Perhaps the biggest downside to supercharging in the eyes of automakers is that it decreases fuel economy. At its simplest, a supercharger is basically a pulley-driven air pump that requires additional fuel to turn. Of course, the idea is that the provided boost will more than offset the energy expended in turning the supercharger.
However, turbochargers also increase horsepower by creating boost, but from spent exhaust gases and not via a direct drain on the engine. In the past, turbochargers had the disadvantage of delayed throttle response, or "turbo lag," which caused some early Porsche 911 Turbo drivers to find themselves suddenly traveling sideways when the turbo finally kicked in. But modern turbocharging has solved the issue of turbo lag by using multiple smaller turbos and other wizardry.
Today, many drivers of vehicles like the Ford Escape, Honda Accord, and Ram 1500 trucks with Hurricane engines might not even realize that there's a turbo living under the hood. While the pulley-driven blower isn't totally dead, it's definitely in hospice. However, a couple of decades ago, there were considerably more supercharged vehicles on the road, and we're betting that you've forgotten about at least a few of them.
Once General Motors started hanging superchargers on its venerable 3800 (3.8-liter) V6, it seems like the company put that engine in everything. The number of supercharged V6 GM vehicles over the course of a decade starting in the mid-1990s could easily be the subject of its own feature-length article. There's the Buick Riviera GS, Pontiac Bonneville SSEI, and Oldsmobile LSS, just to name a few.
However, one that might escape you is the 2004 and 2005 model year Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS. Enthusiasts may better remember some of these Montes for their special appearance packages commemorating stock car legends like Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart. But stuffed sideways under the hood was a 3800-series V6 with a roots-type blower that made 240 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque. That's a 40 to 60 horsepower bump over the other naturally-aspirated Monte Carlos available in those years.
In 2006, the supercharged Monte withered away when GM opted to give its personal luxury coupe V8 power once again in the form of a 5.3-liter LS that made 303 horsepower and 323 pound-feet of torque. Even with a blower, the V6 couldn't compete.
There's no doubt that the 1990s produced some weird looking minivans. The massive swept-back windshield and ski-slope hood of the Chevrolet Lumina APV, Oldsmobile Silhouette, and Pontiac Trans Sport trifecta probably springs to mind, but Toyota's Previa deserves at least an honorable mention. Underneath it's egg-shaped exterior — not totally unlike the modern Canoo electric van — lurks available all-wheel drive and a mid-mounted engine that resides underneath the front seats. With that unique arrangement, checking the oil level requires tilting back the driver's seat to access the engine's dipstick.
If the Previa's many other quirks weren't enough, Toyota decided to offer an optional supercharged version in 1994. With blower, the 2.4-liter inline-four made 161 horsepower, while the naturally-aspirated base Previa only made 138 horsepower. Yay? What's interesting is that the Previa's supercharger had an electronically-operated clutch, rather like an automotive air conditioning compressor. Therefore, the boost only kicked-in when needed. In later years of production, the Previa's supercharged powerplant went from optional to becoming a standard feature in order to better compete against the myriad of six-cylinder minivans from other manufacturers.
When enthusiasts recall Volkswagen's short-lived sports car, the Corrado, the focal point will be its hot VR6 engine, which was developed with help from Porsche. However, the VR6 wasn't yet complete during the Corrado's first few years of production. Instead, a supercharged 1.8-liter inline-four was the spunkiest option available to early adopters of the Scirocco's spiritual successor. That engine was called the G60 in reference to the shape of the supercharger — like the letter G — combined with its 60 millimeter inlet diameter.
The addition of a supercharger to the otherwise unchanged 1.8-liter engine boosted output from the low-100 horsepower range up to 158 horsepower. Still, the G60 was quickly shown the exit when the 178 horsepower VR6 was finally ready in 1992. No matter, though, the don't-call-it-a-hot-hatch Corrado itself was canceled in the United States after the 1994 model year amidst poor sales, cementing its status as a pricey cult classic today. The VR6, on the other hand, soldiered along in certain VW vehicles until 2024.