No 58 Volkswagen Polo G - A supercharged engine served only to highlight the car's handling problems

摘要

The G-lader. Could this be a dark-as-the-night, pumping techno track? An unfortunate medical accoutrement? No, it was Volkswagen's take on superchargers, the company pursuing a brief fad in the late 20th century of strapping them into its coupes for some high-torque action. The G-lader was invented by Frenchman Leon Creux as far back as 1905, but his clever compressor was ahead of its time; the materials technology of the day was unable to cope with the high-pressure, high-precision demands of its construction.