Turbo Teen (1984– ) User Reviews

Severe Flashbacks of Bizarre Cartoon

[mckeown-3 · 8 November 1999]

I always tried to convince people that this cartoon actually existed but no one believed me. My whole life until today, I had convinced myself that the entire show was a bizarre dream or hypnotic flashback of my childhood in which a boy could turn into this gnarly red hot rod whenever he ate spicy foods and then would turn back into a teenager whenever "the car ate" cold foods (I know, people thought I was insane, but its true - Turbo Teen is so wack!).

I remember one key episode in which the dude ate a spicy sausage or something, turned into a car to race his friends somewhere, and then his friends dumped an ice cream cone on the hood of himself (?) to turn him back. ABSOLUTE INSANITY.

Thank you IMDB, for allowing closure on a severely traumatizing memory that until today, I was convinced was a hallucination.

maybe I'm still crazy

[kaioshin29 · 2/10 · 11 March 2008]

This may sound crazy to even the people who remember this show...But I remembered this as being live-action. I don't think I ever saw the cartoon. but movie? maybe. I remember it very clearly. The guy was in a building kinda like a showroom. He even had the red jacket. It was dark out and he turned into a red car and there was this guy on the second level looking down at him. The car/guy spun around and crashed through the big showroom type window and out onto the street. And then proceeded to drive off. That is all I remember. I really hope someone else out there remembers this too. If not, Maybe I'm still crazy. But I'm hoping I'm not.

So I'm not crazy!

[brentwthompson · 9/10 · 13 July 2007]

Thanks to the Transformers movie, '80s nostalgia seems to be the rage. The other day, my friends and I were reminiscing about the favorite cartoons we had watched as kids: most remembered, of course, Transformers, G.I. Joe, etc. and to a lesser extent Pole Position and whatnot. However, I distinctly remembered a cartoon about a boy that turned into a red convertible when he got hot and back into a teen when he got cold. When I was a kid, I though it was the coolest idea ever! When I would step into the shower, I would think about what it would be like if I could turn into a car. Well, anyhow, when I told my friends about the cartoon, they thought I was crazy, especially since I couldn't remember the name of the show. I decided to put the internet to work and behold! IMDb has proved me sane! Thanks all!

80's

[Sparty627 · 3 April 2005]

This show was a part of the 80's car revolution. It was about a teenager who would turn into a red sports car whenever he got hot. He could get hot from the temperature or even if he ate something hot. His feet and hands would become the tires, his eyes the headlights and so on. I actually think he was a convertible. He would turn back to a teen when he cooled back down, and that could happen due to the temperature or water.

LOL He was like a human transformer. I use to watch it like most 80's cartoons. This was kind of corny,but for some reason I remember it. Nothing else to say.

Cool idea, goofy show

[coasterwes · 8/10 · 22 October 2007]

I still think the idea of the show was really cool, but the show itself was kinda goofy.

I mean, if you think about it...why would he have to get hot or cold to transform? If he had become fused or one with the car, then he should have been able to transform at-will.

The poor guy would never have kids, never be able to take a hot shower, so many things. ha ha

I know people probably think I'm crazy, but I still think this would be awesome in real life. Not that it's possible anyway.

You'd never have to worry about $3 gas again!

Great original 80's cartoon

[Mark N. · 17 December 1999]

It's too bad this show only lasted for one season. I came across an episode of it, and before then have completely forgotten the show existed. It ran early Saturday mornings on ABC in 1984. In the cartoon, Brett Matthews turned into his car when his temperature rose (nervousness, anger). He drove his friends Pattie and Alex around to solve crimes. The introduction really brings back alot of memories of the very early years of when I used to watch Saturday morning cartoons.

Are you insane?

[killem2 · 10/10 · 22 June 2006]

This is on par with some of the greatest cartoons of all time. The entire story is a teenage boy that was altered by I believe a lightning storm while in his car and if he is hit with warm water he will turn into the car and if his his with cold water he transforms back to human form. There were multiple occasions where it has light comedy. He may have been parked out side of a store where he obviously needed to be a car and little kids throw a water balloon on him. If you were a little boy in the 80s, it was all about knight rider, dukes of hazard, and any other car related thing you could find. What better than turning into a car! I'm sorry but the Robert Morgan poster must have had been dropped on his head as a child because this is nothing but a great cartoon and sadly it had a very short lived history. I am still to this day trying to find A DVD or VHS of the show so I can have it to watch with my son. This is certainly not a show that is trying to cater to Oscar crazy fanatics, its for kids and adults that didn't let there imagination rot with adolescence. A+

People thought I was crazy too !

[RedrumWhereImFrom · 24 April 2007]

Just like "mckeown" who posted previously, nobody I know seemed to remember this show. They thought I was on something and imagined it all. It didn't help that I couldn't remember the name. I was thinking it was called Teen Machine. Finally, I recently found some info about it online. That gave me the proper title and proof to show people that I wasn't crazy. The show was fun to watch when I was a kid. I was 6 or 7 when it aired. Looking back on it though, it was weird and kind of creepy for a few reasons. Like some of the other posters have already stated. I think the creators are the one's who must have been on something ! Still, I loved the old 80's cartoons. Actually I love almost anything 80's. I've been in a real nostalgic mood lately. It's good to see that I'm not the only one.

amazing story and heart moving

[davidriley-16385 · 10/10 · 30 May 2021]

As someone who idetinifys as a car this really speaks to me on a personal level. I almost feel as if this show was made for me and im ashamed that i wasnt born when this show had aired. I cant explain just how much the main character and i relate were basically the same person as i also idenoty as a red car and seeing this person able to be who he is by turning into a car moves me to tears frequently. 10/10.

What will they think of next?

[Terryfan · 4 January 2015]

History is strange when you look back on things and Turbo Teen is one of those examples of when you look back on things.

Turbo Teen clearly was inspired by Transformers and Gobots the idea of robots that turn into Cars and planes

However this time they took a teenager named Brett Matthews who swerves off a road during a thunderstorm and crashes into a secret government laboratory. There, he and his red sports car are accidentally exposed to a molecular beam invented by a scientist named Dr. Chase for a government agent named Cardwell. Man and machine become fused together and as a result, Brett gains the ability to morph into the car when exposed to extreme heat and revert into his human form when exposed to extreme cold.

The 80s did have some interesting ways of making cartoons back then.

Turbo Teen however hasn't been one that many talk about it.

The show was a mix more or less.

And it has yet to be release on DVD or made into a motion picture.

It's one of those shows you loved or hated or didn't see it and to be honest I only remember a handful of clips mostly of when Brett would turn into Turbo Teen.

So all in all I only recommend this show only if you're curiously

kind of gross, really

[Mike_Rotch · 5 September 2005]

Very bizarre. It was kind of disgusting to watch his face stretch into the grill of a car. If they ever made a live-action movie of it, which they won't, they would have to get David Cronenberg to direct it. I always wondered what would happen if he changed back to a teen while his friends were still inside of him. Would they be lodged inside his colon, would it kill turbo teen? And what if someone threw a glass of lukewarm water on him? What about the fact that his body temperature would be 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit? That's pretty hot, so wouldn't he always be a freakin' camaro? I forget, though, did he drink gasoline? I mean if he ingested gas as a car and later turned back into a teen, the gas would still be in his bloodstream so, wouldn't that kill him? I'm glad this show never caught on because you'd have little kids drinking unleaded to be like their hero, Turbo Teen. Shameful

Teen turns into car! Audience turns away!

[StudentDriver · 17 September 1999]

This was one wacky show... I had blocked it from my memory, as one does any major trauma- and then a co-worker of mine reminded me about it.

I don't remember too much of the premise- like the whys and hows. All I remember is that the lead character, looking like Marty McFly, would turn into a car- it may have been a Ranma type thing, where water affected the change. His face would distort and become the grille/headlights, his hands and feet would curl into tires.

Bad, bad show. On around the same time as Manimal, and the two are forever linked in my mind.

Cool interesting 80's cartoon.

[mack3175 · 7 June 2002]

This cartoon was a little inspired from Knight Rider. The story of a teenager who can into a car when he is hot, and turn back into human when he is cold. It's a shame it only lasted one season. I hope the cartoon network will pick up the show.

Turbo teen rules

[hotonecatch1sun · 15 February 2006]

Whenever I think of old old cartoons this is the cartoon that comes to mind a lot of you younger people will not remember this show and even some of you old schoolers will not remember this show unless you really really think back, because it didn't last that long as I can remember. The show was like this the main character was given a brand new car and there was this professor that he knew and the main character drove the car into the professor's lab, where the professor is doing some kind of crazy experiment the main character drives in and gets hit with some type of ray or beam and is transformed. The car disappear and everyone is like hey what happened to the car,but then he eats something hot and magically turns into the car, so that is the whole premise of the show. He turns into a car when he eat something hot like a hot dog or hamburg. now that i think about it maybe thats not so cool of a show as i thought,but if you happen to get a chance to see it you be the judge and remember the 80's cartoons really all made no sense