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So if you look at what a lot of people are saying they want in terms of forced induction, most people are saying they'd be happy with just a modest amount of boost, like 0.5bar. The Mini runs up to 1.3bar boost; it has lowered compression, BMW's twin scroll turbo, etc. In addition the torque peaks very early. I think the point of the car is more to be good for street driving and fuel efficiency (it has a 1.6L engine afterall). BMW also threw Valvetronic on it, which tells you how serious they are about getting very good fuel economy (Valvetronic pushes it in favor of turbo because now at partial loads where the turbo does spool a little we don't have to waste this with the blow off valve, but this boost can be used to reduce the amount of compression the piston has to do).
I think for people who want to add just a bit more power to the FT86, a supercharger is probably a good idea. At lower levels of boost, the extra amount of pressure going out the exhaust is not that great. One way to say this I suppose is a turbine operates better at higher pressure ratios, but if you don't have much boost, the pressure ratio in the exhaust is not going to be very good, and the turbo won't help you that much. From the research I did yesterday I think it seems like aftermarket turbo suppliers don't make twin scroll housings for smaller turbos like this one, which further dilutes the turbo advantage. See what I'm getting at? If you just want to add a little bit of power the extra hassle for turbo might not be worth it.
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