Hartge H50

           

    

I'm going to cap off this week's Sleeper Sedans in the Morning feature with a car that could not possibly be more different from yesterday's 1976 Plymouth Gran Fury 440.

People expect a BMW 3-series to be quick and capable, so to qualify as a true under-the-radar sleeper performer, it follows that a 3-series-based sleeper must offer a comparatively higher level of performance--much higher even than the pumped-up, supercar-like BMW M3.

The Hartge H50 takes that elevated performance standard and crushes it into rubble.

Hartge is a 35-year-old German company with a shining pedigree of BMW tuning, but its surgery on the 3-series just might be outlawed by the Geneva Conventions. The recipe: Obtain a 500-horsepower donor V-10 from BMW that would otherwise fit into an M5 or M6, squeeze an extra 50 horsepower out of it for good measure, stir into a smaller and lighter 3-series, and mix well.

The result is violent acceleration that, despite its ferocity, still does not overwhelm the 3-series' sweet chassis.

The display version of the H50 pictured here is certainly not subtle, but the production versions come without the fancy striping. Near-Lamborghini Gallardo performance with a near-stock 3-series look? That's the Sleeper Sedan concept writ large.

Thanks to Serious Wheels for the photo. The video is in German--but even though I can't understand the announcer or commentators, the sinister howl of that V-10 requires no translation.

--Chris H.