Wat? The four-banger era was largely supercharged engines in the 50s, and they made no where near 1500 hp. More like 300.

The "turbo era" of the 70s and 80s were largely V6/V8/V12 combinations. There were a few four pots that were making that kind of power, like BMW's M12, but those were certainly the exception and not the rule.

I'd love to see turbos in the sport again, but only if it came with the "make whatever power you want" criteria that made the "turbo era" amazing. Throw in the current eco-tard mentality though, and I seriously doubt anything like that will happen again. We'll get slower cars that sound like crap, and the only benefit will be advancements in turbocharger technology. (Wonder how long it'll take VTG, etc, to be banned)

 

i was referring to the bmw m12/13 -> BMW M12 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Simba, you are rarely wrong, but this time I have to correct you. The F1 Turbo Era which started in 1977 and ended in 1988 featured predominately four and six cylinder engines. There was never, to my knowledge, a turbo V12engine in Formula 1, and I think Alfa Romeo made the only V8 turbo.
V6's dominated the landscape by far, with Ferrari, Tag (Porsche), Honda, Ford, Renault, while I-4 turbos were used by BMW, Hart, Zakspeed, and I think one other...

 

yes, you are correct.

 

To clarify my statement: The "turbo era" was largely comprised of 1.5L turbo engines, typically in a V6 or V8 configuration, and 3.0L N/A engines, typically in a V8, V12 or "weird" configuration, like BRM's crazy H-16.

There certainly were four-pot turbo engines, like the BMW I mentioned, though from what I recall there were not that many in use when compared with the turbo V6/8 and larger N/A engines.

So, not saying there weren't any, I was just countering the implied claim that the "turbo era" was dominated by four-cylinder engines. One certainly can make stupid power on a four-cyl, especially running ~60 psi on Toluene, though I really doubt the F1 of today will allow any such thing.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see "turbo era" engines with today's engineering, electronics and metallurgy. I just don't think we're going to. The sport is rapidly becoming a platform to make a statement rather than build the best widget.