10 forgotten turbo models

Shelby Dodge Omni GLH-S

Rewind to the year 1979, when Chrysler was still a renowned producer and directed the French Simca on this side of the ocean. With this Chrysler Europe a serious attempt was made to gain a foothold on the old continent as well. A world car was to be created, which would make it difficult for the extremely popular hatchbacks of the competition. Thus the Simca Horizon was born, which even made it to Car of the Year and which in turn also had to conquer the American market as Dodge Omni and Plymouth Horizon. It was not a great success, by the way, but the involvement of Carrol Shelby in this story resulted in at least one special variant: the Dodge Omni GLH-S, which stands for Goes Like Hell S’more … This brave hatchback was made for the occasion. equipped with a blown 2.2-litre four-cylinder engine that produced 175 horsepower, Koni shock absorbers, adjustable suspension, speedy decals and a Momo steering wheel. The GLH-S was good for a 0-100 sprint in less than 7 seconds and a top speed of 217 km/h. Only 500 examples were built, many of which were killed on the track …

Buick Regal GNX

The second generation of the Buick Regal, a somewhat salt-free compact American middle class, was equipped with a (by American standards) somewhat undersized 3.2- or 3.8-liter V6. It certainly wasn’t on the enthusiast’s wish list until Buick decided to translate its success in the Nascar Grand National Series to the Regal. That meant adding some pepper to the biggest V6, which, thanks to a turbo, would kick it up to 175 horsepower. Still no top marks, but in the last year Buick came up with the GNX. A GN on steroids actually, which could compete with the Ferrari F40 and Porsche 911 turbo thanks to a power of more than 300 hp on the quarter mile drag strip. The GNX has become legendary, thanks in part to the fact that only 547 were built and the looks, which earned the car the nickname ‘Darth Vader’ thanks to the black details and modified, slanted nose. The bumper sticker ‘We brake for Corvette’s’ was also a popular option.

Chevrolet Corvair Spyder and Corsa Turbo

The Chevrolet Corvair has certainly not gone down in the history books. That’s a shame, because the concept of an air-cooled six-cylinder in the back in combination with an attractively designed body can be successful is quite a given. An entry in the mid-1960s book “Unsafe at any speed” by lawyer and activist Ralf Nader about dangerous design flaws in the American auto industry, however, did not help sales. By cutting back on a stabilizer at the rear, the car would roll very easily. Although the problems with the rear suspension had already been solved before publication, the dent in the reputation was not easily repaired and the Corvair story ended quite inglorious in 1969. Because the Corvair was by no means a sports car, an added turbo proved the right thing to do here too. recipe to spice up the relatively compact family transporter. The first generation of the 2.7-liter six-cylinder boxer engine thus kicked it up to 150 hp, after which the second generation added another 30 hp and was good for a sprint to 100 km/h in 10 seconds and a top of a small 160 km/h. Nice detail: the Corvair was the second production car ever to be equipped with a turbo.

Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX

If you were looking for a compact sporty coupé in the early 1990s, the Japanese could do it perfectly. Where the Toyota Celica and the Mazda RX7 have remained in the car enthusiast’s brain (partly thanks to the great rally successes), the Mitsubishi Eclipse seems to have fallen into oblivion. Especially the GSX deserves better. Equipped with a 195 hp blown two-liter four-cylinder and four-wheel drive, it turned out to be good for a top of 230 km/h and a sprint to 100 km/h in 6.8 seconds. Incidentally, this engine, albeit considerably modified, also found its way into the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo, a machine that has stuck with the public a bit better and which – not unimportantly – was also delivered in Europe. That makes the Eclipse GSX a white raven on European soil, because the Eclipse did not get a foothold on our continent.

Ford Escort RS Turbo

In the late 1980s, there was quite a bit to choose from in the hot hatchback segment. Sales toppers such as the Volkswagen Golf II, the Opel Kadett E and the Ford Escort Mk4 fought as GTI, GSi and RS Turbo in the vanguard, but both the Golf and the Opel had to do without a turbo. Although the Escort RS Turbo had to make do with ‘only’ an eight-valve 1.6-liter four-cylinder, thanks to the turbo it still managed to save up to 132 hp, with which it had enough power to earn a place in the above list. In the pecking order, he was still above the XR3i, that other fast Escort, which came to 115 hp with the same block without a turbo. It wasn’t until 1992, meanwhile, with the Escort Mk5, that the famous and fastest Escort made it onto the list: the RS Cosworth. That blew the RS with its 227 hp and four-wheel drive from the throne, but was unreachable for the good family man. As a Mk5, the RS Turbo therefore remained in the list, with the same engine and the same performance figures: from 0 to 100 km/h in 8.7 seconds and a top speed of 206 km/h. Lightning fast in other times. Nice detail, by the way: a set of high-beam headlamps was fitted as standard, for that real rally look.

Suzuki Cappuccino

How do you cram as much automotive fun as possible into a package that is a maximum of 1.4 meters wide and 3.3 meters long, while the cylinder capacity may not exceed 660 cc and the number of horsepower is limited to 64 pieces? The Kei-car, a tax-attractive car category that arose from Japanese regulations, has yielded a lot of fun over the years, of which little by little also trickled down to Europe. The Suzuki Cappuccino, for example, is such a candy, which was even officially delivered in the Netherlands in 1994 and 1995. You were, however, stuck to a right-hand drive car, but the small width made up for it. The small convertible was therefore equipped with a 660-cc three-cylinder engine that, thanks to the turbo, kicked it up to the maximum permitted 64 hp. There were no other flavors; only in the paint colors was still something to choose. They are still for sale here and there, but if you are above 1.80 meters, you can forget about a nice seat.

BMW 745i

A top-class limousine deserves a top-class engine. After the introduction of the first generation 7-series from BMW, the manufacturer had a problem with this. Not that there was anything wrong with the largest six-cylinder in-line engine available, the extremely creamy 218 hp 3.5-litre. On the contrary, this block still deserves an honorable mention in the book ‘Best Blocks Ever’. However, the 3.5-liter six-cylinder was now also available in the E28 5-series, so something more impressive had to come for the thickest 7. However, a V8 or rather a V12 was not yet on the shelves. What to do? So a turbo, but a bit inconspicuous. A turbocharger was screwed onto the existing 3.2-liter six-cylinder, which boosted the power to a top model-worthy 252 hp. However, there was no question that even a small sticker about ‘turbo’ was mentioned. Instead, the new top-of-the-line model was renamed 745i, with the last two digits no longer representing the actual engine size, but the outcome of the assumption that a turbo could increase the performance of the internal combustion engine by a factor of 1.4. So 3.2 x 1.4 = 4.5. Around then, but the 745i was a fact.

Suzuki Alto Works

The turbo race was in full swing in the eighties and the small Kei cars in Japan could not escape an extra breath of fresh air to spice up the performance. 64 hp from a maximum of 660 cc was the gentlemen’s agreement that the makers of these little ones had agreed with each other, but in practice the little rascals went over that with ease. A true icon in this class is the Suzuki Alto Works, a car that we only know here as a small bitch shaker that is especially at home in city traffic. As fast Works, it was only delivered in Japan, where the first Works Alto was delivered in 1987 and since that time every Alto has appeared as an extra rap bomb. It was available with front-wheel or four-wheel drive and even an automatic gearbox was available on several models. Every now and then one appears on the market. We just want to have mentioned it when grandma happens to be ready for another car…

Oldsmobile Jetfire

The prize for the first turbo in a production car goes to Oldsmobile. In doing so, the brand tried to stay close to the economical import cars from Europe and Japan. A solution was also sought in this corner for the Corvair (also General Motors), but the Oldsmobile Jetfire appeared on the market just a little earlier. For example, the smallest V8 on the shelf (still 3.5 liters) was equipped with a turbo from Garrett, which then only made industrial compressors. The engine made it to 215 horsepower, compared to 155 for the unblown model. The Jetfire had a major drawback: to prevent knocking, a mixture of alcohol and distilled water (Turbo Rocket Fluid) was added to the inlet section. That had to be topped up regularly, because as soon as this mixture was used up, the boost deteriorated sharply. Everyone forgot about that refill, after which complaints about a declining power did not do the image of the Jetfire any good.

Volvo 240 turbo

Volvo’s 200-series still proudly bears the nickname ‘moving brick’. Then it’s not just about the angular design, but also about the indestructible quality. So you would think that reliability was higher on the list than performance, but then you have not counted the 240 Turbo. Now it was certainly not enough with the 141 hp strong 2.8-liter V6 of the 260, but the Turbo, which made use of the considerably more modest 2.1-liter B21 four-cylinder, kicked it up to no less than 155 hp. That immediately made the station wagon variant, the 242 Turbo, the fastest Estate on the American market. In the Netherlands, the 240 Turbo appeared on the market in 1982, where it showed many segment members the square ass with a top speed of 190 km/h and a sprint to one hundred in 9 seconds. That could be a bit faster, because the 240 was also very successful on the circuit. In 1985 Volvo won the European Touring Car Championship (ETC) with the Turbo and the Deutsche Produktionswagen-Meisterschaft, the predecessor of the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM). Before that, the boost was slightly increased: in racing version, the Turbo was good for more than 300 hp.