QOTD: Best Unheralded Performance Car?

Matthew Guy
by Matthew Guy

There are plenty of performance cars from the pages of history whose greatness has been recognized — Integra Type R, Focus RS, anything with GTI appended to its name. A few, however, have slipped through the cracks.

Time is kind to some cars, with their stock rising only long after they’ve gone out of production, but a few never get the recognition they deserve. I’ve got two examples right here … and they’re both from Detroit.

Let’s look at them chronologically. When the Dodge Neon appeared in the early ’90s, it was so different from the K-based Shadow it replaced that it was difficult to believe the thing emerged from the same company. A few years into its tenure, some gearheads deep within Chrysler threw some performance parts at it to create the Neon ACR. By the 1997 model year, it was equipped with the likes of Koni adjustables, a shorter final drive, ample sway bars, and DOHC power.

Your author recalls wit being popular with a certain crowd but those not in-the-know back then largely derided it as “just a Neon.” The striped R/T trim of 1998 had most of the ACR’s goodies as well. That’s a ’94 shown above.

Jumping into the 21st century, Chevy binned the Cavalier name and all its baggage when introducing its new small car, the Cobalt. It quickly became laden with equal amounts, if not more, baggage than its forebear. Buried in the product catalog, though, was an SS version.

The company’s first crack at the can was a supercharged version, making just over 200hp. Following the predictable traction complaints — and GM’s divorce from Eaton plus some pesky emissions issues — Chevy bolted a turbocharger onto the Cobalt SS instead. The bloody thing actually had no-lift-shift and launch control. In a Cobalt! You could even get a sedan in 2009 if the whole bankruptcy thing didn’t bother you.

No Sentra SE-R, no Acura ITR, please — they’re well known. What’s your pick for best unrecognized performance car?

[Images: Chrysler, Hemmings]

Matthew Guy
Matthew Guy

Matthew buys, sells, fixes, & races cars. As a human index of auto & auction knowledge, he is fond of making money and offering loud opinions.

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  • Lorenzo Lorenzo on Dec 11, 2018

    Oh, for the old days, when you could have a non-descript sedan and drop some power into it. I bought a 1968 Mercury Montego in 1973 from my mechanic. His kid trashed the 302 so he took it away from him and gave him a 6 cylinder Fairlane. He put a 351 4 barrel and C6 auto in the Montego and sold it to me when he needed money. Best car I ever had.

  • Josh Josh on Sep 07, 2021

    Forgotten cars I remember: Nobody's mentioned this, but the Ford Tempo GLS! (3.0L V6, 135 hp H.O. Vulcan motor with a 5-speed made it a mini-SHO). Problem was, they killed the Tempo just as it was becoming more refined. 6000 STE could do 118-125 mph with the 2.8L V6 and had AWD. Camry All-Trac, also with a 2.5L V6, 153 hp, from about '88 to '91. Ford LTD LX CPI. It wasn't a PFI 5.0, but it was a TBI/CPI 5.0 with 165 hp in a RWD Ford sedan smaller than the Crown Vic. Also known as the Mercury Marquis LS in Canada, VERY RARE! Buick Electra T-Type--it was a 3.8L V6 with the same 165 hp motor as the others but better suspension and blackout trim around the windows, plus amber turn signals. GMC Syclone/Typhoon--S-10/S-15 trucks with larger GN engines. I know people have mentioned the 454SS and Lightning. I think the Syclone was even faster! Mercedes 190E-2.3 and 2.6. Big motors in the tiny W201, plus RWD and great West German quality. There are probably tons more I will remember after I post this!

  • TheMrFreeze That new Ferrari looks nice but other than that, nothing.And VW having to put an air-cooled Beetle in its display to try and make the ID.Buzz look cool makes this classic VW owner sad 😢
  • Wolfwagen Is it me or have auto shows just turned to meh? To me, there isn't much excitement anymore. it's like we have hit a second malaise era. Every new vehicle is some cookie-cutter CUV. No cutting-edge designs. No talk of any great powertrains, or technological achievements. It's sort of expected with the push to EVs but there is no news on that front either. No new battery tech, no new charging tech. Nothing.
  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
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