What's the name of the alternative of a Turbo?

Question

I remember a couple of years ago I was watching Initial D at a friends place, where they talked about something similar to a turbo.

A turbo weakens the engine's power when it starts, and at a certain rotation of the engine starts to become beneficial.

Often people want to combine 2 turbos. One for the engine's low rotation and one for the higher RPM's.

But there was an alternative. A kind of 'turbo'(with another name) that was directly driven by the engine. It was way more expensive and generally only used in rally or racecars.

I wanted to know the name of that item.

Answer 1

Supercharger?

Answer 2

I believe you are referring to a supercharger. Superchargers are run by the engine from a belt and offer almost immediate power gain when you step on the gas. No Turbo lag!

Answer 3

I think you mean superchargers, but they aren't more expensive, they are actually cheaper and easier to install. They are common and found on many production cars.  

Answer 4

Supercharger is correct answer