5 Mopars that Invented the Modern Turbo Car
Turbos may be gaining steam again in the automotive world, but Chrysler was making them back in the 80's. Here are the Mopars that helped invent the modern turbo car.
1. Shelby GLHS Dodge Omni
In stock form, the Dodge Omni is an unassuming and fun to drive little economy hatchback. But in Shelby form, it was a real barn burner. The turbocharged and intercooled 2.2 liter inline four produced 175 hp and 175 lb-ft of torque at a max boost of 12 PSI. That was good enough for a 6.5 second 0-60 run - a time that is extremely impressive for its day.
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2. Shelby CSX-VNT Dodge Shadow
Only 500 examples of the revolutionary CSX-VNT were ever produced, and it's a special car for many reasons. The VNT part of the moniker stands for "Variable Nozzle Turbo." That means these were the very first production vehicles to use what we now call a Variable Geometry Turbo. With up to 15 PSI of boost, the CSX-VNT pumped out an impressive 175 hp and 205 lb-ft of torque.
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3. Chrysler TC by Maserati
The TC isn't merely a LeBaron with a bunch of unnecessary and expensive stuff bolted onto it. This joint venture between a couple of friends - Lee Iacocca and the owner of Maserati, Alejandro DeTomaso, was also a performance machine. The body was a one off built in Italy, but under the hood lied a turbocharged 2.2 liter four cylinder with special parts from all over the world. The result? At 200 hp and 220 lb-ft of torque, it was the most powerful iteration of Chyrsler's turbo 2.2 to date.
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5. Dodge Neon SRT-4
The Neon was a sales success for Dodge, but it wasn't exactly what you would call a performance car. That is, until Dodge unleashed the SRT-4. A turbocharged 2.4 liter, producing 215 horsepower and 245 lb-ft of torque, was enough to transform this Neon into a car that could run with cars like the Audi A4 and BMW 330i. The performance numbers are equally impressive: 0-60 in 5.6 seconds, a quarter mile time of 14.2, and a top speed of 153 mph.
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