You would think Porsche wouldn’t need to advertise the 911 Turbo. The car has solidified itself in the pantheon of all out track machines thanks to its light weight, infinite poise and potent turbocharged flat six engine. How potent are we talking about? In its most recent incarnation, that wicked missile from Stuttgart packs a blistering 500 horsepower. Of course, it also costs a healthy $132,800. Evidently Porsche’s hoping to get the word out, as the company has released a new promo just for its top-o-the line 911 Turbo. Hit the jump to see the flick for yourself. Oh, and turn up the volume. [Source: TheGermanCarBlog]

Are you a Porsche 911 Turbo owner? Can’t sleep at night because your car doesn’t have 580 horsepower? Never fear! SpeedArt’s got just what the doctor ordered. The famed Porsche tuner has managed to squeeze an insane amount of power out of the 911 Turbos 3.8 liter flat six thanks to tricks like a remapped ECU and low restriction exhaust. What, not good enough for you? SpeedArt says the company is hard at work on an even more powerful version with 650 horsepower. Houston, we have ignition. Check the gallery for more shots. [Source: Carscoop]

Carol Shelby has a long history with turbocharging. The man responsible for some of the quickest and most legendary metal on the planet flirted with forced induction back in the ‘80s when he hung around with the Chrysler crowd. Now it looks like 2010 Ford Mustang buyers can opt for a special Shelby turbo package. Consisting of a Turbonetics sing-tubo system, the car produces a mythic 550 horsepower from an otherwise stock 4.6-liter V8. A short throw shifter, unique grille and Borla exhaust are all part of the package, too. No word on price, but it should be substantially less expensive than the big bad GT500. [Source: Ford]

The buzz about Ford’s line of EcoBoost engines has fallen off somewhat since the announcement was made nearly all of the company’s products would carry the turbo’d motors. The Blue Oval is looking to rectify this situation by rolling out a hotrod based on a ’34 Ford Coupe. Under the hood is a 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 good for around 400 horsepower and 400 lb-ft of torque. Now, the really special news here is that this is the first time the EcoBoost sixer will be used in a rear-wheel drive configuration. The Ford Flex, Taurus SHO, Lincoln MKT and MKS all rock an all-wheel drive layout. So far there’s no word on what transmission the company has chosen for the deed, but that doesn’t stop us from hoping just a little harder for an EcoBoost Mustang sometime soon. [Source: Ford]

If there’s one thing ENCO does well, it’s cram massive amounts of power into the Porsche Cayenne. While the Panamera is busy snapping up headlines and stirring up controversy, the SUV from Stuttgart has been left to the backburner. To help give the big five-door the attention it deserves, ENCO has bolted on two mammoth turbos, tweaked the snot out of the ECU. The result is a total power output of 700 horsepower and 626 lb-ft of torque. Throw in the obligatory body work, epic two-tone wheels and brakes big enough to bring a freight train to a halt and you’ve got one mean SUV. So far there aren’t any performance specs to be had, but you can bet your lederhosen this thing could run circles around the new sedan. [Source: ZerCustoms]

When it comes to taking a knife to a 911, it pays to have a steady hand. With most of the motoring world of the opinion what Stuttgart creates is next to Godliness, messing with that perfection is a gamble at best. Has that stopped the mad wrenches at CEC Miami from churning out one of the hottest turbos we’ve laid eyes on in months? That’d be a no, kids. The CEC Miami team worked up the car for a customer who knew exactly what she wanted, and the final product includes a laundry list of Techart bits. Those include a full body kit, LED daytime running lights, full exhaust, sport springs, smoked lights and 20-inch GTS wheels. The finished product is gorgeous with a capital G, and the super-sticky Michelin PS2 tires give the car even more stick. Too hot. [Source: TeamSpeed]

What can you do to make the lust-worthy Lotus Exige better? The pinnacle of Chapmanian ideals packs just enough power from a blown Toyota four pot, zero weight and a suspension constructed in the grand Lotus tradition of awesome. Well, if you’re the mad scientists at Specialty Car Craft, Inc., you throw on a custom wide-body kit and turbocharger. That’s right boys and girls, this sucker is a twin-charger beast. Power is an unbelievable 500 ponies in a car that weighs a smidge over 2,000 lbs. We don’t have to tell you this thing is faster than the most popular girl in high school. Hop the jump for a video of the car in action. [Source: JONSIBAL]

Better act quick before Vin Diesel gets wind of this one. It’s a 1986 Buick Grand National, completely original and commanding an eye-widening $8,500 price tag. Seem steep? Maybe, but this sucker does still boasts it’s turbo’d 3.8-liter sixer, and the interior looks as cleans as you can expect for a 23 year-old GM. There are few things as cool as turbo domestics from the ‘80s, and the Grand National has gotten its fair share of attention as of late. David Spade made waves not too long ago by picking up his own cherry model. We’re not saying you should strive to be like Spade, but if you absolutely have to own a G-Body, this would be the one to have. [Source: Craigslist]

Porsche raised some eyebrows yesterday when it announced the 2010 911 Turbo will come with a brand-spanking new engine. The 3.8-liter mill churns out 500 blistering horsepower and is the first significant revision to the car’s engine architecture in 35 years. Donated from the equally wicked Carrera S, the engine joins a number of other tasty changes to ensure the Turbo is the quickest ride around. There’s less weight, a rear-wheel drive bias for the AWD system and a 7-speed PDK gear box. If you want one – and who doesn’t – get ready to fork over $132,800 for the hard top and $143,800 for the drop-head version. Looks like the Porsche/Nissan rivalry’s getting harder. Hop the jump for a look at the videos. [Source: YouTube]

There’s a lot of buzz surrounding better fuel economy through forced induction these days. Whether by turbo or supercharging, forced induction four-bangers are quickly becoming the the first step for ALL automakers to improve their EPA ratings. Look no further than Ford’s recent declaration of an Eco-boosted I4. The turbo is nothing new, though. Automotive engineers have been playing with forced induction for over 100 years. Hit the jump for the history of the turbo.

Among the annals of automotive geniuses there are a pair of names that tend to crop up fairly often in the very early history of cardom, and both had a helping hand in the development and application of forced induction technology. These two men are Gottlieb Daimler and none other than Rudolf Diesel — for which “Diesel” fuel is incidentally named. Daimler might sound familiar — his legacy lives on as his name graces the umbrella of Daimler AG, owner of Mercedes-Benz and Maybach among others. As early as 1885 Daimler was granted a patent for the first supercharged internal combustion engine.

The early years of super and turbo charging got off to fragmented starts, without any real progress until Swiss engineer Alfred Büchi invented the first turbocharger in 1905. Like early fuel injection, turbocharging saw its first applications in the military — powering massive diesel ships and locomotives as well as making their debut on fighter aircraft. In 1918 GE engineer Sanford Moss put the first aircraft turbo on a V12 Liberty engine to explore the benefits of turbocharging, namely higher altitude and more power. Turbo power wouldn’t arrive on the automobile scene until 1938.

In 1938, the first turbo-diesel truck was produced by Swiss Machine Works Saurer. Unfortunately, it was something of a false start. Widespread application of turbo technology would have to wait until GM produced the Chevy Corvair Monza Spyder and Oldsmobile Cutlass Jetfire 24 years later in 1962. What happened in the intervening years? Plenty… just none of it widespread. Mercedes-Benz, Bentley, Alfa Romeo, and Bugatti all introduced superchargers on some of their vehicles, but with the exception of MB they were all restricted to race versions of production cars — no turbos. The 1962 release of the turbo by GM may have been ahead of its time as the two cars were so unreliable GM quickly removed the option.

At this time, diesel turbo’s became fashionable, popular, and widespread with the introduction of 1978’s wonder children: the Mercedes-Benz 300SD and the Peugeot 604. Gas-powered turbo engines continued to be costly and rather uncommon options outside the 70s racing scene. This isn’t to say they weren’t popular. Nearly every automaker offered at least one model with a turbo as an option, but for the most part they didn’t take off until the technology matured in the ’80s.

Turbo diesels became widespread because their torquey engines could spool the turbos much faster than their gasoline counterparts. This gave the engines almost car-like driveability. By the time big hair and glam metal rolled around, turbo lag times had decreased significantly, and import companies began incorporating turbos on their smaller engines to meet rising fuel costs and stricter emissions standards. Domestics continued to offer them only on select models and only for certain applications — usually to gain more power as opposed to better efficiency.

Today turbo and superchargers are largely responsible for the ability to simply and cheaply balance power with efficiency, second only to fuel injection technologies. The popular trend these days is to utilize turbos and superchargers to increase fuel economy and lower emissions by using smaller displacement engines. The trick makes cars like the VW GTI, Ford Focus R/S, Porsche 911 and Subaru WRX such a blast to drive.

Lets not leave diesels out of the mix. Over 100 years later, the brainchildren of Daimler and Diesel continue to set fuel efficiency records. Cars like the 70 mpg VW Polo Blue Motion are due in the states next year, and are proof of the technology has what it takes to tackle our power and emissions challenges. The future is bright for forced induction technologies as President Obama has mandated a higher CAFE standard sooner rather than later. It’s a good time to love forced induction.