Cars
Mythbusters: the turbo era
As the automotive world searches for new ways to deliver more power, more efficiently, forced induction is demonstrably one of the best ways of doing so.
Ferrari’s track record in turbocharging is long and fascinating. The story begins, as is often the case, in Formula One. When turbocharging arrived in 1977, it proved troublesome, controversial and even the source of some amusement in the pit lane. But it wasn’t long before turbo cars began winning, leading Enzo Ferrari to appoint Nicola Materazzi, Italy’s ‘Mr Turbo’ following his time at Lancia and Osella, to oversee the development of the next generation of Scuderia Ferrari F1 cars. He improved 1981’s occasionally truculent Ferrari 126 C, but the team really hit its stride with constructor’s titles in 1982 and ’83.
By this point, turbocharging was also gaining serious traction outside motorsport. Ferrari was no exception. Its first turbocharged road car was an outlier, though. The 208 GTB turbo arrived in 1982, a riposte to the extra tax levied by the Italian authorities on engines above 2.0-litres. Thanks to its turbo the 208 GTB extracted 220 cv from its 1991cc engine. Few were made so it now enjoys a certain rarity status.
The line of turbocharged road cars began with 1982's 208 GTB Turbo, the same year Ferrari won its first Constructors' title with a turbo F1 car
Materazzi also guided the development of the engine in its successor, the GTB Turbo, which saw a power boost to 254 cv.
But he’s better known for his work on two much higher profile Ferraris. The first of these was 1984’s GTO, only the second Ferrari to wear that hallowed badge. It also benefitted from two turbochargers, harnessed to a V8 of 2855cc – pretty compact, then and now – which was mounted longitudinally in the middle of the chassis. A pair of intercoolers cooled the charge air and the result was 400 cv.
Its successor, the F40, was completed by the development team in a little over a year and appeared in 1987. Its 2.9-litre V8 produced 478 cv, largely thanks to its twin IHI turbos. Back then, turbo lag was an inevitable consequence of the technology; the turbine uses exhaust gas pressure to spin and force compressed air into the intake manifold, a process that could take a few seconds. The result, as seen on the F40, was a sense of a gathering storm, followed by eye-popping acceleration.
From F1 to F80 – click to watch Ferrari's history of turbocharging
After a lengthy hiatus, Ferrari returned to turbocharging in 2014, initially with the California T. Maranello’s engineers believed the technology had reached a new maturity, and were confident that classic Ferrari traits – instant throttle response, seamless power delivery at all rev increments, a distinctive soundtrack – could be combined with the extra fuel efficiency and reduced emissions that turbocharging brought. The new 3.9-litre twin turbo V8 proved revelatory. In the California T, power rose by 70 cv and torque by 49 per cent compared to the normally aspirated V8 in its predecessor.
The 488 GTB allowed the engine to stretch out even further: its power output of 670 cv showed how far things had come since the F40’s late-Eighties era. Better still, it had a throttle response time of just 0.8 seconds.
How did Ferrari’s engineers accomplish this? By using compact twin-scroll turbos that spooled up almost instantly so that the old bugbear lag was largely imperceptible. The new V8’s harmonics were different, no question, but still distinctively sonorous thanks to a flat-plane crank and an exhaust with equal-length pipes. A ball-bearing shaft linked the turbine wheels to reduce friction; the turbine wheels themselves had nine blades to reduce back pressure and increase power.
Almost three decades since the F40, Ferrari returned to turbocharging with the California T
Scooping numerous awards, the 3.9-litre, twin turbo V8 continued to evolve, via the wonderful 488 Pista and F8 Tributo. By now it was making 720 cv at 8000rpm, and techniques like Variable Boost Management allowed the engine to mimic the torque curve of a naturally aspirated engine. This also gave it ‘driveability’: the response even in fifth gear was incredible. The F8’s intake was borrowed from the Challenge racing car, continuing the interplay between road and track that has been a Ferrari signature since day one.
The SF90 raised the bar yet further: its 4.0-litre V8 featured turbos with electronically controlled wastegates, and a reworked intake and exhaust, for an ICE output of 769 cv (1,000 cv with the electric power included).
The F80 is the latest turbocharged Ferrari. With 1200 cv, it's also the most powerful Ferrari road car ever