Imagine you’re at the traffic lights in a sports car, and an unassuming, old soccer mommy wagon pulls up next to you. The staring contest begins, the lights go green, and the next thing you know, the boxy wagon has gapped you and left you in its dust. Now, that is the finest way to get introduced to a sleeper, and there’s nothing out there cooler than a sleeper car with serious performance. There are many sleepers in different body styles out there if you are looking for one.

However, there are also sleeper engines that somehow found their way into non-performance-oriented cars, breadboxes, and luxury barges. How these engines ended up in unusual places still remains an automotive mystery. Nevertheless, here are the top 10 sleeper car engines ever made and the sleeper cars that featured these engines (so next time you know what you’re up against):

10 Toyota 2JZ Straight-6

The 2JZ needs no introduction whatsoever. If we had to name an engine that is so iconic, bulletproof, and tuneable, it has to be this Toyota twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline-six motor. Famed for its robust underpinnings and a strong block that can take horsepower numbers into four figures, the 2JZ is undoubtedly the most tuner-friendly engine in the world. However, it found its way into unusual cars such as the Toyota Crown, Progres, Origin, Brevis, and other performance models such as Altezza, Chaser, etc.

9 Chevrolet LS V8

If the…