With the green eco people interfering with the car industry concerning c02 emissions over the past decade or so, manufacturers have been dabbling with technology taken from the world of F1. Chief among them being the KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System), variants seen on today’s hybrid cars. I wrote a whole article on KERS for Motor Ward if you need more information on the subject.

Turbochargers are also making a comeback for the 2014 F1 season, meaning the engine displacement shrinks from the 2.4L V8 to a 1.6L V6 – to highlight the influence Ferrari have over the F1 governing body, F1 initially wanted 1.6L 4-cylinders to be used but Ferrari complained and they ended up being V6.

Turbo technology has been used by manufacturers for years, cars like the Sierra Cosworth, Ford RS 2000 and Subaru Impreza prime examples covering three decades. However, turbocharged cars of past were considered as either boyracerish, yobbish (one of my parents’ words) or cars that attracted joy riders. My dad bought me an MGB GT for a first car but wouldn’t entertain an Escort XR3i. I crashed the MG on my first legal day on the road…

So with all this talk of turbocharging cars, boosting power whilst shrinking displacement, how many of you know exactly how they work, and the difference between turbo power and a supercharger?

Click the pic to find out…