Sleeper cars come in all shapes and sizes; we have sleeper sedans, coupes, wagons, and hatchbacks – all of which may look unassuming, but can deliver the goods when you want them to. While it may be more natural to think of sleeper cars in the shape of older models like the Ford Taurus SHO, the first-gen Cadillac CTS-V, and the Mercury Marauder, the modern market still has some examples that fly under the radar. Some of which haven’t had their covert guts exposed yet.
From Toyota, Volvo, and Volkswagen models to the maybe more obvious Cadillac and Audi models, the modern market can still offer covert, everyday-looking sleeper cars that are a handful when you want them to be.
2024 Toyota Camry XSE V6
Engine: 3.5-Liter V6 / Horsepower: 301
It may look like your run-of-the-mill Toyota Camry, save the dual-exhaust setup, but in fact, the 2024 Toyota Camry XSE was available from new with a relatively potent V6 that turned this everyday, sensible, and safe Toyota sedan into a potent little rocket. Under the hood is the last V6 to come equipped to the Camry lineup, after it was unfortunately dropped for the 2025 MY. It can shift out just north of 300 horsepower and 267 pound-feet of smooth low-end grunt, getting you from standstill to 60 mph in around 5.6 seconds.
Alongside the Toyota Safety Sense 2.5 suite, 42.1 inches and 38 inches of respective front and rear legroom, 15.1 cubic feet of storage space, and a reasonable combined mpg rating of 26 mpg, the V6-toting Camry XSE has everything you need for sensible daily driving, and a mill to take other drivers by surprise when you want it to. Just don’t expect it to beat anything too sporty off the line.
2025 Volkswagen Golf R
Engine: 2.0-Liter Turbocharged Inline-Four / Horsepower: 328
Maybe a little less obviously a sleeper car compared to the Camry XSE (especially if you clock the rear badge in traffic) is the 2025 Volkswagen Golf R, potentially one of the best hot hatches of recent years from the German marque. There are subtle hints that the VW Golf R is made for more than just sensible hatchback driving, courtesy of large intakes up front, a more muscular stance than its Golf counterparts, deep skirt sculpting, and quad Akrapovič titanium exhaust tips hanging out the back.
From a distance, it does just look remarkably like a Golf, though. This year’s Golf R is part of a long lineage of awesome hot hatches, and the 328-horsepower EA888 turbo-four, 4MOTION all-wheel drive with R-Performance Torque Vectoring, and seven-speed DSG dual-clutch transmission all point you in the right direction for undercover performance. The 2025 Golf R only weighs in at around 3,500 pounds, and with all the expertise that VW has thrown at one of its more iconic nameplates, you can get to 60 mph in a very impressive 4.6 seconds.
2019 Kia Stinger GTS
Engine: 3.3-Liter Twin-Turbocharged V6 / Horsepower: 365
As the most potent form of the awesome Kia Stinger you can get, the 2019 Kia Stinger GTS may have ‘GTS’ emblazoned on the rear, but there isn’t a huge amount more that gives it away compared to the rest of the 2019 lineup. You get an 8-inch touchscreen, a HUD, comfortable Nappa leather-trimmed seats, ample legroom in the front and rear (front: 42.6 inches/rear: 36.4 inches), a huge maximum cargo capacity of 40.9 cubic feet with the rear seats folded away, and, except for the unique Federation Orange paint scheme, an overall look that blends pretty well into traffic.
However, the Kia Stinger left its mark on the performance world in more ways than one, and the 2019 GTS is a prime example of that. It boasts a bi-turbocharged V6 good for 365 horsepower that can get you to 60 mph in just shy of 5 seconds; advanced AWD with a limited-slip diff tightens up fast cornering; Brembo brakes handle stopping power, and paddle shifters make changing gear feel athletic.
2017 Chevrolet SS
Engine: 6.2-Liter V8 / Horsepower: 415
Today, you can pick up a 2017 Chevrolet SS for around $32,000, which may seem like a lot for an eight-year-old sedan, but the Chevy SS is something special. According to reviews on Kelley Blue Book, owners are very happy with pretty much everything and have given it an overall rating of 4.9 out of 5, with 98% of owners recommending buying one. We can see the appeal; from the front, it looks like your average Chevy sedan with a small grille, tidy-looking headlights, and a small front lip that could be added to any sports sedan.
At the back, flared fenders, a small trunk lip, ‘SS’ badging, and a low diffuser indicate that all is not as calm as it might first seem. Under the hood is a monster of an OHV LS3 V8 borrowed from the C6 Corvette that kicks out 415 horsepower and 415 pound-feet of torque, which can get you from rest to 60 in the mid-4-second range. You also get Brembo brakes on all four corners, Magnetic Ride Control, an available six-speed manual transmission, and a limited-slip differential. A wolf in sheep’s clothing could be an understatement.
2023 Volvo V60 Polestar
Engine: 2.0-Liter Turbocharged Inline-Four Plug-In Hybrid / Horsepower: 455
There is nothing quite like a sleeper wagon; you get all the comfort and utility of a wagon, awesome styling, and, in some of the best, a huge amount of performance grit. The 2023 Volvo V60 Polestar (or V60 Recharge) is the epitome of this. From the outside, the Volvo V60 looks like your average luxurious and sensible Volvo wagon; you get 42.3 inches and 35.2 inches of respective front and rear legroom, and 60.5 cubic feet of storage space opened up with the seats folded down.
However, thanks to a collaboration with Polestar, which saw their last work with ICE vehicles before going fully electric, the V60 is a weapon. The 2.0-liter plug-in hybrid can churn out 455 horsepower (the same output as a sixth-gen Camaro SS); Öhlins dampers give you both a serene and sporty ride when it is called upon, and Brembo brakes take the fear out of approaching a corner in a 4,522-pound wagon at speed. 2023 was the final model year of the V60 Polestar, and today, you can pick one up for just shy of $52,000 – down from its MSRP of $72,000 just two years ago.
2020 Lexus GS F
Engine: 5.0-Liter V8 / Horsepower: 467
It is no industry secret that the 2020 Lexus GS F is a sleeper sedan, and some would argue that now that the cat has been out of the bag for some time that it really isn’t that covert. However, if you didn’t know that, when it pulls away from you at the lights, you’ll soon find out. The Lexus GS F is slightly more athletic and muscular-looking compared to its GS counterparts; the GS F gets you prominent fender vents, an aggressive-looking spindle grille, a stacked quad-exhaust setup, a carbon fiber lip spoiler, and 19-inch forged BBS wheels.
Underneath, the V6 that gives the GS 350 decent power is replaced by a bulletproof naturally aspirated 5.0-liter V8 good for 467 horsepower and 4.5-second sprint times, while Brembo brakes, adaptive variable suspension, a torque vectoring differential, and sporty gauges that show G-force, lap times, and torque distribution take the luxury GS sedan into track-ready sedan territory.
2022 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing
Engine: 3.6-Liter Twin-Turbocharged V6 / Horsepower: 472
As the most potent breed of the 2022 Cadillac CT4 lineup, the CT4-V Blackwing takes everything ‘everyday’ about Cadillac’s compact luxe sedan and turns it into a menace on the roads. You get all the finery in the form of leather V-bucket seats, a 12-inch driver’s display, an 8-inch touchscreen, a suede headliner, an available AKG audio rig, and optional massaging seats, but you also get a huge amount of performance guts that effectively make this sleeper sedan into a muscle car (minus two cylinders). At the heart of everything is a bi-turbocharged LF4 V6 that can redline at 6,500 rpm, get you to 60 mph in as little as 4 seconds, and up to top speeds of 189 mph.
Yes, it is relatively muscular-looking, and it is now well established that Blackwing models are beasts, but the CT4-V Blackwing is certainly not as in-your-face as some of its other Caddy siblings while still being as raucous (think Camaro or Corvette). The 2022 CT4-V Blackwing was the inaugural MY for this potent sleeper, and today, you can buy it for around $48,700. If you are thinking value-for-money, that equates to around $103 per horsepower.
2025 Audi S8
Engine: 4.0-Liter Twin-Turbocharged V8 / Horsepower: 563
Based on the full-size Audi A8, the 2025 Audi S8 is equal parts luxury cruiser, equal parts seat-gripping German fun. The inside is decked out with leather seating, a calm yet slightly athletic interior, wood or carbon fiber trim, a Bang & Olufsen audio rig, and a HUD – more than enough for easy, comfortable cruising.
Then there is the ‘sleeper’ side of things. Under the hood is a bi-turbocharged mild-hybrid V8 that can get the S8 up to speed in as little as 3.8 seconds; an eight-speed Tiptronic transmission handles silky changes; Quattro AWD keeps the wheel stuck to the ground; predictive adaptive suspension adjusts before you hit the pothole in your favorite back road, and dynamic all-wheel steering means you can shift the 5,126-pound luxury S8 into corners with some gusto. There is a clear distinction between the 2025 Audi A8 lineup and the 2025 Audi S8 lineup in the shape of larger air vents, a sportier grille, and telltale quad tailpipes, but we think it still qualifies as a sleeper.
2018 Jaguar XJR575
Engine: 5.0-Liter Supercharged V8 / Horsepower: 575
Boasting all the luxurious trimmings and sportiness that Jaguar is capable of mustering, the 2018 Jaguar XJR575 is a beast of true caliber. As the name suggests, it is based on the 2018 Jaguar XJR, one of the British marque’s most sophisticated, massive luxury sedans. You get the same chauffeur-quality ride, long wheelbase (124 inches), oodles of rear legroom (43.7 inches), and an exterior design you wouldn’t mind being seen dropping you off somewhere fancy. However, you also get a more powerful engine and a few performance goodies, alongside a subtle bit of red badging on the grille, that turn this limo into a street-sprinting machine.
Someone at Jaguar obviously thought that the 470-horsepower engine in the XJ Supercharged wasn’t quite enough, so they opted to fit the XJR575 with a 575-horsepower supercharged monster and an eight-speed ZF automatic transmission that can get this 4,200-pound sedan to 60 mph in 4.2 seconds and up to 186 mph. Bear in mind that the long wheelbase affects how nimble something of this size can be, though the adaptive suspension and TracDSC mode do a good job of tidying things up.
2025 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing
Engine: 6.2-Liter Supercharged V8 / Horsepower: 668
As the range-topping model of the new Cadillac CT5 lineup, this year’s CT5-V Blackwing is carrying on all the good sleeper(-ish) work that has been going on since the first model year in 2022. The bad news is that the CT5 will be leaving the showrooms for a while after the 2026 MY, so now looks to be a good time to get one before you have to wait for the re-branded version later down the line. Everyone knows that the CT5-V Blackwing is a beast, and while it shares the same overall look as the general CT5 lineup, features like a distinct front splitter, gnarlier grille, a rear diffuser, and spoiler all indicate that it is made for more than the family days out.
Under the hood is a weapon of a supercharged V8 that puts out 668 horsepower and 659 pound-feet of torque. This translates to 0–60 mph times of 3.4 seconds, while Brembo brakes, a six-speed standard-fit manual transmission with rev matching, MagneRide damping, Launch Control, Performance Traction Management, and taut springs take care of any other aggressive driving you want to participate in.
Sources: J.D. Power and Kelley Blue Book.