Before 1981, performance was simple. Auto manufacturers just created bigger engines, more cylinders, and louder exhausts like the Pontiac 7.5L V8 engine, used in models like the GTO, Firebird Trans Am ...

Ever since turbochargers entered mainstream use in road-going, gasoline-powered cars — dating back to at least the first Porsche 930 Widowmaker of the 1970s — automakers have come up with all kinds of ...