July 18, 2024

The best supercharged cars from the factory

MOOG has gone and done it again, bringing another decrepit Nissan into the MCM fold while Marty wasn't looking (see the episode HERE). This one, however, is supercharged and that makes it a bit less crap.

Compressing intake air as a way of improving an engine's power has been a concept since internal combustion burst onto the scene a couple-hundred calendars ago. It was 101 years ago, however, when superchargers first showed up on production cars as a way of boosting power (literally) and entertaining the masses.

We love turbos going psst-psst CHOO CHOO, and Marty's illness for VTEC booo-BAAAAAA naturally aspirated noises is well-documented. However, the glorious boxes of whining awesomeness otherwise known as superchargers, kompressors, blowers, and/or puffers, really do capture the heart in an illogical, awesome way (in case you don't believe me, check out THIS VIDEO on my '64 Pontiac for proof).

Here are our picks for some of the best cars to leave the factory wearing a supercharger, in case you find yourself ever wanting to sample the goods yourself.

This one may seem controversial given MOOG's love of classic Minis (his own Mini was supercharged before the Honda swap) but the original R52/R53-generation BMW-built Mini Cooper S could be had with a small Eaton supercharger mounted on the 200/210hp four-cylinder. The hottest model was the John Cooper Works edition, which was originally an upgrade kit for Cooper S models.

Launched around the turn of the 21st Century, the R53 (hatch) Mini Cooper S JCWs were awesome, fun little cars to drive with much nicer quality interiors than other options around at the time. Later Minis moved to turbocharged engines and, arguably, lost some of their charm.

Another awesome British car which sported supercharger goodness is the Jaguar XJR. A big, wafting luxury four-door sedan it was the Big Cat's attempt to take on AMG and BMW M-Sport and, while it never really troubled the Germans, the XJR is a bit of a performance car bargain today (and a damn sight more affordable than any "blower Bentley").

The first generation came with a supercharged six-cylinder, but this ended up being replaced with the Eaton-supercharged Jaguar AJ-V8, making anywhere from 375hp (4.0L) up to 420hp in later 4.2-litre guise. The same engine was offered in the XKR, S-Type R, and XF sedan.

General Motors has sold a huge number of supercharged models over the last 20 years, but the best (arguably) was the C6 ZR1, boasting a crazy 640hp 6.2-litre hand-assembled LS9 engine. A genuine supercar for the early 2000s the later C7 ZR1 made more power from its LT5 (754hp) but was only available in the 2019 model year, and didn't look as good or have the wild vibes of the C6 model.

For fans of more practical transport (or right-hand-drive cars), the HSV GTS-R W1 was the only way to sample the glory of LS9 power in a factory car outside the C6 Corvette. Unfortunately, as the last go-fast Holden muscle car prices for the rare W1s are already exploding out of reach of many people.

Another exotic machine to have landed with a blower is the Lancia 037, perhaps one of the strangest Group B rally cars. While most think of 80s Group B racing as the bastion of turbo all-wheel-drive supercars, Lancia (one of the most respected brands in WRC) fought hard with their supercharged, rear-drive 037 Rallye. Thanks to homologation laws they also had to build a few street variants, which still boasted the supercharged four-cylinder under the stubby mid-mount engine cover.

A far easier way to get a taste of the exotic car life AND have yourself some epic blower whine is to buy a Lotus Exige. You may remember MOOG's Supercar (CLICK HERE) but there was also a supercharged V6 version after that, which boasted a Harrop-supercharged Toyota Aurion V6.

Built for speed, not comfort or practicality, the hand-built Lotuses aren't for anyone scared of doing a lot of repairs, but they're also one of the most accessible ways into genuine supercar ownership. And their lap times will shame Ferrari owners.

Ford can't be ignored when discussing superchargers as they have made some absolute crackers of cars sporting belt-fed intakes. Even way back to the 1950s Ford experimented with McCulloch and Paxton blowers on their Y-block V8s in Thunderbirds, but their greatest supercharged production car has to be the second-generation Ford GT.

Released in the early 2000s it featured a supercharged 5.4-litre quad-cam "Mod Motor" similar to what was found in Mustangs of the era. Renowned as one of Jeremy Clarkson's favourite cars of all time, and well respected by the European supercar fans, the Ford GT is still attainable today (for a supercar),

The closest we Aussies got was the supercharged 5.0-litre V8 used in the FG and FG-X Falcons. Interestingly, while many call these engines "Coyotes" after the 5.0-litre V8 used in Mustangs and some pick-up trucks, the engine is actually an all-Aussie spec coded "Miami".

Lately Ford turned up the heat with the crazy Shelby GT500 Mustang, boasting a 760hp supercharged 5.2-litre quad-cam V8 known as the "Predator". Not for shrinking violets, unfortunately the GT500 will be a USA-only special model.

If you prefer your blown V8s to fly under the radar it's hard to go past the early 2000s AMG 55-series cars, especially the E55. Offered across a wide range of Mercedes-Benz-based platforms (including C-class, S-class, SLK, CLK and more) the supercharged 5.5-litre V8 was a smooth, torque-rich way of wafting these luxury cars around... until you stood on the accelerator hard and the soundtrack of WW2 fighters was blasting out of the back of this demure sedan.

Sure, there are some quirks to the ownership like brake accumulators going west, but the noise of the hand-built supercharged V8 is well worth the pain of dealing with questionable reliability.

While many make fun of their low-tech bones, the simplicity and ridiculous power outputs from late-model muscle cars make them tough to beat. And of all the muscle machinery, Chrysler really owned the supercharged production car market over the last decade-and-a-bit with their Hellcat and Demon models.

Offered with anywhere from 707hp up to an insane 840hp, in rear-drive and all-wheel drive, two-door coupe, four-door sedan, and SUV platforms, the Hellcat program and Dodge's 6.2-litre supercharged Hemi V8s will go down as the ultimate late-model muscle machinery, sadly now discontinued.