Drivers who like to flaunt their financial wellbeing or their appurtenance to the society’s upper echelons have always had an appetite for flashy cars: red Ferraris, yellow Lamborghinis, orange McLarens, and so on.

At the opposite end of the table are the drivers that sit on a lot of horsepower but don’t want those around them to know that right away. That’s how sleeper cars were born and here’s 10 of the best such machines ever made.

What is a sleeper car?

Before we delve into the good stuff, we need to establish what’s a sleeper car and what are its main traits. So, here’s the thing.

To put things into perspective, the antonym of a sleeper car is a rice burner, or something an 18-year-old that saw 2 Fast 2 Furious is likely to drive. Don’t confuse a rice burner with a tuner car, because the latter can smoke the living daylight out of fully-blown supercars, while the rice burner is just a distasteful example of car mods wrapped around a puny engine that has seen no improvements whatsoever.

So, let’s recap. Certain cars are worthy of the sleeper car status because 1) they pack a lot of oomph and 2) they don’t show it until they’ve made you eat their dust. That said, here are our top sleeper car picks. Oh, and keep in mind that you can get a blast in cheap sleeper cars too. It’s all about having loads of power while remaining inconspicuous.

2017 Chevrolet SS

The now-defunct Chevrolet SS was, in our book, one of the ultimate sleeper cars ever built. The U.S.-sold Chevy SS was, in fact, Australia’s Holden Commodore. Also, not to be confused with the Chevrolet SS concept introduced in 2003 at the Detroit Motor Show.

It was all channeled to the rear wheels through a six-speed automatic or a Tremec six-speed manual that came as a no-cost option. Other goodies included Magnetic Ride Control adaptive suspension, Brembo brakes, and, of course, a 0-60 mph time of 4.5 seconds. A sleeper sedan of epic proportions, that’s what we’d call it.

2017 Chevrolet SS specifications

Read our full review on the 2017 Chevrolet SS

2004 Pontiac GTO

Another Aussie-US of A love story this one. A rebadged Holden Monaro, the Pontiac GTO was Bob Lutz’s American child so to speak, as the GM head honcho insisted the Chevrolet should offer it in the U.S.

For the GTO, the power coordinates were pretty straightforward. Without flaunting an overly-burly body, the 2004 Pontiac GTO sent 350 horsepower and 365 pound-feet of torque to the rear wheels exclusively via Hydra-Matic four-speed automatic gearbox. You could also opt for the $695 Tremec six-speed manual.

0-60 mph took 5.3 seconds and in optimum conditions, the quarter-mile run didn’t last more than 13.62 seconds at 104.7 mph.

2004 Pontiac GTO specifications

Read our full review on the 2004 Pontiac GTO

Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG

When it met the public at the 2002 Paris Motor Show, the E55 AMG was the world’s fastest production sedan. It was powered by a monster 5.4-liter V-8 slapped with a supercharger (the engine was the same as the one inside the SL55 AMG) and tweaked to produce 469 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque. Power reached the asphalt through a quick-firing five-speed automatic gearbox, allowing the E55 to blast from 0 to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds while looking like your wealthy grandad’s daily driver.

Top speed was limited at 155 mph, of course, but that doesn’t change the fact that the luxo-barge could send you to your destination in plushness and style alike. To put things into perspective, a same-era Audi RS 6 came with 450 horsepower and 415 pound-feet of torque on tap.

Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG specifications

Read our full review on the Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG

Audi RS2

The coolest thing about the Audi RS2 isn’t its power or road-handling abilities. The Quattro all-wheel-drive setup made sure each wheel is fed with some of the 311 horsepower and 308 pound-feet of torque cranked out by the 2.2-liter inline-five engine.

The brakes were sourced from Porsche, the suspension too, while the wheels and the side mirrors were taken as is from the (964) 911 Turbo. To top everything off, 0-60 mph came in just 4.8 seconds and in case the law permitted it, you could carry on the sprint to over 160 mph. Or you could just as well take the whole family on a long summer road trip with enough room for everyone’s luggage without anyone suspecting of what hides under that Nogaro Blue bodywork.

Audi RS2 specifications

1991 GMC Syclone

Yeah, the Syclone is that truck that you saw pitted against Ferraris. Jay Leno used to drive his every day. Jeremy Clarkson said that the Syclone’s interior “has about as much style as the gentlemen lavatories at the motorway service stations.” None of this matters, though, because the Syclone was an absolut beast in terms of performance.

In all, the Syclone cranked out 280 ponies at 4,400 rpm and smashed them on the asphalt via a full-time four-wheel-drive setup fitted with a center diff and a limited-slip diff on the rear axle. By the way, the rear axle got 65 percent of the grunt, while the rest went to the front wheels. The quarter mile was conquered in 14.1 seconds, with top speed set at 126 mph. And there was nothing about its appearance that gave away all that.

Audi RS2 specifications

2003 Mercury Marauder

The Mercury Marauder was nothing else but a Ford Panther-platform Grand Marquis underneath. However, its personality was completely different. Motivated by a 4.6-liter DOHC V-8 with four-valve cylinders good for 302 horsepower at 5,750 rpm, the Marauder sent power to the rear wheels via a four-speed auto ‘box, a limited-slip diff and an all-aluminum driveshaft - the last two were taken from the Ford Crown Victoria police interceptor. Torque came in at 318 pound-feet of twist, fully unleashed at 4,300 rpm.

0-60 mph came in 7.5 seconds and you could zap from start to finish on a drag race strip in 15.5 seconds at 91 mph. Just under 8,000 units were made, but boy, this sedan could smoke you in an instant if you didn’t give it the right amount of respect.

Audi RS2 specifications

Mazdaspeed6

The Mazdaspeed6 (MPS for the rest of the world) was a lot of things: fun, well-balanced, and all in all, a declaration of on-the-road control. It was also a darn good sleeper car.

Offered only as a sedan and with an Aisin-sourced six-speed manual, the Mazdaspeed6 started at $28,555. Not quite the bargain, you’d say, and that would be true. Yet the bag of goodies it brought was worth every penny, including the full stable of 274 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque.

The Atenza-borrowed all-wheel-drive setup read wheel slip, steering angle, and throttle position (plus yaw and lateral g forces) and sent power accordingly to where you needed it via a limited-slip rear diff taken from the RX-8. 0-60 mph came in 6.2 seconds thanks to a turbocharged 2.3-liter DOHC MZR engine (heavily revised) while top speed was 149 mph.

Mazdaspeed6 specifications

Read our full review on the Mazdaspeed6

Ford Taurus SHO (4th generation)

Super High Output. The 2010 Ford Taurus SHO had that in abundance. Unveiled in Chicago back in 2009, the Taurus SHO was slapped with all-wheel-drive and built on the Ford D3 platform. Have no doubts, it was a heavy beast, tipping the scales at as much as 4,358 pounds.

Customers could also pick the SHO Performance pack, which chipped in with better cooling, high-performance brake pads, 20-inch aluminum wheels, a new track mode for the ESC, and Goodyear Eagle F1 tires. Other goodies included power steering, on-demand all-wheel drive, and brake-based torque vectoring. 0-60 took just 5.2 seconds, while the quarter mile was cleared in 13.7 seconds at 103.2 mph.

Ford Taurus SHO specifications

Read our full review on the Ford Taurus SHO

Volvo V70 R

Yes, the V70 R is one of the coolest sleeper cars available. A descendant of the bonkers Volvo 850 T-5R (yes, the Cream Yellow one), the V70 R packed a DOHC, 20-valve 2.5-liter turbo inline-five engine. Power was rated at 300 horsepower and came in full at 5,500 rpm, while the 295 pound-feet of torque got to scream the loudest from a low as 1,950 rpm.

Fitted with a five-speed auto, the V70 R offered only 258 pound-feet of torque, but those who wanted the six-speed manual got the full plate. It also featured a smartass electronic shock-valve control developed by Öhlins and Monroe, which kept it glued to the road. Seven people could be accommodated in the V70 R if needed, so yeah, it’s a sleeper alright.

Volvo V70 R specifications

Read our full review on the Volvo V70 R

BMW E60 M5

We could never decide what’s more awesome about the BMW E60 M5: its V-10 engine and the fact that BMW offered it as a sedan AND wagon. Nevertheless, the E60 M5 is one of the best sleeper cars to come out of Germany, one that lapped the famed Nürburgring in just eight minutes and 13 seconds while looking like your run-of-the-mill executive sedan; except for the M wheels, perhaps.

It mated to the SMG sequential M gearbox (North America got a six-speed manual as well!!!) and could shoot from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 4.7 seconds in sedan guise and 4.8 seconds as a station wagon, although independent media outlets managed to record sprints of 4.1 seconds.

The E60 M5 was, back in 2005 when it came out of BMW’s Dingolfing plant, the fastest four-door production sedan money could buy, thanks to a top speed of 190 mph (unlocked with the optional M driver’s pack). However, the E60 M5 was known for rod bearing failure, so there was that.

BMW E60 M5 specifications

Read our full review on the BMW E60 M5