Karl Ludvigsen

Karl Ludvigsen first manifested his interest in supercharging in the early 1950s when he redirected a ventilation tube to the carburettor of his mother’s 1949 Buick Super convertible. Supposed to deliver more oxygen by ram effect, this succeeded only in leaning out the mixture, to the dismay of the Kalamazoo Buick dealer’s service staff. Karl learned that boost needed to be fed to the float bowl as well.

Ludvigsen has realised the ambition of a lifetime with this work on the subject of forced induction. He first tackled the early years of the technology in a 1970 issue of Automobile Quarterly, the research for which brought him in personal contact with some of the pioneers of this exotic art. This served him well when he committed to research and write an overall history of supercharging and turbocharging.

The publication of Power Unleashed marks more than 70 years of Ludvigsen’s activity as a journalist, author and historian. As author, co-author or editor he has more than six dozen books to his credit. Five of his books have received the Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot Award from the Society of Automotive Historians, which in 2002 gave him its highest accolade, Friend of Automotive History. In all he has received 73 awards for his high standard of writing and research.

Ludvigsen’s career has included the editorship of Car and Driver, a dozen years in the auto industry with General Motors, Fiat and Ford and 15 years as the head of a leading motor-industry management consultancy. Born in Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1934, Ludvigsen has lived in Britain since 1980. In addition to his work as an author and historian he is a contributor to leading periodicals and websites.