According to Wikipedia, the Olds did come out slightly before the Corvair.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Corvair_engine. That was back
when each GM make was its own empire.

I guess I see “mainstream” a little differently.

But I want to give credit where credit is due. What SAAB has gotten out of
modest displacements is indeed noteworthy.

PHM

if you want to be technical, Oldsmobile had a small turbo V8 back in the early 60’s. But I don’t think you’re going to argue that Turbo Buicks really hit mainstream until the mid-80’s? And I can count the number of Corvair turbos I’ve seen on one hand. While there were cars before the 99 Turbo (The aforementioned Olds, as well as the ‘72 BMW 2002 Turbo and of course the Porsche 911 Turbo), I still think the 99 Turbo brought turbocharging to the mainstream.

I suppose it’s semantics, though. Just by “who’s first,” it wouldn’t be Saab. As for “who did it right first” I’d say Saab. They were getting 145 horsepower out of a 2.0l 8v inline-four, while GM was getting 150 or so out of a 3.8L (23ici) V6.

Now don’t get me wrong- 80’s Buick turbos were nasty awesome cars. But back then the idea of a mainstream car with turbocharging I believe was a result of the 99 Turbo.

Yeah, this is the “fact police” again. I’m not sure what you mean by “first for mainstream” about the 1978 Saab turbo. Turbos were available on the first generation Corvair, and Buick made their first 231 V6 turbo commercially available on the 1978 Regal and LeSabre Sport Coupes. A regular 231 gave about 105 hp at the time. A turbo bumped it to about 150 or 160. (By the time my 99 LeSabre was around, the normally aspirated Buick 231 V6 was good for 205 hp.)

Paul