5 Subtle Yet Shockingly Quick Cars That Prove Sleepers Aren't Dead

Earlier this week, Mercedes revealed the AMG E43 estate. And while it looks fairly ordinary from the outside, it’s hiding a little secret under its curvaceous bonnet: a 395bhp, twin-turbo V6. This flies in the face of the argument that the modern-day sleeper has all but died out. Hell, a few years ago a CT writer even made that statement on these very pages.

But I wholeheartedly disagree, as the E43 is by no means alone in being a Q car you can buy new. Let’s take a look at some of the finest modern-day sleepers while I take you through the various points of my counter argument:

Mercedes-AMG C63

Impressive though the E43 is, it’s not a full on ‘63’ AMG. But while the new E63 is yet to be revealed, the smaller C63 saloon has been around for a while, and even though it’s available with up to 503bhp, you still have to look closely to find out it’s not a regular C-Class.

This forms the first point of my argument: there are still top-of-the-line performance saloons and estates that can fly under the radar.

BMW 340i

For the second part of my argument, we have to look to the BMW 340i. Yes, there’s no way you’ll ever mistake the current M3 as a boggo 3-series, what with its wide arches, vents and overall I’m going to punch you in the face look, but you must not forget the 340i that sits below the M Division machine is a seriously fast car in its own right.

With a 0-60mph time under five seconds, it’s faster that the vast majority of cars you’ll encounter on the road, and other than the 340i badge and the small twin exhaust pipes, there really isn’t really much here to tell this 322bhp saloon apart from an M Sport-kitted 320d.

Audi S4

The 340i isn’t alone in being the more discreet baby brother to a loud and proud performance car. Throughout its life, the Audi S4 has always been the subtle antidote to the wide-arched RS4, and while we’re yet to see the latest A4 be RS’d, it’ll almost certainly be all about muscular bodywork and lashings of honeycomb plastics.

The new S4 on the other hand? It’s arguably the most understated version yet, despite packing a 349bhp punch. Some might argue it goes a little too far in that regard, but not everyone wants a car that shouts about its performance.

Mercedes-AMG A45

For the third part of my argument, we have to look at another Mercedes: the AMG A45. Subtle it is not, but despite that, it’s a seriously fast car that’s easy to miss. Why? Because you can spec almost exactly the same bodykit (I’m talking about the one minus the silly, giant rear wing seen on some A45s) on almost any A-Class thanks to the ‘AMG Line’ option - even on the lowly 120bhp A180.

Do I find this irksome? Certainly, but the sheer amount of these AMG Line-kitted A-Classes knocking around means it’s now much harder to spot an A45, effectively making it a sleeper. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve almost passed an A45 without noticing, only to clock eyes on the badging or the giveaway bigger brakes at the last minute.

This whole ethos of making the slower cars in the range look like the hotter ones is becoming more common (even Ford is at it with ‘ST Line‘), giving us a whole new way of looking at the concept of a Q car.

Tesla Model S

My fourth and final argument is ignorance. Now, this will immediately count out pretty much all petrolheads from the equation, but how many people spot a Tesla Model S and instantly know what it is, and its performance potential? I’ve criticised the Model S in the past for looking much too generic, but the plus side of that is most people simply aren’t going to pay any attention to these cars, so long as they’re not specced with spangly 21-inch wheels.

And yet, all versions of the Model S - even the newly revealed 60 and 60D - are quick, and the range-topping P90D has genuine supercar pace. I’ll never forget the faces pulled by a bunch of French teenagers in a clapped out old Citroen we passed in the now discontinued P85 on our London to Paris road trip: they clearly had no idea what this car was, or how it could move so damn fast.

Have another modern-day sleeper to suggest? Think I’m an idiot and my arguments are flawed? Get to the comments!