The horsepower wars among piston aircraft just got racheted up a notch... as Cirrus Design told ANN late Thursday night that an even faster SR22 is in the works.

The new Cirrus Turbo will combine the full array of benefits commonly associated with turbocharging an already efficient powerplant along with the safety and innovation of the original SR22. Whether flying over high mountains, taking advantage of tailwinds or the opportunity to go over more weather... turbocharged airplanes have added flexibility.

Tornado Alley Turbo, Inc., of Ada, OK has partnered with Cirrus to supply the turbonormalizing system.

"Our collaboration with Tornado Alley Turbo has been invaluable. The knowledge, insight and expertise they provided was significant in the creation of the Cirrus Turbo," said Cirrus President and COO David Coleal.

The Cirrus/Tornado Alley Turbo System features a twin turbonormalized, dual intercooled engine installation matched with the new three-blade Hartzell lightweight composite propeller and a built-in oxygen system. Cirrus says that along with incorporating GAMIjectors balanced fuel/air ratios, this system will provide increased speed while maintaining remarkably cool cylinder head temperatures with less cruise fuel consumption.

Cirrus adds the combination of advanced engine turbocharging and a highly efficient propeller will maximize fuel-to-thrust rates while permitting enhanced performance at higher altitudes.

"The Cirrus Turbo represents a further commitment by Cirrus to implement only the very best engineering concepts in their products for the personal aviation industry," said George Braly, Chief of Engineering for Tornado Alley Turbo, Inc. "These systems are widely recognized as superior to any other turbo engine installations in personal aviation."

Of course, with the addition of the turbo comes two upgrades that are near-and-dear to most pilots... MORE power, and MORE speed. So, how much more of each are we talking about here?

Well, Cirrus is saving the official annoucement of THOSE figures for Oshkosh... but while we're expecting to see noteworthy bumps in both over normally-aspirated SR22s, Cirrus Vice Chairman and Co-founder Dale Klapmeier said that wasn't the only reason for adding a turbo to the SR22.

"We made the choice to further expand the SR22's performance envelope in direct response to our recognition of higher-than-normal owner flight hours. How do you make a Cirrus aircraft more efficient and enable higher altitude flight? You add a turbo."

"When making the decision about adding the Turbo to our fleet, Cirrus chose the Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) path as a matter of integrity," added Klapmeier. "With the real possibility of losing 100 low lead aviation fuel, we felt that we owed it to our customers to be prepared for that day."

One thing is for certain, though... with the Turbo Cirrus, flights will be easier, shorter and faster...

Stay tuned.

FMI: www.cirrusdesign.com