Top 20 Obtainable Getaway Cars

10. Mercedes R63 AMG

If you are not familiar with the R-Class, it’s a minivan Mercedes based on the S-Class sedan. They equipped it with all the conceivable luxuries and powerful engines, making it perfect for crossing continents in the comfort of a leather sofa traveling at 100 mph. However, AMG, the Mercedes performance division, had something to say about that. They introduced the R63 with a 6.2-liter naturally aspirated V8 producing 503 HP. With the stiffer suspension, tons of power, and great performance, the R63 was no ordinary minivan. It was actually a sports car with room for seven people.

The car was expensive when it was new so it didn’t have much of a market. Also, the combination of minivan comfort and sports car performance was strange to customers. However, the R63 AMG was a glorious sleeper with a 4.8 second 0 to 60 mph time and unassuming appearance. Nobody expected that a 5,000-pound crossover could beat a new BMW M3 in a stoplight drag race.

9. Mercedes 500E

Back in the early ’90s, Mercedes produced the successful yet docile W124 E-Class. The elegant sedan was famous for its comfort and refinement rather than its performance and speed. But soon, a team of crazy German engineers changed that. In 1991, they presented the mighty 500E model. This was a high-performance version of their main sedan featuring a different drivetrain, suspension, brakes and engine.

However, the 500E was so demanding to produce, Mercedes asked Porsche to assemble this car. The main feature of the 500E was the 5.0-liter V8 engine pumping out a whopping 326 HP. That was a crazy figure for early ’90s, especially in a formal sedan. The 500 E could accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in just six seconds, making it almost as fast as a Ferrari 348.

8. Omega Lotus/Lotus Carlton

In the late ’80s, Opel and Vauxhall, GM’s European subsidiaries, presented a full-size family sedan they aimed at comfort and effortless cruising. However, then Lotus decided to turn it into a hot rod and one of the fastest sedans on the planet. And the first step was the engine.

The 3.6-liter six delivered 377 HP, which was massive for the standards of the day and the performance was thrilling, as well. A 0 to 60 mph run was over in just 5.2 seconds and the top speed was a record-breaking 177 mph. But they sold the car in just one color, which they called Imperial Green, a shade of dark green.

7. Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.9 Limited

Today, fast SUVs are nothing special but in the ’90s, they were extremely rare and obscure. However, Jeep produced one that will be a collector’s item in the near future. This is 1998 5.9 Limited, a one-year, top-of-the-line model. In fact, Jeep equipped with every luxury item they had to offer as well as the 5.9-liter Magnum V8 with 245 HP.

Although 245 HP doesn’t sound like much today, it was a lofty number for the late ’90s SUV standards. The Grand Cherokee 5.9 could be considered as a kind of Jeep hot rod before those modern SRT versions with powerful Hemi engines. They built only about 15,000 so the 5.9 Limited is a definite future classic.

6. Subaru Legacy GT

Produced for a short time, the Legacy GT was always in the shadow of its more popular sibling, the Impreza STI. However, the Legacy GT offered more refinement and interior space, along with stealth looks and comfort. The GT part of the name suggests this is no ordinary Legacy.

The 2.5-liter flat-four engine produces 250 HP and 240 lb-ft of torque sending it to all four wheels. And that makes this ordinary sedan quite capable in the right hands. It may look like a family sedan, but this is almost as fast as a racer Impreza STI.

5. Volkswagen Golf R32

In Europe during the 1990s, the hot hatch class was under heavy fire from insurance agencies, earning the image of a hooligan’s express. This meant most car manufacturers stopped producing such cars. Some produced one mild model they considered a hot hatch. After the crazy ’80s and the high-tech Delta Integrale and RS Cosworth of the early ’90s, the rest of the decade lacked interesting models. Volkswagen’s Golf GTI was constantly selling well and VW was one of the companies that never abandoned the market. But the company was thinking of the future of the hot hatch class. The 21st century brought many technological innovations, electronic systems, and improvements in construction, so why not implement all that in a hot hatch of the future?

This is how the R32 came about in 2003. Volkswagen took the Mk4 body shell and installed the best hardware it had in the early 2000s. That meant the R32 had intelligent all-wheel drive, a 240 HP 3.2-liter V6 engine, a luxury interior, and a host of electronic aids. This wasn’t the first AWD hot hatch or the fastest, despite its 0 to 60 mph time of 6.4 seconds. However, it was the first “Uber” hatch that combined luxury and effortless high-speed cruising with exciting driving dynamics. Also, this was the first hot hatch to use the DSG transmission, which is a standard in this class today.

4. Chevrolet Impala SS

The Impala SS is one of the most legendary names in the history of Chevrolet performance. They offered the original Impalas SS from 1961 to 1969, presenting full-size muscle cars that could beat many other performance cars at the stoplights. With its big-block engines and close-ratio, four-speed transmission unit, the Impala SS was a street-legal drag racer of the highest order. However, as the muscle car era came to an end, they discontinued the Impala SS, only to resurrect it in 1994 as an option on the seventh generation of this legendary model.

Since the early 90s marked the return to performance for most American manufacturers, Chevrolet installed the famous 5.7-liter LT1 V8 engine in the full-size rear-wheel-drive sedan. Also, they equipped it with a heavy-duty suspension and components to create a modern-day muscle legend. So for two years, Chevrolet produced almost 70,000 Impala SS models in several colors. However, dark purple was the most popular and sought-after. The engine delivered 260 HP, propelling the big sedan to 0 to 60 mph time of seven seconds. While they’re not exactly spectacular numbers, for the mid-90s, those were quite good results.

3. Dodge Ram SRT-10

Dodge offered the SRT-10 between 2004 and 2006. The SRT-10 is one of the craziest, most powerful, and fastest pickups ever produced. That itself is a hard thing to say since Dodge always had some wild special editions of their trucks. Just look at the specs. The 8.2-liter V10 engine pumped out over 500 H with a 0 to 60 acceleration time of fewer than five seconds. Its fuel economy was in the single digits.

And they topped it off with a crazy bright red or yellow paint job and two white racing stripes. With its big, shiny chrome wheels, you get the idea of what the SRT-10 is all about. It was something you couldn’t miss when you saw it on the street. Of course, with a price tag of over $45,000 the SRT-10 wasn’t exactly a sales hit. However, they produced a decent number of them in its three-year production run.

2. Dodge Magnum R/T

Dodge never built a Charger station wagon or factory Charger convertible and this model was always a two or four-door car throughout its history. However, if you have an irresistible urge for a station wagon Charger there is a way to enjoy the power of the Hemi engine with the practicality of a long roof body. Simply, look for Dodge Magnum R/T.

Equipped with a 6.1-liter V8 Hemi engine pumping out 425 hp and a glorious soundtrack through twin tailpipes, the SRT-8 was a really fast and capable long roof. The design is typical Dodge and since the rest of the mechanics is identical, this car can be considered a station wagon Charger.

1. Dodge Charger GT AWD

A proper muscle car should be V8 powered and rear-wheel drive, right? However, the new Dodge Charger GT AWD breaks that mold as a 300 HP sedan with intelligent, all-wheel drive and sublime driving dynamics.

Since the AWD system requires more space underneath the engine and cabin, the Dodge engineers could only install a V6 engine, which is still good for 300 HP. But the handling characteristics and usability puts this muscle sedan on another level. Not only does the Charger AWD lack any domestic competitors, but it is also more than capable of beating many imports, as well.

Did you find your favorite bank robber’s express on this list of 30 of the best obtainable getaway cars? Even though it wouldn’t be wise to rob a bank and you could end up behind bars, it was fun to imagine flying down the road in one of these vehicles. All of them are a great value and fun to drive.