Puff and bluster

GROUNDBREAKING TURBO WITH A FAMOUS AUSSIE CONNECTION

- MICHAEL STAHL

FANS OF FORCE-FEEDING often trace automotive turbocharging to 1970s Euro exotics like the BMW 2002 Turbo or Porsche 930. In fact, it began with General Motors in 1962, with the Chevrolet Corvair Monza and the Oldsmobile Jetfire.

Other than sharing a parent (and an ongoing argument over which came first), this pair of two-door models couldn’t have been more different: the Corvair a 2.4-litre flat-six, air-cooled and rear-mounted; the Jetfire a more conventional front-mounted 3.5-litre V8.

Just as unlikely was the world-beating Aussie connection that lay in store for the latter.

The US was a leader in turbocharging via WW2 aircraft like the P-38 Lightning and P-47 Thunderbolt, both of which used General Electric turbos to deliver their high-altitude power.