History Main / NitroBoost

* ''VideoGame/{{Re-Volt}}'' has a battery powerup, which momentarily speeds up your RC car while making it glow with yellow electric energy.

* Likewise, just as any other street racing scene game would have, all ''NeedForSpeed'' games after ''Underground'' feature a nitrous oxide system. The higher its level, the more boost you could use. The first game had one single fixed charge of nitrous, akin to real life; the second game has a nitrous tank refilled by pulling stunts, and the last two games (NFS Most Wanted and Carbon) have a nitrous tank that continuously and constantly refills itself. (Note for the unwary - you can't just call it NOS, because as ''TheFastAndTheFurious'' people found out the hard way, that's a specific company who will sue you. Most of the games feature both Holley Performance Products NOS and Nitrous Express NX as available systems.)
** There are cars available for ''NeedForSpeed: High Stakes'' already that simulate NitroBoost with a modified reverse gear. At the cost of being able to move backwards, the car seems to develop a power boost and increase both its acceleration and maximum speed dramatically.
** ''NeedForSpeed: Hot Pursuit 2010'' has every car fitted with a race-spec nitrous kit. Racers build their boost by driving dangerously, such as in oncoming lanes, near misses, and drifting. Cops don't get any boost for driving in oncoming lanes, but instead constantly regenerate nitrous, somewhat faster at higher speeds. The biggest difference is that a full racer nitrous boost will last twice as along as a cop's boost, but has less power per second than the cop boost.

** ''Most Wanted 2012'' also features nitrous boosts but it first has to be unlocked for every car via a challenge which also has several variants from the standard burn nitrous to power-shot nitrous that cannot be used until the meter is full and drains it in an instant while propelling your car to near top speed. A [[{{DownloadableContent}} DLC]] pack introduces jump nitro that boosts the cars speed while in mid-air. And like the burnout examples below, driving dangerously fills up your nitrous faster and performing take-downs on other racers/cops instantly fills the meter, very useful with the power-shot.
* The ''{{Burnout}}'' games have a boost meter that keeps going up with the ever-increasing chaos you inflict. A takedown of an opponent's car completely fills the meter and just driving on the wrong side of the road will cause it to rise.
** The boost actually worked differently in each game of the series, and it wasn't until ''Burnout Paradise'' that multiple boost types were available based on the car you choose. The main selection of cars use either Aggression boost (''Burnout 3'' style, scoring takedowns tops off the gauge and extends it up to 3 times), Stunt boost (get more energy from stunts), or Speed boost (''Burnout 1'' and ''2'' style, only usable when the boost gauge is full, but using it all without stopping causes a Burnout which partially fills it back up, and doing enough stunts while boosting makes the Burnout completely fill it up so you can keep boosting). One DLC car, the Carson Extreme Hotrod, has its own type of boost, Locked boost, which can be ignited when the gauge is half full or more, and it doesn't stop until you crash, slam the brake or spin 180 degrees.

* ''VideoGame/{{RC Pro-Am}}'' on the NES had "zippers," a set of chevrons painted on the track that would give vehicles a short boost.

* True to form as a "driving simulator", ''VideoGame/GranTurismo 4'' has a NOS system which works almost exactly like the real deal.

* Nitro boosts are a crucial element in the ''VideoGame/RidgeRacer'' games. Nitro tanks are refilled by drifting (the faster and longer you drift, the faster the tanks refill).

* ''Pokémon'' has several moves that raise Speed or strike first (Quick Attack and Agility for example) and whilst these aren't strictly the same as this, there are three other abilities/moves that simulate [[NitroBoost NitroBoosts]] in a manner like racing games.
** There's an actual move called Nitro Charge in the Japan games (Flame Charge, unfortunately, for everywhere else) that raises the user's Speed when it hits. The move Tailwind causes your team's speed to be increased for five turns, whilst the Ability Quick Feet raises your Speed when under a status condition, even Paralysis!
** These moves work in a more traditional fashion in the ''VideoGame/PokemonRumble'' games, boosting the movement speed of the user. When coupled with a naturally fast Pokemon like Ninjask and the Speedy ability, you can attain a level of speed that lets you get through levels in a matter of seconds (Handy when for searching for rare Pokemon).

* In ''Anime/SpeedRacer '', the hero uses two forms: completely normal nitro boost, and finally a special engine that's been around for ages, is much faster than the newest of the new engines, but is apparently so finicky that nobody else uses it. I guess there has to be SOME trade-off to keep people from using the best all the time...

* The "Regentenschüssel" in ''{{Werner}} - Gekotzt wird später!'' has a nitrous system which includes a bottle welded into the middle of the hood. Mind you the car is (or used to be) a 1975 Oldsmobile 98 Regency, and the bottle goes the whole length of the hood.

* {{Redline}}: JP uses the nitro several times through out the movie, most notably at the start and the end. The boost gained causes JP to bleed from the nose, the picture being distorted and the footage to go slow motion. Oh, and it makes the movie look awesome.

--> '''Sir Alexander Dane:''' You don't hold the turbo down, it's for quick boosts!
--> '''Jason Nesmith:''' Oh, like ''you'' know!

* ''WesternAnimation/HotWheelsAcceleracers'' : In the original, Highway 35, Nitrox
is the only way to reach 300mph, which allows the drivers to enter the titular highway. In Acceleracers, though, Nitrox is mainly used as a speed boost for dire situations. The original Nitrox
does come back, though it is only used near the end of the fourth movie. It is significantly faster than the normal version.

May cause ExplosiveOverclocking, even (and especially) in RealLife. Compare TimTaylorTechnology.

* ''GoneInSixtySeconds''

[[quoteright:350:[[DonRosa http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Nitro_Boost.jpg]]]]

* ''WesternAnimation/HotWheelsAcceleracers'': In the original, Highway 35, Nitrox
is the only way to reach 300mph, which allows the drivers to enter the titular highway. In Acceleracers, though, Nitrox is mainly used as a speed boost for dire situations. The original Nitrox
does come back, though it is only used near the end of the fourth movie. It is significantly faster than the normal version.

* I can't believe ''Iron Man's Off-Road Racing'' hasn't been mentioned. You pick up nitro canisters as you race, and can also buy them at the store between races. It's not only useful, but in fact required in piles to beat the AI opponents. The last few races are practically unbeatable without buying 99 nitro packets and using virtually all of them.

* In ''[[{{Half-Life}} Half-Life 2]]'' and ''Episode 2'', the buggy and muscle car, respectively, have a built-in boost feature that makes the car significantly faster for a fixed period, at the cost of being nearly impossible to steer. The buggy's was used to jump a couple of gaps, while the muscle car's was mostly useful for beating DOG to White Forest.

* Dragon fire in ''[[HarryPotter Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows]]''.
* Something similar was used in Creator/TerryPratchett's ''[[Literature/{{Discworld}} The Last Continent]]'', which was basically a whole-book AffectionateParody of every single Australian pop culture and folklore trope ever, where Mad (not mad anything, just Mad) feeds his horses a "supercharger" consisting of a special mix of oats and lizard glands which gives them a "big jolt".

* True to form as a "driving simulator", ''GranTurismo4'' has a NOS system which works almost exactly like the real deal.

** ''{{Battlefield 2142}}'' takes from the jets and gives to the cars. Battlewalkers can also run, albeit indefinitely.

* The Flash ATV and Harasser buggy in ''PlanetSide 2'' can equip a Turbo Booster, which allows them to massively increase their top speed and acceleration for a very short amount of time, after which the turbo needs to regenerate. The booster seems to work almost like a rocket strapped to the back of the vehicle - engaging the booster in mid-air will catapult the vehicle huge distances.

* Something similar was used in Creator/TerryPratchett's ''[[Literature/{{Discworld}} The Last Continent]]'' where Mad (not mad anything, just Mad) feeds his horses a "supercharger" consisting of a special mix of oats and lizard glands which gives them a "big jolt".