In the early 1990s, while the first LH cars were being created, the company saw the need for an engine with more power than its 3.3 or 3.8 liter powerplants. While engineers started working on a modern, 3.3-based four-valve-per-cylinder engine that was to become the 3.5, engineer Pete Hagenbuch felt a turbocharged 3.3 would make sense as an interim or alternative solution. Chrysler was then one of the world's largest sellers of turbocharged gasoline engines, and had pioneered the variable nozzle turbocharger.

Marc Rozman was given the task of adding a turbocharger to a standard 3.3 for power testing; he reported that, before the cast crank gave out, he was able to get roughly the same power that the upcoming 3.5 would achieve. The main issue was the need for a forged crank, which the turbo 2.2 engines came with (it wasn't used in initial testing for cost reasons).

For the full story of the turbocharged 3.3, see our interview with Marc Rozman .