The 'Q' Car...

elf · 10th January 2007, 01:03

Hello folks.

Been thinking about the way I see cars & external body mods for ages, & thought it would be nice to know how many others shared the sentiment as well.

I love 'Q' cars. I've loved them for a long time.

What's a 'Q' car?

Q-cars are regular understated sedans or coupes with high performance modifications for the engine, suspension &/or braking systems, yet have barely discernible signs of their underlying performance anywhere on the body. They're also known as 'sleepers'.

The 'Q' in the Q Car comes from quiet or questionable, being the basic nature of the ride. They very rarely (or never) have any external body modifications.

Owners of Q Cars today often shell out large amounts of time & money on performance mods, yet absolutely refuse to do anything about the exterior look of the car primarily due to reasons of personal taste & stealth.

Since the visible differences between a Q-car and its less potent siblings are slight, the owner fails to make the same impression that a 'louder' design or externally accessorised car would make. As such, the Q-car plays to a limited market of somewhat wealthy driving enthusiasts who wish for a practical high-performance car but care little for the attention (positive or negative) that a purpose designed sports car brings.

To know more: (The Q Car - Wikipedia)

Don't flame me.
I personally don't much care for wings, spoilers, side-skirts, air-dams, coffee-grinders, scissor doors, fat exhaust end-pipes, neon lighting, singing door-pads, non-round steering wheels, decals & loud paint jobs - I think they're in poor taste. Excessive OTT ICE installations (64 DVC Subs, 44 Amps, 4 H/Us, custom install pods for everything & speakers everywhere) also get to me. And yes, anything from DC.

Keep it clean, brothas.
What I do like are the clean body lines of the original car. A great paint & wax job, understated alloys with wide tyres, an understated exhaust tip, paint accents & highlights for areas that give more depth to the original lines, a light sun film, a neat clean & well detailed interior. Under that should be a beast with the works - a well tuned highly souped up engine, suspension, chassis & brake mods - the best you can afford.

Heeheehee.
My old M1000 used to be that way. When viper dropped in his modded Esteem engine (slight overbore, ported & polished heads, lightened flywheel, 4 coil ignition system, FFE) into my old rusted beat up body, the laughs I got were fabulous. I used love the looks on those body-kit boys in much better cars when they ate my dirt!

And the awardees are...
This may be a short list, but of the cars I've seen owned by T-BHPians, the ones from viper (Getz), Boom Shiva (Optra), & Ford Rocam (City) really make me happy. You can also have a look at my Lancer to know what I think really rocks

.

iraghava · 10th January 2007, 01:22

I love Q-cars too!! Infact I too abhor any body or cosmetic mods unless really necessary, which they are not in most situations. Only weakness I have is for Loud exhausts!

Also one of my all-time favourites is the first "Q"-car of them all the E28 M5

danlalan · 10th January 2007, 01:28

1 more nominee should be the 01' baleno of baleno power...clean car..good set of alloys...awesome tires ..and a beast down under, sounds awesome too above 3500.

speedzak · 10th January 2007, 01:38

I love Q!
The money saved from those unwanted spoiler should be put into better brake kits and intakes.
I like to add some not visible visual attractions like subtle neon lighting, good, sporty upholstery etc...

And does having a good sounding ICE make a car non Q? C'mon!

elf · 10th January 2007, 01:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by speedzak

... I like to add some not visible visual attractions like subtle neon lighting, good, sporty upholstery etc...

And does having a good sounding ICE make a car non Q? C'mon!

C'mon yourself Zak - don't get me wrong. It's great to have a fabulous sounding system in the car, but the key word should be it's visibility - the lack of it! Have your DVC Subs, amps, whatever, but out of the line of sight.

Also, I personally don't care much for neons, but yes, if they work for you then great!

manveet · 10th January 2007, 01:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by speedzak

not visible visual attractions

good one there.

i mean, how can you be .. naah, fogget it, i won't even try to explain. ROTFL.

BunnyPunia · 10th January 2007, 01:54

voted for "You need to look fast & go fast & therefore I like both engine & body mods." although i biased towards engine mods.
Still waiting for approval from my family to go ahead with mods on my 1.6 Ikon, starting with a full exhaust system (and ofcourse a K&N). What a pleasure it will be, shocking other sedans with my 'normal' looking Ikon

paras211 · 10th January 2007, 04:02

corolla is a great example mine is wid a catbcak and an intake

Tool · 10th January 2007, 04:14

hey everyone !! ..i loveeeee Q cars...
i remmember once removing the M badge from my cousins m3 and putting a stock 3.25 badge on..
the kicks we got were simply amazing

so yeah .. that was the time i cought the Q car Bug meself too ..
way to go elf bro.. lovely thread
big boom everyone

devarshi84 · 10th January 2007, 04:24

UNderstated elegance suits GT's, for tuners car you need show to gel with the go.

angelfire · 10th January 2007, 08:36

Oh thats the name for it huh...Sleepers...or Q-cars...Just love them!!...
Well A nice Black car with some bling bling alloys..Decent tints....nd a Beast under the hood....PERFECT for me!!!!.....of course some decent ICE too!!..
by the way...Ford_Rocam..LOve your ride man!!!...A Sleeper for sure!!..

hydrashok · 10th January 2007, 08:46

Q Cars have the additional advantage that nobody in your family need to know how much modded they are :-)

ajmat · 10th January 2007, 09:38

I do like to add a discrete hint of menace to a Q car - wide wheels, small rear spoiler, lower suspension

2L8uLoose · 10th January 2007, 09:41

At first I thought you were talking about cars made by the gadget king in James Bond.. "Q"...which btw I love... maybe not the BMW's but then thats just me....
BUTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
Then I saw ELF's name under the heading.. and it was all clear then..
Q CAR FOR ME ANYDAY BROTHA!
ps.. ELF you forgot about me in that list of "sleepers" you put in your post.. I'm REALLY HURT now!!!

viper · 10th January 2007, 09:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by hydrashok

nobody in your family need to know how much modded they are :-)

Hi,

You stole the words out of my mouth man. My wife would freak out if she ever knew the amt of money that went into any of the previous cars I owned. I dont know if any of you have experienced this but it is damn difficult to keep coming up with excuses each time you need to take the car to a garage to get some mods done.

I think someone should come up with a list of excuses one can give to /wives family members on why the car needs to visit the garage ever so often

Viper

View Poll Results: I love Q Cars. Do you?
I too love Q Cars. Give me the hidden pleasures of a performance car in a normal body.	116	71.17%
You need to look fast & go fast & therefore I like both engine & body mods.	37	22.70%
Body mods are most important - that'll scare 'em off. Besides, yeh engine-vinjin kya hai?	2	1.23%
What on earth are you talking about??!!	8	4.91%
Voters: 163. You may not vote on this poll

10th January 2007, 01:03	#1
elf BANNED Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Bombay Posts: 1,039 Thanked: 13 Times View My Garage	The 'Q' Car... Hello folks. Been thinking about the way I see cars & external body mods for ages, & thought it would be nice to know how many others shared the sentiment as well. I love 'Q' cars. I've loved them for a long time. What's a 'Q' car? Q-cars are regular understated sedans or coupes with high performance modifications for the engine, suspension &/or braking systems, yet have barely discernible signs of their underlying performance anywhere on the body. They're also known as 'sleepers'. The 'Q' in the Q Car comes from quiet or questionable, being the basic nature of the ride. They very rarely (or never) have any external body modifications. Owners of Q Cars today often shell out large amounts of time & money on performance mods, yet absolutely refuse to do anything about the exterior look of the car primarily due to reasons of personal taste & stealth. Since the visible differences between a Q-car and its less potent siblings are slight, the owner fails to make the same impression that a 'louder' design or externally accessorised car would make. As such, the Q-car plays to a limited market of somewhat wealthy driving enthusiasts who wish for a practical high-performance car but care little for the attention (positive or negative) that a purpose designed sports car brings. To know more: (The Q Car - Wikipedia) Don't flame me. I personally don't much care for wings, spoilers, side-skirts, air-dams, coffee-grinders, scissor doors, fat exhaust end-pipes, neon lighting, singing door-pads, non-round steering wheels, decals & loud paint jobs - I think they're in poor taste. Excessive OTT ICE installations (64 DVC Subs, 44 Amps, 4 H/Us, custom install pods for everything & speakers everywhere) also get to me. And yes, anything from DC. Keep it clean, brothas. What I do like are the clean body lines of the original car. A great paint & wax job, understated alloys with wide tyres, an understated exhaust tip, paint accents & highlights for areas that give more depth to the original lines, a light sun film, a neat clean & well detailed interior. Under that should be a beast with the works - a well tuned highly souped up engine, suspension, chassis & brake mods - the best you can afford. Heeheehee. My old M1000 used to be that way. When viper dropped in his modded Esteem engine (slight overbore, ported & polished heads, lightened flywheel, 4 coil ignition system, FFE) into my old rusted beat up body, the laughs I got were fabulous. I used love the looks on those body-kit boys in much better cars when they ate my dirt! And the awardees are... This may be a short list, but of the cars I've seen owned by T-BHPians, the ones from viper (Getz), Boom Shiva (Optra), & Ford Rocam (City) really make me happy. You can also have a look at my Lancer to know what I think really rocks . Last edited by elf : 10th January 2007 at 01:16.
	() Thanks

10th January 2007, 01:22	#2
iraghava Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Bhaiyyaland Posts: 8,033 Thanked: 265 Times View My Garage	I love Q-cars too!! Infact I too abhor any body or cosmetic mods unless really necessary, which they are not in most situations. Only weakness I have is for Loud exhausts! Also one of my all-time favourites is the first "Q"-car of them all the E28 M5
	() Thanks

10th January 2007, 01:28	#3
danlalan Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: mumbai,JUHU Posts: 1,636 Thanked: 263 Times View My Garage	1 more nominee should be the 01' baleno of baleno power...clean car..good set of alloys...awesome tires ..and a beast down under, sounds awesome too above 3500.
	() Thanks

10th January 2007, 01:38	#4
speedzak BANNED Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: India Posts: 4,347 Thanked: 27 Times	I love Q! The money saved from those unwanted spoiler should be put into better brake kits and intakes. I like to add some not visible visual attractions like subtle neon lighting, good, sporty upholstery etc... And does having a good sounding ICE make a car non Q? C'mon!
	() Thanks

10th January 2007, 01:54	#7
BunnyPunia BHPian Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: New Delhi Posts: 895 Thanked: 1,257 Times View My Garage	voted for "You need to look fast & go fast & therefore I like both engine & body mods." although i biased towards engine mods. Still waiting for approval from my family to go ahead with mods on my 1.6 Ikon, starting with a full exhaust system (and ofcourse a K&N). What a pleasure it will be, shocking other sedans with my 'normal' looking Ikon
	() Thanks

10th January 2007, 04:02	#8
paras211 BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: mumbai Posts: 646 Thanked: 108 Times View My Garage	corolla is a great example mine is wid a catbcak and an intake
	() Thanks

10th January 2007, 04:14	#9
Tool BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 351 Thanked: 4 Times View My Garage	hey everyone !! ..i loveeeee Q cars... i remmember once removing the M badge from my cousins m3 and putting a stock 3.25 badge on.. the kicks we got were simply amazing so yeah .. that was the time i cought the Q car Bug meself too .. way to go elf bro.. lovely thread big boom everyone
	() Thanks

10th January 2007, 04:24	#10
devarshi84 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Ahmedabad - Tor Posts: 4,024 Thanked: 211 Times View My Garage	UNderstated elegance suits GT's, for tuners car you need show to gel with the go.
	() Thanks

10th January 2007, 08:36	#11
angelfire BHPian Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Mangalore/Chicago Posts: 251 Thanked: Once View My Garage	Oh thats the name for it huh...Sleepers...or Q-cars...Just love them!!... Well A nice Black car with some bling bling alloys..Decent tints....nd a Beast under the hood....PERFECT for me!!!!.....of course some decent ICE too!!.. by the way...Ford_Rocam..LOve your ride man!!!...A Sleeper for sure!!..
	() Thanks

10th January 2007, 08:46	#12
hydrashok Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: In my Office Posts: 2,528 Thanked: 17 Times View My Garage	Q Cars have the additional advantage that nobody in your family need to know how much modded they are :-)
	() Thanks

10th January 2007, 09:38	#13
ajmat Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 14,861 Thanked: 27,960 Times View My Garage	I do like to add a discrete hint of menace to a Q car - wide wheels, small rear spoiler, lower suspension
	() Thanks

10th January 2007, 09:41	#14
2L8uLoose BANNED Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Bombay Posts: 628 Thanked: 6 Times View My Garage	At first I thought you were talking about cars made by the gadget king in James Bond.. "Q"...which btw I love... maybe not the BMW's but then thats just me.... BUTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT Then I saw ELF's name under the heading.. and it was all clear then.. Q CAR FOR ME ANYDAY BROTHA! ps.. ELF you forgot about me in that list of "sleepers" you put in your post.. I'm REALLY HURT now!!! Last edited by 2L8uLoose : 10th January 2007 at 09:42.
	() Thanks