by Kevin Hackett, Photography by Les Bidrawn
It's a little-known fact that Ferrari built turbocharged cars as far back as 1982. The 208 Turbo was a 2.0-liter version of the 308, introduced to take advantage of tax breaks (in Italy) for cars with smaller capacity engines. Its KKK blower was sorely needed to give this exotic-looking car the performance that buyers expected.
Most were blissfully unaware of turbo Ferraris, but that changed in 1984 with the 288 GTO. Built to comply with homologation regulations for the soon-to-be-defunct Group B, it needed turbos because of the small engine capacities dictated by the authorities. The engine displaced just 2.8 liters, but, thanks to two IHI turbochargers, it developed 400 hp. Sadly, it never competed and all 272 examples remained road cars.
The idea wouldn't go away, however. In 1987, Ferrari unveiled the brutal, uncompromising, stunning-in-every-respect F40 to commemorate the company's 40th year in business. Enzo was 90 when he commissioned the F40. It turned out to be his last car. Reason enough for it to be a legend, but the F40 really deserved its plaudits.
Intended to prove a thing or two to Porsche, whose 959 was hogging the headlines, it approached engineering nirvana from an entirely different angle. Weight was kept to a minimum by using composite materials in its construction. There were no carpets, the windows were all plastic and there was a cable to open the doors. It was the complete antithesis of the Porsche, which was laden with every luxury known to man.
A genuine 200-mph car, the 2.9-liter, 478-hp F40 showed the world that Ferrari was a force to be reckoned with. With 1,315 F40s built between 1987 and 1992, it was also one of its most commercially successful models and remains the ultimate Ferrari to millions.
THE VITALS
Peak Power: 478 hp@7000 rpm
Peak Torque: 426 lb-ft@4000 rpm
Curb Weight: 2,425 lb
0-60 mph: 4.2 sec.
Top Speed: 202 mph
The Audi Quattro changed forever the way cars were designed. The advances it brought into the motoring world have not only saved countless lives, but also managed to breathe life into motorsport on many different levels.
Rallying was turned on its head when the Quattro began its competition career. The sport's governing body was quick to tighten the rulebooks, so other manfacturers would stand a chance in the wake of the world's most famous Audi. It's formula was simple but devastatingly effective: four-wheel drive and turbo power.
It didn't take long for the scene to develop and Group B took things to another level entirely. Huge power, still driven to all four wheels, was the order of the day and 1983's Quattro Sport was Audi's answer.
To bring weight down to meet regulations, Audi shortened the Quattro's wheelbase by a foot, meaning the Sport looked odd-beautiful in an ugly sort of way. But it did the job and reigned once again as champion of the world's rally circuits. For homologation, a number were built for road use (just 164) and nothing could touch them for point-to-point performance: 300 hp, less lag than ever before and an exhaust that belched flames if you messed up your gearchanges. The Quattro Sport is possibly the ultimate roadgoing Audi.
They're still a rare site on the road, obviously, and prices have always been high as a result. Several brave Ur-Quattro owners have, over the years, taken the tin snips and turned their cars into Sport replicas, a rather dubious practice, because we hold the original in such high esteem. The real ones, though, represent possibly Audi's finest hour.
THE VITALS
Peak Power: 306 hp@6700 rpm
Peak Torque: 246 lb-ft@3700 rpm
Curb Weight: 2,646 lb
0-60 mph: 4.8 sec.
Top Speed: 155 mph
A true wild child of the 1980s, the mid-engined Renault 5 Turbo is one of France's maddest cars. And that's really saying something, because the French have produced some seriously mental machinery over the years.
Taking a humble Renault 5, the engineers removed its front-mounted engine. Then they proceeded to remove the rear seats and fill up that space (as well as the trunk) with a 160-hp, 1.4-liter, Garrett T3 turbocharged engine. Whatever they were smoking that day, we'll have some, please.
To force air into the engine's intercooler, the rear was widened somewhat. It looks crazy and even now is the only really exotic car to be badged a Renault. To take it rallying, 400 road-legal versions needed to be built. Almost 5,000 were sold eventually. No one had seen anything quite like it. Twenty-seven years after it first emerged, it still shocks the senses.
The road versions were good for 124 mph and reached 60 mph in seven seconds—hardly earth-shattering today, but at the time this was the daddy. The more powerful competition variants managed to steal some of the Audi Quattro's thunder in the early '80s, racking up no less than 33 top-10 positions, with wins at Monte Carlo and the Tour de Course. Not bad for a car that started out as a cheap and humble city-dweller.
The Renault 5 Turbo was as aerodynamic as a skyscraper, but it didn't really matter to the engineers. They thought that since rally cars never really get to travel at more than 100 mph, streamlining was irrelevant. Good point. And with that kind of attitude at the design stage, no wonder it's a complete one-off. We love it.
THE VITALS
Peak Power: 160 hp@6700 rpm
Peak Torque: 246 lb-ft@3700 rpm
Curb Weight: 2,646 lb
0-60 mph: 4.8 sec.
Top Speed: 155 mph
Racing improves the breed. It's a well-worn cliché, but that doesn't mean it isn't true. The first 911 Turbo (code number 930) was the result of experimentation aimed firmly at the track. Porsche needed more performance from the 911 if its racing teams were to succeed against increasingly stiff competition. Turbocharging was a pretty simple fix: leave the engine as it is and get more power.
In 1975, it was time to offer this enhanced performance in a road car. The 911 Turbo was pitched as Porsche's flagship model. Immense performance with total luxury—how could it fail. With a KKK blower, the 3.0-liter unit's power output reached the dizzy heights of 260 hp, culminating in the 300-hp 3.3-liter of 1978. The 911 was now a bona fide supercar. With a zero-to-60 mpg time of less than five seconds, the 911 Turbo was, for many years, the fastest-accelerating car on Earth. But there was a problem—and it wasn't the four-speed gearbox. Lots and lots of turbo lag. There are Turbo owners out there who floored the throttle during the lat '70s and are still waiting for the boost to kick in.
It's one of those things to do before you die, though, because to experience even an early 911 Turbo is a massive adrenaline rush. Push the throttle, go for a coffee and then be prepared to hang on, because when that blower spools up, you're in for a white-knuckle ride like no other.
Of course, the 911 Turbo of today is a more refined piece of kit, with twin variable-vane blowers and all-wheel drive. Even your grannie could drive it to the shops. But to many of us, the ultimate Porsche is still the wide=bodied 930—truly a mold-breaking European car.
THE VITALS
Peak Power: 300 hp@5500 rpm
Peak Torque: 319 lb-ft@4000 rpm
Curb Weight: 2,866 lb
0-60 mph: 4.9 sec.
Top Speed: 162 mph
Lots of trouble. Usually serious. Despite the tales of woe that go with Lotus ownership, the Esprit remains one of those cars you can't help but consider when browsing the classifieds. Its chiseled, Giugiaro-penned shape, mid-engine layout and James Bond connection—they all conspire to lull us into doing something truly stupid: buying one.
Who could forget Roger Moore driving one out of the sea and up the Sardinian beach, dangling a fish out of the window after a spot of submarining and bumping off baddies? In 1977, the Esprit was cooler than John Travolta, but it wasn't that good.
Three years later, the Esprit finally had the performance to match its futuristic looks. And it made another appearance as Bond's company car in 1981's For Your Eyes Only. The Turbo Esprit managed to thrash almost anything on a dash to 60 mph, despite having only four cylinders and displacing just 2.2 liters. With a Garret T3 turbocharger and a plastic body, it was always going to be fast. In 1980, though, a five-second zero-to-60 time was almost unheard of.
The car had another overhaul in '86. Build quality was improving steadily; sales in the U.S. were growing. Performance remained unbelievable for a four-pot. In 1992, the Esprit made another memorable movie appearance. Basic Instinct might be best remembered for giving millions a clear view of Sharon Stone's lady bits, but we were also left salivating over something else: two hard-charging Turbo Esprits.
It remained in production for 27 years and is rumored to be making a comeback, this time with a blown BMW V8. Another classic could be upon us.
THE VITALS
Peak Power: 215 hp@5500 rpm
Peak Torque: 220 lb-ft@4250 rpm
Curb Weight: 3,052 lb
0-60 mph: 5.4 sec.
Top Speed: 153.5 mph
When the Ur-Quattro finally bowed out in 1991, Audi was left with a range of cars which did little to get the juices flowing. How could the company follow such a legend and still make money? Audi needed a volume seller that appealed to young, enthusiastic drivers, one that gave a thrill whenever the throttle was mashed into the carpet. It needed a turbo.
What resulted was the A4 1.8T. In 1995, Audi replaced the 80 with A4—a 3 Series rival that was good looking, extremely well built and logically laid out. Most of the range was pretty ordinary to drive, despite the existence of a 2.7-liter V6 Quattro model. This car was too heavy, too ponderous to get anyone excited about the brand again, but salivation was at hand in a front-wheel-drive A4 with less weight, less power, but so much more involvement: the 1.8T.
With 150 hp, the thing came alive with a zest that was sorely missing from its bigger-engined brothers. Less weight over the front suspension meant livelier steering and a more entertaining drive. But it's the sheer scope VW/Audi showed with this engine that really impresses. Less than four years after the 1.8T was launched, a more powerful version went into the A4. Power was up to 180 hp and mated to all-wheel drive in the 1.8T Quattro Sport.
The engine also saw active service in Volkswagen's Mk IV Golf GTI and has evolved over the years into a highly flexible, tunable, reliable unit. It's still part of the range, being an example of what Audi does best: small engines, advanced turbo technology and big fun.
THE VITALS
Peak Power: 150 hp@5700 rpm
Peak Torque: 155 lb-ft@1750 rpm
Curb Weight: 2,700 lb
0-60 mph: 8 sec.
Top Speed: 138 mph
In the early 1990s, Ford needed its motorsport mojo back. It needed a small car that could wipe the floor with the bloodied faces of its competitors and sell in healthy numbers as a road car. When the Escort Cosworth stormed onto the scene, it didn't just rewrite the rulebook, it threw it away and started from scratch, redefining how a hatchback could perform.
So utterly fast, so capable, everybody wanted one. It came to be viewed as the ultimate Ford and, as such, became the number-one target for car thieves desperate for the ultimate joyride. Annual insurance premiums become more expensive than the car was to buy in the first place. It was a mad, mad time—the likes of which we're unlikely to ever see again.
It took the rally-bred road car look to a hitherto unimagined level, but underneath was a modified Sierra Cosworth chassis and running gear. The body was made up of 50 percent new parts and it was twice as stiff as a standard Escort. Ford didn't have sufficient capacity to build the Cosworth, so it was made by Karmann in Germany, where each one was painstakingly built by hand. Epic, yet completely useable as eveyday trasport.
THE VITALS
Peak Power: 227 hp@6250 rpm
Peak Torque: 220 lb-ft@3500 rpm
Curb Weight: 2,879 lb
0-60 mph: 4.9 sec.
Top Speed: 140 mph
In the early 1990s, there were two things responsible for almost every social ill, according to the British tabloid newspapers: Reservoir Dogs and the Lotus Carlton. Quentin Tarantino's stylized, low-budget movies glorified violence, screamed the headlines. A sedan that could crack 180 mph was just as bad. The end of the world was near, thanks to blood-stained shirts and inexcusably fast family cars.
Aware that, throughout Europe, its image was perceived as (at best) dull, Vauxhall's parent company, GM, commissioned Lotus to develop a performance version of one of its models. Lotus obliged and chose the Carlton for two reasons: it's rear-drive chassis and longitudinally mounted (and easily tunable) straight-six engine. The Lotus Carlton was born.
Using the Carlton GSi 3000, Lotus stroked out the engine to 3.6 liters and bolted on a couple of Garrett T25 turbochargers to give some steam. The result was an increase in power from 177 to 377 hp—impressive even now.
Here was a car that could do two and a half times the legal speed limit. But what really upset the nation's moral guardians was that a Lotus Carlton could do so with the whole family on board. The media outrage was enough to make Vauxhall speak in conservative terms about its performance.
'Official' top speed was 176 mph, but certain car magazines tested it to speeds not far short of 190 mph, when the Ferrari F40 was officially the world's fastest car at 202 mph.
The Lotus Carlton looked the part too, with a low ride height and aggressive body kit. Supremely fast and practical, it should have been a huge success. But buyers with the requisite funds couldn't see past the downmarket badge and only 950 were ever built, making this as rare as it is desirable nearly two decades on.
THE VITALS
Peak Power: 377 hp@5200 rpm
Peak Torque: 419 lb-ft@4200 rpm
Curb Weight: 3,641 lb
0-60 mph: 4.8 sec.
Top Speed: 186 mph
Discounting the high percentage of unspeakably beautiful, blonde ladies living there, Sweden isn't a particularily exciting place. They make Saabs: so safe, so sensibly, so boring.
Hang on a minute, it wasn't always like this. Thirty years ago, Saab was building one of the most pivotal sport coupes of the 20th century: the seminal 900 Turbo. Like discovering the demure-looking librarian is wearing garters under her sensible skirt, finding the Turbo badge on the back of a Saab 900 still gives a thrill, a flutter in the heart rate.
Initially known as the Saab 99, the 900 came to symbolize success and restrained good taste, all in one package. Anyone who knew anything about cars had a sneaking respect for these motors, simply because of the new technology they were bringing to the mainstream. Saab's chief engineer, Pelle Gillbrand, who led the project, used to explain that all engines have a fuel pump, a water pump and an oil pump—so why not an air pump? He argued that a turbo is really just an air pump and thought it strange that all engines didn't have one. That's the kind of logic we love.
With their wraparound, cockpit-inspired windshields, 'clamshell' hoods and 'self-repairing' bumpers, the bold and distictive looks of the 99 and 900 took Saab upmarket, but the Turbo created a legend. Early cars were painted black, furthering their cool appeal. Saab hasn't forgotten this, having recently unveiled the new Turbo X with 280 hp, all-wheel drive and lots of classic, jet black paint. Swedent's getting exciting again.
THE VITALS
Peak Power: 175 hp@5300 rpm
Peak Torque: 201 lb-ft@3000 rpm
Curb Weight: 2,954 lb
0-60 mph: 7.5 sec.
Top Speed: 131 mph
A third showing here for Audi which should tell them something at Ingolstadt. The second-generation S4 debuted in 1997 as part of the B5 platform A4 lineup, although it wasn't available in North America until 2000.
The B5 S4 had a 2.7-liter, twin-turbocharged V6 engine producing 261 hp in European trim, but was slightly detuned to meet U.S. emissions regulations. Power stopped at 250 hp in North America. It was still good for a zero-to-60 mph sprint of just over 5 seconds and top speed was limited to 155 mph, making it both the quickest Audi sedan and one of the quickest sedans in the world at the time. As in the previous S4, a six-speed manual transmission was standard equipment, as was the Quattro drivetrain. It was a serious performance car—the proverbial wolf in sheep's clothing.
A few years before, we'd enjoyed the immense RS2 Avant, which had been engineered with more than a little help from Porsche, so it should have come as no surprise that Audi wanted to bring superb performance to the masses in the shape of an ordinary looking car. And Audi has kept to this brief ever since, using turbos to liberate extraordinary power from engines of a fairly small capacity.
Audi is shaping the future with engines like this, because the advantages of using twin turbochargers are so obvious. The days of the gas-guzzler are numbered, but ultra-efficient, clean and powerful turbo motors will be here for years to come. You can bet your life Audi will be building the best of them. Cars like the incredible S4.
THE VITALS
Peak Power: 250 hp@5800 rpm
Peak Torque: 258 lb-ft@1850 rpm
Curb Weight: 3,703 lb
0-60 mph: 5.9 sec.
Top Speed: 155 mph (limited)
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