BMW 2002 turbo, return to old times!

Forced induction went through a revival in the early 1970s. It was first used as a relatively simple method to increase power in the 1920s, when the supercharger made its debut. In the 1930s motor racing was dominated by supercharged cars like the Alfa Romeo P3 and the Mercedes Benz Grand Prix cars. Many high end road cars also used the system, with the Duesenberg SJ and Bugatti Type 57Cs as good examples. After rule changes at the end of the 1951 season, the supercharger disappeared from Grand Prix racing and the streets.Being driven by the engine's driveshaft, superchargers suck up a lot of energy from the engine, so to be effective it first needs to overcome its own power loss. With better fuels and technology, the naturally aspirated engines made a strong comeback in the 1950s. At the end of 1960s a new form of forced induction was heavily experimented with, the turbo. A turbine in the turbo is driven using the engine's exhaust fumes, which is far more efficient than the supercharger's drive. Using the energy created by the fan, the fuel mixture is inducted under high pressure.Although the turbo is a more efficient system, it does not deliver the power as smoothly as a supercharger. A minimum amount of engine revolutions is required to get the turbine spinning fast enough. This, combined with the lower compression the engines can run at to compensate for the high pressure of the turbo, results to what is commonly referred to as turbo lag; the complete lack of power below a certain rpm. When the turbo does start to work, it usually does so with a big kick, resulting in treacherous driving characteristics of turbo cars.As a final evolution of the four cylinder engine, BMW first showed a turbocharged version in 1972, fitted in the Paul Bracq designed BMW Turbo Concept. A year later, the turbo made its production debut in the BMW 2002 Turbo. It was mainly intended as a homologation special and used the naturally aspirated BMW 2002 Tii as a base. Flared fenders and the BMW Motorsport striping made the cars easily recognizable. One of the most striking details was the '2002 Turbo' written mirrored on the front lip.Both the 2002 Turbo's aggressive appearance and tricky handling caused public outrage at the car's launch. Under pressure of the BMW board of directors, the 2002 Turbo script on the nose was dropped. The tricky handling was a direct result of the turbo lag, for which the 2002 Turbo is a school book example today. Below 4000 rpm the 2 litre engine's power was minimal, but once up to speed the engine was good for 170 bhp. The 4000 rpm power boost came very sudden and especially in corners required the driver's utmost attention.Production lasted just over a year, with the 2002 model being replaced by the new 3-Series. Only 1672 examples produced, painted in either chamonix white or polaris silver. BMW continued using the turbo with a lot of success in motor racing, most notably in Formula 1 in the 1980s, but the German manufacturer never built a road going petrol engined turbo again. Ever since the 2002 Turbo's launch, many manufacturers worked hard to cure the turbo's lag. Of the many solutions tried, especially the easier to spin, lightweight turbine was a big improvement.

World Eater 1000hp BMW M3 Turbo

World Eater 1000hp BMW M3 Turbo
ICS BMW M3 Turbo-1000 Plus Horsepower At The Wheels
By Pablo Mazlumian
photographer: By the Author

I've had the pleasure of driving numerous high-powered turbo cars. I drive both a big-turbo BMW M3 and Toyota Supra. But I have just one thing to say about ICS' yellow turbo M3: It scares me stupid. A couple of months ago I received a call from ICS Performance owner George Kakaletris. "I hear the magazine is looking for a 1000-whp car," he said. "Give me two weeks and I'll have one for you."
Just a few weeks later I'm at ICS' Stamford, Conn., headquarters, where Kakaletris wastes no time introducing me to the company's newly acquired M3 project car, also known as the Bumblebee. Upon initial fire-up it roars to life, sending deafening combustion waves through its turbo-back exhaust. Trust me, it's loud; heads from all directions are turning our way.
As the car warms up, the Sias-tuned Electromotive TEC3R engine management system continues sending the appropriate pulse signals to half a dozen 152 lb/hr Precision injectors, which squirt nine times more fuel than factory '95 M3 injectors. The engine finally calms down to a completely streetable rumble. Kakaletris tops off the tank with some VP Racing C16 super-octane juice to ward off detonation. Then we drive.
Traffic is at its peak in downtown Stamford. The exhaust note bounces off walls as commuters and pedestrians continue to rubberneck. The Bumblebee appears totally stock and people can't seem to figure out why this car sounds like it's on its way to an NHRA event. As we make our way toward open roads, Kakaletris drives somewhat cautiously to warm up the engine oil. Despite the low 8.5:1 compression, with more than 250 lb-ft of torque by 3000 rpm the car feels way quicker than a stock 3.2-liter M3 thanks to aggressive ignition timing and a wide-open exhaust.

As the engine warms we start to see what the turbo response is like. By 4200 rpm the massive PT76-GTS turbocharger is already making more than 400 lb-ft of torque at the wheels-fairly uncharacteristic of such a large turbo on this size motor. The Clutchmasters twin-disc clutch is considerably grabbier than a stock clutch but fares well around town. The car continues to warm up and Kakaletris starts to lay into the throttle a little bit. As we predicted, there is simply no traction at these low speeds. In second gear, at 4000 rpm, the car starts to ramp up so quickly it breaks the rear tires loose, and at this point the peak boost recall only registers about 8 psi.
Now is a good time to mention this car put down a mind-boggling 1025 whp on ICS' Dynojet chassis dyno. Thanks to the buttload of torque-860 lb-ft-it cracked 1000 hp at an astonishingly low 6200 rpm. Considering the all-turbo (i.e., no nitrous) pull was done at a low 32 psi manifold pressure, indicating a very non-restrictive motor, it was obvious we were going to need to throw it into high gear to feel any of its real power.
Third gear, Kakaletris rolls into it-4800 rpm on the tach and more than 500 lb-ft of torque breaks the tires loose again. Once we hit the highway we test fourth gear from a 60-mph roll. Throttle pedal down. The tach starts to flip quickly past 4500 rpm and by around 5200 rpm-or about 700 lb-ft of torque-at full throttle the tires break loose at more than 90 mph. We're not talking traction loss like the tire chirp you'd get from a stock E36 M3 in damp conditions. No, I mean literal ice-like loss of traction that breaks the car sideways, preventing any further acceleration and zinging the tach needle to redline in the blink of an eye. At this point I'm simply amazed. The sound of the copious amounts of air rushing through the 76mm compressor belittles me.
"Have you ever felt this sucker pull in fifth gear?" I ask.
Kakaletris replies: "No. Wanna try it?"

Although I've had enough, there's something inside me that needs to feel the yet-untapped 200-plus lb-ft of torque. Kakaletris finds an open stretch of highway, and what happens next I will remember for the rest of my life. The car accelerates smoothly back to 90 mph in fourth gear. Kakaletris shifts into fifth. Silently I pray to live through this.
The throttle pedal drops. Ninety mph... 91... 92... the turbo is already starting to make some noise... 93... 95... 97... serious turbo sounds, boost continues building quickly. Triple digits; I've got tunnel vision and cannot move. In the next nanosecond, with a sound coming from the engine compartment that can only be described as frightening, the tires break loose into a stomach-dropping fishtail. Obviously this car needs a set of warmed-up slicks just to get traction, even in fifth gear.
As we decelerate it becomes evident from all the racket that the ZF five-speed transmission has spun its last. The drive ends with a fifth-gear limp back through the crowded Stamford downtown, and now we're wiping away tears of hysterical laughter from the sheer disbelief of what transpired. Now the drivability of the Sias-tuned Electromotive TEC3R engine management becomes really evident as Kakaletris is forced to launch from each traffic signal in fifth gear and cruise between 1000 and 1500 rpm to stay under 40 mph. Off boost this car is totally street-friendly.