Ferrari's Turbo Milestone

Most road cars today are turbos and so are all Formula 1 cars. This year's Las Vegas GP celebrates an important turbo milestone. It marks the 42nd anniversary of the first-ever Formula One championship won by a turbocharged car. Back in 1982, Ferrari’s 126 C2 clinched the world constructor’s title for the Scuderia in Las Vegas.

Above: see some of Ferrari's greatest ever turbocharged cars in action…

It was the last race of a tragic yet successful season. Ferrari’s new turbo car would win three races, as well as the coveted constructor’s title. Yet Gilles Villeneuve – said to be Enzo Ferrari’s favourite driver – lost his life during qualifying for the Belgian GP. His Ferrari teammate Didier Pironi led the driver’s title for much of the year and would almost certainly have been world champion, but for a career-ending crash in Germany. He still finished runner up.

The 1982 Caesars Palace GP was the second F1 race to take place in Nevada’s gambling capital. Unlike this year’s race on a street circuit through the city, the 1981 and ’82 versions took place in the parking lot of the famous Caesars Palace hotel.

The historic 126 C2 of 1982 was the development follow-up to 1981’s 126 CK, Ferrari’s first turbocharged F1 car. Powered by a 1.5-litre V6, the 126 CK was powerful and fast, but it was also difficult to drive and suffered from poor reliability. Yet Villeneuve won convincingly in Monte Carlo and in Spain, two of the Canadian driver’s finest victories. The 126 C2’s successor, the arrow-shaped 126 C3, would also win the constructor’s title, four GPs and nearly won Rene Arnoux the driver’s championship.

Above: the historic 126 C2 of 1982 was the development follow-up to 1981’s 126 CK, Ferrari’s first turbocharged F1 car

Turbo cars then dominated F1 until 1989, when they were banned for their high cost. Turbo-charging disappeared from F1 for 25 years before returning in 2014, powering every F1 car since.

The turbocharger has proved to be one of the most important tools in a powertrain engineer’s arsenal, allowing engines to get smaller and yet more powerful. A turbocharger force-feeds air into the engine – and in an internal combustion engine, more air means more power.

Ferrari was a turbocharging pioneer in sports cars thanks to the experience gained in Formula 1. The first turbo Ferrari road car was the 208 GTB Turbo, launched the same year that the 126 C2 would win the constructor’s title. The single KKK turbocharger helped redress the power deficit caused by the smaller capacity. The turbo V8 produced 220cv, compared with the contemporary 3.0-litre 308 GTB’s 240cv. Additionally, its 2.0 litre engine gave it tax advantages in its home market.

Above, from left: the 1982 208 GTB was the first turbocharged Ferrari road car; it was followed in 1984 by the astonishingly rapid GTO; the legendary F40 came in 1987; the 2015 488 GTB was the most powerful road-going Ferrari ever made at its launch

More celebrated was the GTO of 1984. Now acknowledged as the world’s first modern limited-edition supercar – or ‘hypercar’ – the GTO was exclusive (just 272 were built) and phenomenally fast. Twin turbochargers boosted the V8’s power to 400cv which, combined with the lightweight composite body, gave the GTO truly sensational levels of performance. Its top speed was more than 300 km/h, while it took just 4.9 seconds to go from 0 to 100 km/h. Much of the GTO’s turbo engine and lightweight materials know-how came from F1, as is often the case with Ferrari. And the result was the very first ultra high-performance turbocharged Prancing Horse.

The GTO’s successor, the F40, was even more exhilarating. It was also the fastest road car in the world when released in 1987. Like the GTO, it used a twin-turbo V8 which provided a blistering power output of 478cv, sling-shotting the car from zero to 100km/h in just 4.1 seconds – outrageous performance figures for the time. It would be the last road car personally signed off by Enzo Ferrari, who died in 1988. It was some swansong. Many still regard the F40 as the most exciting supercar of all time, from its stylish swagger to its turbo punch.

Above: turbocharging – along with hybrid power – is a major contributor to the new F80's astonishing performance

Turbocharging has gone on to boost the performance of a number of modern Ferrari cars, including the 2014 California T and the 488 GTB of 2015. Every mid-engine Ferrari V8 berlinetta since has enjoyed turbo power, including today’s 296 GTB – which, as with modern F1 cars, also enjoys electric hybrid assistance.

Both turbo and hybrid power contribute to the phenomenal performance of Ferrari’s latest limited-edition flagship, the F80. Much of the tech that powers this halo model comes from the latest F1 car piloted by Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz in Las Vegas. That car, in turn, can trace its lineage back to the 126 C2 that celebrated the turbo era’s first world title, clinched in a car park of Las Vegas’s most famous hotel.

Cover image: Mario Andretti behind the wheel of the Ferrari 126 C2 at the 1982 Caesars Palace GP