What It’s Called When a Car Has Both a Turbocharger and a Supercharger

It’s called twincharged (or twin-charged), and the setup is known as twincharging: a mechanically driven supercharger works alongside an exhaust-driven turbocharger to broaden the engine’s powerband and reduce lag. In practice, the supercharger bolsters low‑rpm response while the turbo takes over at higher revs, delivering strong, linear performance that one device alone might struggle to provide.

How Twincharging Works

In a typical twincharged system, a belt-driven supercharger provides immediate boost from idle to mid‑range, masking the lag that turbos can exhibit at low engine speeds. As exhaust flow increases, the turbocharger spools up and ultimately supplies most (or all) of the boost at higher rpm. Control hardware—bypass valves, clutched superchargers, and sophisticated engine management—coordinates the handoff so the driver experiences seamless acceleration.

Why Pair a Supercharger with a Turbo?

Manufacturers have used twincharging to meet conflicting goals: strong low-end torque, high specific power, and good efficiency from small-displacement engines. The approach effectively “fills in” the torque curve at revs where a turbo would otherwise be lazy.

The key advantages of twincharging are outlined below.

• Broad, flat torque curve: Immediate low-end boost from the supercharger, sustained high-end power from the turbo.
• Reduced turbo lag: The supercharger’s instant response bridges the time before the turbo reaches optimal speed.
• Downsizing benefits: Delivers big-engine performance from smaller, lighter engines with potential fuel-economy gains in gentle driving.
• Tuning flexibility: Engineers can optimize each compressor for the rpm range where it works best.

Combined, these benefits can make small engines feel much larger and more responsive, especially in everyday driving where off‑idle torque matters most.

Trade-offs and Engineering Challenges

Despite its strengths, twincharging brings complexity and cost. It requires precise control to smoothly transition from one boost source to the other, and the packaging demands can be significant in compact engine bays.

The main drawbacks appear below.

• Complex hardware: Extra plumbing, bypasses, and sometimes a clutched supercharger add parts and potential failure points.
• Thermal management: Compressing air twice can add heat, necessitating robust intercooling and careful calibration.
• Parasitic loss at low load: The supercharger consumes engine power unless fully declutched and bypassed.
• Cost and weight: More components mean higher manufacturing costs and additional mass.

These compromises help explain why many manufacturers now prefer modern single turbos with variable geometry, electrically assisted compressors, or hybrid torque fill instead of full mechanical twincharging.

Notable Twincharged Vehicles and Engines

While never mainstream, twincharging has surfaced in road cars and motorsport, especially when regulations or packaging pushed engineers to extract maximum performance from small engines.

• Lancia Delta S4 (Group B rally, mid‑1980s): A pioneering competition application that paired a supercharger with a turbo for explosive, lag-free response.
• Nissan March/Micra Super Turbo (MA09ERT, late 1980s): A production city car with a 0.9‑liter twincharged engine—quirky, rare, and influential.
• Volkswagen Group 1.4 TSI “Twincharger” (mid‑2000s to early 2010s): Used across VW, SEAT, and Škoda models; the supercharger covered low rpm before a small turbo took over, delivering strong real-world torque from a small four-cylinder.
• Volvo 2.0‑liter Drive‑E T6/B6 variants (mid‑2010s onward in select models/markets): Employed a supercharger for immediate boost and a turbo for top-end power in a downsized four-cylinder architecture; availability varied by year and region.
• Mercedes‑AMG M256 inline‑six “53” models: Combines an electrically driven compressor with an exhaust turbo—often described as electric twincharging or e‑twincharging—providing instant low‑rpm boost without a belt-driven supercharger.
• Audi SQ7/SQ8 TDI (first generation): Uses an electric compressor alongside turbochargers to sharpen response, another form of electrically assisted twincharging.

This lineage shows the concept stretching from rally stages to everyday road cars and, more recently, evolving into electric‑assist variants that deliver similar benefits with fewer mechanical penalties.

Terminology and Common Misconceptions

“Twincharged” or “twin-charged” is the widely accepted term for using a supercharger and turbocharger together. “Twincharging” is the practice. By contrast, “twin‑turbo” or “bi‑turbo” means two turbos, not a turbo plus a supercharger. Some enthusiasts also say “super‑turbo” informally. The term “compound charging” can be ambiguous: in diesel performance circles it often refers to staged multi‑turbo setups, not necessarily a supercharger-plus-turbo combination. In recent years, systems that pair an electric compressor with a turbo are frequently labeled e‑twincharging, reflecting a shift away from belt-driven superchargers while preserving the same response goals.

Summary

A car that is both turbocharged and supercharged is called twincharged. The approach blends the supercharger’s instant low‑rpm boost with the turbocharger’s high‑rpm efficiency and power, yielding a broad, responsive torque curve. While effective, traditional mechanical twincharging adds cost and complexity, which is why many modern alternatives lean on advanced turbo technology, electric compressors, and hybrid assistance to achieve similar results with fewer compromises.

Can a car be both supercharger and turbocharged?

Yes, you can supercharge and turbocharge a car simultaneously in a setup called twin-charging, which combines the low-end power of a supercharger with the high-end power of a turbocharger to reduce turbo lag and provide consistent power across the entire RPM range. While complex and adding weight and complexity to the engine, twin-charging offers significant performance gains and has been used by manufacturers like Volvo in their T6 and T8 engines.
 
This video explains how twin-charging works: 59sTobyVegaDYouTube · Aug 17, 2021
How Twin-Charging Works

• Low-End Boost: A supercharger, driven by the engine’s crankshaft, provides instant boost at low RPMs. 
• High-End Power: A turbocharger, driven by exhaust gases, spins up at higher RPMs to deliver significant power. 
• Eliminating Turbo Lag: The supercharger fills the gap while the turbo is spooling up, smoothing out power delivery and reducing the “turbo lag” that can occur with a turbo-only setup. 

Examples

• Volvo T6 and T8 engines: Opens in new tabVolvo is a well-known example of a manufacturer that uses twin-charging in its 2.0-liter, four-cylinder T6 and T8 engines to produce strong horsepower and torque figures. 
• Aftermarket Modifications: Opens in new tabWhile more complex than adding either a turbocharger or supercharger alone, it is possible to twin-charge a car through aftermarket modifications, though it requires significant engineering and tuning. 

Advantages

• Reduced Turbo Lag: Provides a seamless powerband from low RPMs to high RPMs. 
• Significant Power Gains: Creates substantial power increases by forcing more air into the engine. 

Disadvantages

• Complexity: The system is significantly more complex to design, install, and maintain. 
• Weight and Space: Adds extra weight to the engine bay and can present packaging challenges. 
• Cost: The additional components and engineering make it a more expensive modification. 
• Tuning: Requires meticulous and complex tuning to ensure the components work together effectively and prevent overheating. 

What is it called when you turbo and supercharge a car?

Twin-charging provides power across a broader range of engine speeds. The supercharger provides an immediate boost at low RPMs, eliminating turbo lag. At the same time, the turbocharger kicks in as exhaust gases flow at higher RPMs.

What is a dual charged engine?

It has a standard turbocharger, driven by the flow of exhaust gases, and a mechanical supercharger, belt-driven from the crankshaft. The dual air injection system operates in several modes (depending on the engine speed): Naturally aspirated – idling, speed up to 1000 rpm.

Is there a car with turbo and supercharger?

The new Genesis VGT is both supercharged and turbocharged in GT7.