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Bernard Cahier\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
The evolution of Formula 1 racing<\/a> from the sport’s beginnings to today is undeniably fascinating.\u00a0Part of it is the sport’s massive global growth, but\u00a0the race cars themselves have also changed significantly over the decades. The history of the Formula 1 race car is divided into distinct eras, defined by their own car designs and technologies.\u00a0<\/p>\n One of Formula 1’s most memorable periods was the so-called Turbo Era, which spanned from the late 1970s through the late 1980s. As the name suggests, this era was defined by high-horsepower turbocharged engines, which at the time represented the peak of motorsport technology and mirrored the rise of turbocharged engines in road-going performance cars. Eventually, safety concerns, rising costs, and poor reliability brought the original Formula 1 Turbo\u00a0Era to an end in the late ’80s. But that wasn’t the last time that F1 used turbochargers.<\/p>\n Turbocharging returned to F1 in 2014 after a 20-plus-year hiatus, and turbos remain an important part of Formula 1 engine regulations today. As with production cars, though, these modern turbo engines are vastly different from their older counterparts, with the technology aimed at improving fuel efficiency and reducing emissions. Let’s take a deeper look at why the original F1 Turbo Era ended and how those cars’ engines differed from today’s.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n The rise and fall of the Turbo Era<\/p>\n
Getty Images\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
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