/sleeper, where only the keen eye of a true-blue Mercedes-Benz aficionado can spot the subtle modifications.

Oh boy, these plans are beginning to sound really expensive. Hmm… Now, we’re wondering, “Why, oh why, did we get into this Q-car / sleeper car story in the first place?” Perhaps we’re just real car enthusiasts who wants some subtlety with speed.