In the world of drag racing,->ke446 there are plenty of examples of “that guy.” You know who I’m talking about – the guy with the supposedly sports car who dropped major coin to massage the exterior into a rolling banner ad of his own potential velocity. Sure, the bright and glossy body kit might make sense at the show-and-shine, but turn up at the strip looking like that, and you’d better have some serious firepower under the hood.

By comparison, there are relatively few sleepers out there. A car that looks slow but goes fast is just inherently cool – it’s like stealth technology->ke1701 of the four-wheeled variety.

This Smart ForTwo is a sleeper. To make the jump from the commuter lane to the 1,320, the owner decided to slap on some super sticky tires and a huge amount of boost, blessing the ultra-light seats-in-a-box with the kind of wheel stands that would embarrass most muscle cars.->ke507

When asked why he wanted to create a Smart dragster, the owner replies with “stupidity, I guess.” I'm thinking more mad-scientist insanity. But the proof is in the pudding – the ForTwo pulls a 13.9 on its first pass, but manages to cut that down to 12.53 on the second run.

You can’t help but respect the guy for trying something different. It’s inconspicuous and ridiculously effective, like a B2 bomber at high altitude.

Continue reading for more information.

Smart ForTwo

Designed for high mileage and easy city parking, the Smart ForTwo comes from the factory with three engine options, including a top-range 0.9-liter turbo three-cylinder producing 90 horsepower and 99 pound-feet of torque. The transmission is either a five-speed manual or six-speed automatic.

However, despite Smart’s original intent, this vehicle has the right roots for motorsport. It weighs less than 2,000 pounds, it’s RWD and the engine is mounted in the back. With that formula in hand, the above-featured owner swapped in a 1.5-liter Toyota Paseo powerplant and added 28 pounds of boost with a Sprintex supercharger. A three-speed automatic puts the power down, and the result is two wheels to the sky.

Read our full review of the stock car here.

Ford Mustang

As the quintessential drag racer, the Mustang is the kind of car you’d expect to turn up at a test-and-tune night, especially if it’s packing Ford’s 5.0-liter DOHC V-8. This engine produces 435 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque through either a six-speed manual or automatic gearbox, which propels the 3,600-pound pony car to a 4.5-second 0-to-60 and high-twelve-second quarter-mile.

Those are some pretty impressive figures, and they put the blue oval’s iconic muscle car at the forefront for best value when it comes to pure acceleration.

But it’s no blown Smart.

Read our full review here.