The Drag-Racing Dodge Grand Caravan of 1989
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How embarrassing would it be to take a brand new Dodge Viper to the drag strip, and get soundly beaten in the quarter-mile by a wood-paneled minivan? I witnessed this exact scenario nearly 15 years ago at the Mopar Nationals in Columbus, Ohio. That was my first exposure to the Dodge Caravan SE Turbo.
Why would Chrysler decide to build a turbocharged minivan? Well, the late 1980s were the source of many puzzling product decisions on the people-mover front. (For example, consider the supercharged, mid-engine, rear-wheel drive Toyota Previa van.) The Pentastar was coming off a period when it built as many different vehicles as possible using its K-car platform. The Caravan had its roots in that humble compact sedan chassis, which underpinned it for the first six years of its life.
Chrysler touted the turbocharged engine as one of the minivan's high tech features.
The Dodge minivan's K-car link also made it an easy—although unlikely—home for the Turbo 1 four-cylinder engine similar to those that powered other unusual performance cars like the Dodge Omni GLH - opens in new window or tab. and the Shelby Daytona. In the case of the Caravan, the unit displaced 2.5 liters and pushed out 150 horsepower in stock trim (and could be ordered with either a three-speed automatic or a five-speed manual transmission).
Available for the last few years of production (and discontinued in 1991), the turbo motor was a low-seller, but a few gearheads saw the potential waiting to be unlocked under the hood of the Dodge Caravan. They started tinkering with the model in the mid-1990s. The root of the turbo van movement was Gus Mahon's Caravan Turbo - opens in new window or tab., a pioneering 13-second minivan that blew the doors off of most of what lined up against him. Mahon was tragically killed in an accident in 2001, but a number of individuals kept the Caravan Turbo flame burning—perhaps most prominently Turbovan.net - opens in new window or tab. owner Paul Smith and his 1989 Grand Caravan SE. He's pictured in action in video still at the top of this page, first published on Turbovan.net.
This monster could turn in a 12.65 second quarter mile run thanks to a long list of modifications not limited to a new intercooler, turbocharger and a more robust fuel management and delivery system. This was the very van I saw at National Trail Raceway in Columbus, and which spawned many co-conspirators throughout the years, including Paul Fosen and Dempsey Bowling, who still runs TurboMinivan.com - opens in new window or tab..
Smith's Tubovan in action.
With a lot of parts that could be interchanged between turbocharged Chrysler models of the same era, and a huge number of Shadows, Daytonas, and Spirits haunting junk yards, turbocharged Caravans are cheap to build and easy to maintain. Throw in the fact that you end up driving around in the ultimate sleeper, and it's easy to understand the appeal of this unusual high performance ride.
Update-October 11: Thanks for all of the Caravan Turbo fans who stepped forward to correct a few facts regarding this amazing people-mover. We also thank all the individuals behind the turbo van movement. This post has been updated to reflect the input of readers and Caravan Turbo owners, and to acknowledge the late Gus Mahon as the pioneer of minivan performance.
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