The history of motorsport is filled with cars that had one wheel up on their rivals. But rare are the race cars that could, weekend after weekend and, occasionally, season after season, pound all challengers into submission. Turbocharged race cars left track enthusiasts, series officials, race promoters, and team managers in sheer excitement.

Related: Road Cars That Wore Racing Liveries Better Than The Real Race Cars

These iconic cars, ranging from Formula One to Can-Am, and even rallying, have no boundaries and ranking the most dominant race beasts in history would be futile, as their importance is directly tied to which motorsports discipline some like most. That said, here are some of the most dominant turbocharged race cars in the racing world.

10 Renault RS01

RENAULT RS01
Via heeltread.com

In 1977, Renault broke new ground in F1 when it became the first-ever manufacturer to race a turbocharged car in the championship. Behind the wheel was Frenchman Jean-Pierre Jabouille, who became the first driver to compete in a championship race with a turbo-powered car. A 1.5-liter V6 turbo engine powered the RS01, though it suffered complications — six DNFs before it finished the race.

RENAULT RS01
Via wallup.net

Although it pioneered the tech, the RS01 cannot be ranked among the most destructive F1 racers of all time. It brought to the scene the turbocharged powertrain but has never won the F1 championship. Its dominance, when working, however, pushed other teams to develop their own.

9 Group A Lancia Delta

Group A Lancia Delta.
Via garagedreams.net

The Lancia Delta HF 4WD was the force of rallying between the late 1980s and early 1990s. With the Group B rally terminated after a string of fatal accidents, Group A took over as the World Rally Championship class. And as the norm, the Delta HF left the factory equipped with a 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbo making 147kW.

Group A Lancia Delta
Via supercars.net

During its time in racing, the car scored 46 WRC victories overall and won the constructors’ championship a record of six times in a row from 1987 to 1992. With these victories, Lancia became the most successful marque in the history of the WRC, while the Lancia Delta became the most dominant car.

8 Benetton B186

BENETTON B186
Via supercars.net

The Benetton B186 is a racing car designed and raced for the 1986 F1 season by the Benetton team. It was a competitive car in the hands of drivers Gerhard Berger and Teo Fabi, who set two pole positions, three fastest laps, and a win at the 1986 Mexican Grand Prix.

Benetton B186
Via youtube.com

Powering the Benetton B186 was a BMW M12/13 L4 1.5-liter four-cylinder unit that produced an estimated 1118kW power output — though it was measured above 854kW and revved to 11,500 rpm. A single run in qualifying trim, which would wound up the boost to 80psi, was enough to destroy the gearbox.

7 Nissan R90CK

Nissan R90CK
Via favcars.com

In 1990, Nissan mounted one of the biggest ever campaigns to become the first Japanese automaker to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The race kick-started with Nissan R90CK leading. Under the hood of the R90CK was a 3.5-liter turbocharged V8 engine running 2 bars of pressure, suitable for 522kW.

Related: These Are The Best Vintage Racing Events Around The World

NISSAN R90CK
Nissan R90CK

Unfortunately, during the race, the R90CK developed a boost malfunction with the wastegate control on the turbo unit. However, amazingly, it didn’t blow up but clocked over 230 mph just before the new chicanes were installed on the Mulsanne.

6 Audi R10

AUDI R10
Via ultimatecarpage.com

When Audi R10 crowned its spectacular debut by winning the 12 Hours of Le Mans race, it created a significant milestone in racing history. There have been many diesel-powered race cars, but the R10 is the first ever to use a diesel engine to win a 24h Le Mans race.

AUDI R10
Via thedrive.com

The R10 came equipped with a 5.5-liter twin-turbo V12 with four camshafts and four valves per cylinder. Moreover, it had two Garret turbochargers with a maximum boost and air-cooled intercoolers. With this drivetrain setup, the Audi R10 clocked three victories between 2006 and 2008.

5 Penske PC-23B

PENSKE PC-23B
Via ultimatecarpage.com

There are great cars in history, but none could be deemed “dominant” like Penske PC-23. With its Mercedes-Benz 500i engine, the Penske PC-23B was a legend in the racing community. The clean sheet engine was designed, tested, and raced in just 25 weeks to win the Indianapolis 500 in 1994. Furthermore, it was a requirement to lure turbocharged ‘stock block’ engines at the Indianapolis 500.

PENSKE PC-23B
Via wallpaperup.com

As a result, Team Penske equipped a ‘pushrod’ turbocharged V8 engine that produced over 1000 horsepower, thus grabbing a pole for the 78th Indianapolis 500. However, since the rulebook only allowed an extra 4.9psi, the Beast was banned after dominating one race.

4 Volkswagen Polo R WRC

Volkswagen Polo R WRC
Via wikimedia.org

After dominating the Dakar rally three years, Volkswagen pulled out in 2011. It turned its motorsport efforts towards the World rally Championship — a title it hadn’t competed for since 1987. Volkswagen took two years after its withdrawal at the Dakar rally to prepare, test, and develop perhaps the most elaborate rally car any team has ever made, the Polo R.

Volkswagen Polo R WRC
Via supercars.net

In compliance with the new WRC regulations, the Polo R came equipped with a 1.6-liter turbocharged engine under its hood. Soon, the Polo R became the most dominant rally car in history, claiming a total of 43 WRC wins between 2013 and 2016.

3 Ford Sierra RS500

FORD SIERRA RS500
Via carpic.home

None of the Ford Sierra RS500s in the world were as fast as the six Shell-liveried hatches that rolled out of Dick Johnson Racing workshop in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Those that drove them to remember the Sierra with unsmiling respect.

Related: 12 Of The Best Drift Cars Of All Time

FORD SIERRA RS500
Via wrchd.com

Most of that could be sheeted home to the back-snapping and instant nature of the powertrain, a turbocharged 1993cc DOHC 16-valve Cosworth engine. Off boost, just on the dyno without the turbo spooled up, only 67kW was available to the driver. Once fully spooled and all 34psi pumped into the engine, it made 507kW.

2 Peugeot 205 T16

Via wrcwings.tech

The Peugeot 205 T16 was one of the most successful cars in Group B World Rally Championship homologation specials. The engine that powered it went on to have a successful racing career for more than a decade.

Via pinterest.com

Powering the 205 T16 was a 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine, codenamed XU8T. Later on, the engine was upgraded to the XU9T variant, which bumped capacity to 1905cc and power to more than 447kW. In all, the XU8T and XU9T claimed 16 WRC wins, two manufacturers and driver WRC titles, and eight Dakar triumphs.

1 Porsche 917/30

Via: ultimatecarpage.com

The 917/30 was the most potent racing sports car ever built, and it was so unbeatable with Donohue behind the wheel that Porsche won six Can-Am races in a row. At the heart of the car was a 5.4-liter flat-12 with a twin-turbocharged engine that made 820kW. And unlike most high-power turbocharged engines of the time, which chewed components at an alarming rate, this 12-cylinder Porsche was capable of enduring 25 to 30 hours between services.

porsche 917/30
via porsche.de

In his final appearance with the 917/30, Donohue set a mind-blowing record for the fastest closed-course lap at 221.120 mph. The record stood for almost two decades before broken.