Garrett Turbochargers

The story of turbo begins in 1954 when Garrett’s T15 turbo was paired with Caterpillar’s D9 crawler. Although the appropriately named Oldsmobile Jetfire Turbo Rocket became the first turbocharged production car in 1962, the technology’s impact was initially felt more keenly in commercial vehicles when in 1967 Deere selected the Garrett T04 turbo for its farm tractor range…and the entire industry followed. But it was in the 1990s that turbo went mainstream and global, when Garrett’s new variable nozzle turbine technology (VNT) enabled the 1991 Fiat Croma to adjust exhaust gas flow in direct response to specific engine requirements. And when Volkswagen-Audi paired VNT technology with its 1.9L diesel engine for its Frankfurt Motor Show launch in 1995, the symbiotic fit between turbocharging and direct injection diesel powertrains was confirmed…and evolution became revolution.