Ultimate Shite Q Car

[strangehighways]

What car is the ultimate shite Q Car?I would love a 90's Vauxhall Cavalier 'Cesaro' V6. I'm sure that would suprise a few people.Also, a Vento VR6.

[Cavcraft]

Maestro Turbo with the kit taken off would be a hoot I reckon.Astra Mk3 SRi models are pretty rapid for what they are.

[Betaphile]

Great topic this. I keep coming back to the final Scorpios with the 2.9 24V Cosworth lump. For added Q-car-ness, make it an estate. BX 16Vs also fall into this category - more so than Mi16s which tend to have been barried more. Very impressive cars and still quick. Thema turbos, especially the 16Vs, are seriously rapid in a straight line and more than capable of embarrassing all sorts of contemporary shite at the lights.

[strangehighways]

Astra Mk3 SRi models are pretty rapid for what they are.

I can't believe it, someone else who appreciates mk3 SRIs! My father had one of these in the mid 90s. 2 litre SRI 8 valve engine, 3 Dr (for added shiteness it had wheel covers). Reg was K53YVS. Not sure what happened to it. Autocar achieved an 8.5 second 0-60mph figure which is outstanding for the power output which was 115bhp if I recall. These Vauxhall 2 litre engines had great torque I remember and picked up from low revs so easily.

[garethj]

There's a Merc E500 on ebay, that's a W124 Beirut taxi with a 5 litre V8 engine. You can't go wrong with one of Mercedes' dragster saloons

[Milford Cubicle]

I've often thought about buying a Rover 620Ti and base-speccing its ass up - 15" steel wheels and hubcaps and badges off a 620Di, etc. but they're so subtle as standard it seems a bit overkill.

[Betaphile]

I've often thought about buying a Rover 620Ti and base-speccing its ass up - 15" steel wheels and hubcaps and badges off a 620Di, etc. but they're so subtle as standard it seems a bit overkill.

Good call on the 620...

[wuvvum]

I keep coming back to the final Scorpios with the 2.9 24V Cosworth lump. For added Q-car-ness, make it an estate.

Had one of them - it was bloody good fun, especially on the motorway when X5-driving twunts tried to undertake. I reckon the Saab 9000 Turbo has a lot to be said for it - if you took the (discreet) Turbo badge off the grille of mine boy racers would have no indication that they were about to be humiliated by 210 turbocharged horses. On a similar theme, early Volvo 760 turbos go a lot quicker than they look.Original shape Legacy Estates are quite a discreet performance machine. Other cars that spring to mind are the 3-litre Nissan QX and the V6-engined Kia Magentis - both "old man's" cars that are capable of quite a surprising turn of speed when asked.

[retrogeezer]

Citroen ZX 16V.....I had a 1.9i Volcane and that was great fun. The hot ones look virtually no different (especially the Volcane) to the cheaper ones.

[seth]

Hmm, perhaps not quite shite but I'd really like a GMC Syclone (or its Typhoon equivalent)

 

 

I don't think people would expect a boxy '80's pick up to perform quite like one of these...

[Station]

I like the Cavalier Turbo, because it looks near identical to the old-person special Diplomat, but has 204bhp. I know the police used them, pretty certain for this 'q-car' reason:

 

Hard to even find a single picture of a standard one!

 

[Guest]

I was going to say the Tredia Turbo, but they're actually quite aggressive-looking! On reflection, the Galant Turbo is much more discreet (pic nicked from Oldermitsubishis.co.uk):

 

168bhp, 0-60 in 8.4, top speed 127mph. Pretty much a 4-door Starion Turbo, the Starion was based around the Galant/Sapporo chassis - same engine and running gear, floorpan is very similar.

 

The funniest thing is that those Galants have incredibly vague recirculating ball steering with a million turns to lock, which I imagine is "interesting" when combined with an early 80s turbo setup.

[ashmicro]

 

OM NOM NOM GEARBOX.

[pogweasel]

I think some of these Vauxhall suggestions are full of win. Traffic Plod used them for donkeys, until some bean-counter started giving a fuck about residuals, hence it's all about the Volvo's and BMW's now. Brother-in-law recently bought a Vectra GSi msd edition, which OK has a few fancy bits on the outside, but not really much in the grand scheme of things, and the interior is pleasingly dull. It is also insanely fast, i mean like really, stupidly quick for a £1000 car.

[strangehighways]

 

OM NOM NOM GEARBOX.

Surely this is the winner?! I forgot about the 420 turbo. It apparently can crack 60 in 6.5 seconds!! Insane. Looks the same as a late 414 sei to me

[r.welfare]

Peugeot 406 V6, ideally in estate trim - preferably the facelifted one with 207bhp.Actually, the 3.0 V6 Mitsubishi Sigma estate was fairly rapid for a big old slushomatic, it "only" had 168bhp but that proved plenty for motorway duelling. The Omega 3.0 Elite manual estate (204bhp, supposedly) I bought later seemed to be a bit off-song and not so enjoyably rapid. The Sigma could be easily provoked into generated ridiculous clouds of tyre smoke from an angled junction take-off thanks to FWD, which was somewhat childish but huge fun nonetheless.If the similarly-engined Belmont 1.8 GLSi I had is anything to go by, the Mk2 Astra Belmont 1.8i estate (the only estate to have Belmont in the name, fact fans!) would also be a fairly nippy conveyance, despite the obvious lack of bhp compared to others in this thread.

[Ratdat]

I used to love the N13 Sunny ZX for it's understated apearance yet fairly rapid performance. 0-60 in 8 secs and 130mph might not be that fast by todays standards but it was good in comparison to other hot hatches of the day. Plus it came with an LSD which few others did. They are pretty good fun to drive, are really revvy and sound pretty nice too. If only they weren't so tempramental I'd still have one.

 

[Guest]

Wonder if I could get the contents of one of those in the Stanza, that'd be a curious Q-car, a Stanza ZX saloon.

[AnthonyG]

Mondeo Mk2 ST200 (not the ST24) with all the bodykit tat taken off.

 

Lancia Thema 8.32 is the ultimate cultured hooligan's express - what did CAR used to say about the CX Turbo?, something along those lines.

[ashmicro]

Having owned a Stanza 1.6 in the deep and distant past, the last thing it needs is more power, given the, ahem, interesting handling.

[Ratdat]

Wonder if I could get the contents of one of those in the Stanza, that'd be a curious Q-car, a Stanza ZX saloon.

What you need is U11 Bluebird turbo bits. I think the whole lot would virtually bolt right in.

 

Best Q car I've had. I'd love to build another...

 

 

[Guest]

It would be superb to sort something along those lines, then combine with a full minicab setup and some mad wheels.

 

 

For bonus points, butcher a taxi meter and use that to house a load of LED readouts of oil temperature and the likes. And make it so the centre of a "Feu Orange" air freshener can be rotated around to turn the boost up.

 

It is fairly obvious that I've had a lot of thought about all this.

[VWPowered]

Polo G40, except for the badging its a normal polo..

 

remove badging and enjoy 115bhp (have seen 200+ from the G40 lump with bigger chargers) real sleepers..

 

Mk2 G40

 

 

Mk2F G40

 

 

bonus points for putting lesser model wheels on and removing the red bumper strips lol

[scruff]

I'd love a Human League spec SD1 with a bonkers V8 and added shitey arches, doors etc, give the morons in suits a surprise in the fast lane as you flash them out the way in your velour-trimmed express.

[pogweasel]

It would be superb to sort something along those lines, then combine with a full minicab setup and some mad wheels.

 

 

For bonus points, butcher a taxi meter and use that to house a load of LED readouts of oil temperature and the likes. And make it so the centre of a "Feu Orange" air freshener can be rotated around to turn the boost up.

 

It is fairly obvious that I've had a lot of thought about all this.

ZOMG, that looks totally WEAPON.

[Guest]

Austin Maxi with an MG Maestro/montego engine is a thought that has stayed with me since the 80's Rover p6 with TVR tuned v8 would be fun too

[155V6]

One that's been done a few times is a Rover Metro with a 1.8 VVC engine from an MG ZR.Of course,bonus points are awarded if it's a beige 5-door

[trigger]

The Rover 420 GSi Turbo is a good call, The one i drove went like a rocket, I though it was just a normal 400 when i collected it from the garage until i put my foot down!, Much faster than a 820 Turbo.

 

But for me this is the Ultimate Q car.

 

 

How to scare yourself and your dog half to death, and make a mess of the shopping as well.

[Pillock]

VWP.... I had a G40 without stripes and badges, only the lowered stance and the (sadly chavvy) exhaust gave it away. A fettled charger and throttle body, the exhaust and decat, a cheapie chip and air filter showed 140bhp, in 720KG of car. Fun fun fun, it cost me just over a grand and it would stick with my mate's brand new Clio182 all the way to, erm, 70mph officer. (*cough 110*). Awesome belt squeal at 6000rpm too.My choice for a stock sleeper-weapon would be a R21 Turbo, purely because they're barely known these days. Either that or a 323 GT 4x4 - I chanced upon one of these at the lights in my Polo, and whilst I was dealing with the wheelspin changing to 3rd gear he'd picked up and fooked off into the distance. 4WD and no weight at all.....

[Guest]

I've always liked the idea of putting an Mi 16 engine into a 405 estate and keeping it stock, even down the wheels and tyres. The R888s would be a bit of a giveaway, but you'd have to be up close.