Before certain Japanese car lovers get excited, I'd like to direct the jury's attention to exhibits A and B:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oldsmobile_Cutlass#1962
Factory water/meth injection (isn't that basically windshield washer fluid?).Bigger news was the arrival of the Jetfire model, a Cutlass hardtop with a Garrett turbocharged version of the 215 V8 rated at 215 bhp (160.3 kW) and 301 lbf·ft (408 N·m), bucket seats and console, unique trim, and a vacuum gauge mounted in the console (where it was almost hidden). Although much faster than a standard F-85, the Jetfire was criticized for having the same soft suspension as its less-powerful brothers, for its lack of a tachometer and other instruments, and for the poor shift quality of both the automatic transmission and the optional four-speed. Car and Driver tested an automatic Jetfire and obtained a 0-60 time of 9.2 seconds, with a top speed of 110 mph (176 km/h). The Jetfire's high cost (nearly $300 over a standard Cutlass coupe) and reliability problems with its turbocharged engines limited sales to 3,765.
Ultimately the Jetfire engine was far ahead of its time. With forced induction and an already high compression ratio the JetFire was capable of producing more torque than a naturally aspirated engine that was twice its size, significantly improving the engine's efficiency and usability in real-life driving conditions, turbo lag not being an issue at motorway speeds. But since turbo and supercharging the engine essentially means forcing the compression in the combustion chamber even higher, the JetFire was prone to 'spark-knock' and without modern engine management systems the only way to mitigate this was to use a 50/50 mixture of methanol and distilled water.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_ ... .931964.29
Of course, one could argue that this is like linking to the V8-6-4 when discussing a modern implementation of cylinder deactivation. In a way, yes. But, they were still there all the way back in 1962. That's worth something, I think.In Spring of 1962 Chevrolet really committed itself to the sporty image they had created for the Corvair by finally introducing a Convertible version and then offering a high performance 150 hp (112 kW; 152 PS) turbocharged "Spyder" option for Monza coupes and convertibles, making the Corvair the second production automobile to come with a turbocharger as a factory option, with the Oldsmobile F-85 Turbo Jetfire having been released a few weeks earlier in 1962