On A Boost

Turbo lag. Two words that were synonymous with turbocharged vehicles up to the late ’80s. Then the introduction of variable geometry turbochargers (VGT) rewrote the turbo rulebook comprehensively, ensuring that three-cylinder 1 000cc engines produce the same power as a two-litre naturally aspirated engine of just a decade ago. And do it without any lag.

THE infamous blob-eye Subaru Impreza WRX STi (on sale 2000–2007) remains one of our favourite performance cars of all time.

With its rally-bred heritage, symmetrical all-wheel-drive system, the two-litre Boxer four-cylinder petrol engine with a turbocharger as big as a Hyundai Atoz, that massive rear wing... it was the stuff many boy racers’ dreams were made of.

Back in the day we loved everything about it (okay, maybe not the blob eyes), and the performance was simply electrifying. Or wait, maybe we should just rephrase that: ‘blistering performance’ once that big turbocharger was properly plying its trade.

As amazing as the Impreza STi was with all that power and even an intercooler with special water jets to cool things down (and produce more power), it suffered from an acute amount of turbo lag.

For instance, if you were driving in fifth gear at 60km/h, and you floored the accelerator, then... well, nothing really happened. You see, the Subaru’s engine delivered 205kW and 373Nm of torque but the latter number peaked only at a high 4 000r/min.