VIDEO: 9 STOCK SLEEPERS – STRAIGHT FROM THE FACTORY

Sleepers, as we know, are usually modified under the hood but don't have much flair in terms of bodywork upgrades. In fact, some of them look downright lame or even dilapidated.

This video, however, showcases sleepers – direct from the factory floor, delivered to owners in the 80s and 90s – that will probably surprise you as much as us.

Let's take the first one for instance. It's a Citroen. From 1985. Now, with a little bit of research, it's easy to read about Citroen's racing history (which started waaaaayyy back in 1931, by the way), although we probably remember them most for their foray into the World Rally Championships. But a hot Citroen from the 80s?

So, let's take a look, shall we? It's a Citroen CX25 GTI Turbo II that left the factory with 168bhp. It launched this heavy lump of metal from 0-60mph in just 7 seconds and topped out at 137mph. Yup, not excessively fast for today but back then it was quite something, considering it looks like something grammy would drive the kids to school in.

Also in the 80s, the Lancia Thema had a Ferrari 3.0 V8 squeezed into the engine bay. 215bhp, 0-60mph in 6,7 seconds and 149mph top speed. It really wasn't much to look at but at least it sounded fantastic!

The 90s brought us the Mercedes-Benz 500E with 326bhp 5.0 V8, and 0-60 in under 6 seconds. The Lexus LS400, with its quad tailpipes as the only give-away that it had some oomph, was also just brawn. Audi gave us the monstrous A8, BMW delivered the 528i and Alfa gave us the 156 – which was at least pretty, even as a station wagon, compared its more conservative business buddies.

The Peugeot 406 was also a 90s child, as was the Cadillac STS. Neither was going to win any styling competitions but they could definitely punch above their weight between traffic lights.

So, in honour of those who tore up the tarmac when nobody thought they could, check out the video below and leave us a comment too.