7 Factory Sleeper Sedans With Real V8 Power

Every enthusiast loves sleeper cars. There’s no better feeling than knowing you can beat a sports car or a supercar at the lights in your fairly ordinary-looking sedan. Some of those sleepers hide powertrains under their skins that are not only genuinely great, but can start knocking on the door of supercars in terms of their performance. Some might even have engines that have genuine supercar heritage! We’ve put a list together of 7 of the best of those out there. These cars all have genuine V8 power, and the potential to worry the best sports cars and supercars.

7

Lincoln Mark VIII LSC

Power: 290 hp

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4.6-liter V8	4-speed automatic	Rear-wheel drive	290 hp	295 lb-ft

The Lincoln Mark VIII LSC is perhaps one of America’s most forgotten luxury cars. It was easily the most technologically advanced American production car at the time. This car had computer-controlled air suspension, an all-speed traction control system, and a dashboard that was stuffed full of digital systems and computer screens. Its heavy focus on tech was done for a reason. This was supposed to be able to directly compete with the best European and Japanese luxury cars of the time, like the E31 BMW 8 Series and the original Lexus SC. It was also the first production car to use Ford’s 4.6-liter Modular V8 (known as the Intech V8 in Lincoln models), before it made its way into the SN95 Ford Mustang.

The Lincoln Mark VIII’s factory power may not be incredibly impressive. But, thanks to this car having the Ford Modular V8, there’s a whole load of aftermarket tuning options available for it. Add these upgrades to one, and it could easily turn into an absolute performance monster that nobody would suspect.

6

Pontiac Grand Prix GXP

Power: 303 hp

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If you looked at a Pontiac Grand Prix GXP, you would think it’s a normal American sedan from the 2000s. If anything, it looks a little on the frumpy side for one of those types of cars! But, there’s a beast of an engine hiding under the skin. Specifically, it’s the 5.3-liter LS4 V8. This is the same engine that was used in the sixth-generation Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS, an incredibly underrated American muscle car. This engine was specifically designed to be able to fit into front-wheel drive platforms like the Pontiac Grand Prix’s, and it has the same cylinder head casting as the LS6 V8 that powers the C5-generation Chevrolet Corvette Z06.

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The Pontiac Grand Prix GXP doesn’t get all the enthusiast points it could, due to being automatic-only and front-wheel drive. You really cannot argue with that LS4 engine, though! This otherwise ordinary GM sedan has so many of the right ingredients you need for a great sleeper car.

5

Infiniti Q45 (F50)

Power: 340 hp

At first glance, the third-generation Infiniti Q45 is an ordinary upmarket sedan. If anything, it’s probably a little bit on the more boring end of a car of its type. Under that fairly plain skin, though, is a monster of an engine. This car is exclusively powered by the VK45DE V8. In this version of the Infiniti Q45, it produces 340 horsepower. But, it’s capable of producing a lot more. Nissan also made a flat-plane version of this engine for motorsport use. Producing 450-490 horsepower, this flat-plane version was used for the Super GT versions of the Nissan 350Z and the R35 Nissan GT-R. It was also used in the Zytek Z11SN, Oreca 03, and Dome S103 LMP2 cars.

With the racing-adjacent heritage in that VK45DE engine, the third-generation Infiniti Q45 really does tick so many of the sleeper sedan boxes. If you’re driving this around, nobody would ever guess that there’s a potentially very racy powertrain under the hood.

4

BMW M5 (E39)

Power: 394 hp

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The E39 BMW M5 has to be one of the most celebrated versions of the M5 that’s ever been made. It’s the last bastion of the traditional way of making an M5, before the incredibly tech-focused versions of later years. It’s also got much more sleeper credentials than subsequent generations of the M5. It’s much more understated than those later versions, with only a few visual differences that set it apart from a more regular E39 5 Series. The main thing that makes this an M5 is that 4.9-liter S62 V8. Not only did this make it the first M5 to have a V8, but it also shared this unit with the BMW Z8, the Ascari KZ1, and the Ascari A10.

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The E39 BMW M5 isn’t as much of a sleeper car as it was when it first appeared. Enthusiasts know plenty about what it’s capable of, and it’s become highly desirable as the last “analog” M5. But, its understated appearance combined with the genuine supercar heritage its engine has means it absolutely qualifies to be on this list.

3

Audi RS6 (C5)

Power: 444 hp

The first generation of the Audi A6 is a really unassuming executive sedan. But, a lot of people think it’s one of Audi’s best cars. A big part of that has to do with the fantastic RS6 variant. Produced in the final couple of years of the C5 A6’s production run, the RS6 has a twin-turbocharged version of Audi’s phenomenal 4.2-liter V8. This is an engine that, in both naturally aspirated and turbocharged form, has powered a slew of great Audis. That has included the first generation of the R8 supercar! In the C5 RS6, this engine has proper 2000s supercar levels of power at 444 horsepower and 413 lb-ft of torque. All that power is very easy to manage, too, thanks to the C5 RS6 having Audi’s Quattro all-wheel drive system.

Like the E39 BMW M5, enthusiasts now know all about how great the C5 Audi RS6 is. It’s become as desirable as the E39 BMW M5, chased by people who want that more “analog” feel from a sports sedan. But, it still deserves a place on this list thanks to the incredible lineage its V8 engine has had. There aren’t many executive sedans out there that can genuinely boast that they have an engine that’s got a direct link to one of the world’s most celebrated supercars!

2

Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG (W211)

Power: 507 hp

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There aren’t many cars that enthusiasts love more than an old-school, V8-powered AMG Mercedes. The W211 E63 AMG is a prime example of one of those. Produced from 2003–2006 and replacing the earlier E55 AMG from the same generation, this car swapped the 5.4-liter supercharged V8 of the E55 for a naturally aspirated 6.2-liter unit that produced roughly the same power. This 6.2-liter V8 later ended up in multiple celebrated AMG models, including the SLS supercar. It also ditched the old 5-speed automatic transmission, replacing it with the slicker and more modern 7G Tronic 7-speed unit.

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Enthusiasts do know how great the W211 E63 AMG is. But, due to it being made during a time when Mercedes-Benz was considered to be in a trough with engineering and quality, it often gets overlooked. That’s why, despite it having all the right ingredients to be a brilliant AMG Mercedes sedan, it’s on this list.

1

Cadillac CTS-V (Second Generation)

Power: 556 hp

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The Cadillac CTS-V is often overlooked in the sports sedan world. That’s crazy when you consider how powerful some versions of it are. The second-generation CTS-V is one of the best, featuring the supercharged LSA V8 that’s also in the third-generation Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. It’s a little less powerful in the Cadillac CTS-V, with 556 horsepower and 551 lb-ft of torque. That doesn’t stop it from being an absolute beast with supercar-worrying performance, though!

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It’s not surprising that the second-generation Cadillac CTS-V is the most powerful car on this list. There’s simply no arguing with a supercharged, muscle car-derived V8. If you end up owning one of these cars, you’re going to have a real monster on your hands in the guise of a fairly ordinary upmarket sedan.

Sources: Audi, BMW, Cadillac, Infiniti, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, Pontiac