History of the diesel car Its 1.3 L XL4D engine produces at 5,000 rpm. Following the 1970s oil crisis (1973 and 1979), Volkswagen introduced their first diesel, the VW Golf, with a 1.5 L naturally aspirated indirect-injection engine which was a redesigned (dieselised) version of a gasoline engine. Mercedes-Benz tested turbodiesels in cars (e.g. by the Mercedes-Benz C111 experimental and record-setting vehicles) and the first production turbo diesel cars were, in 1978, the 3.0 5-cylinder 115 hp (86 kW) Mercedes 300 SD, available only in North America, and the Peugeot 604. The biggest single step forward for mass-market diesel cars came in 1982 when PSA
Turbo-diesel available. Turbo-diesel Turbo-diesel, also written as turbodiesel and turbo diesel, refers to any diesel engine equipped with a turbocharger. Turbocharging is common in modern car and truck diesel engines to produce higher power outputs, lower emissions levels, and improved efficiency from a similar capacity of engine. Turbo-diesels in automobiles offer a higher refinement level than their naturally aspirated counterparts. The turbocharger was invented in the early 20th century by Alfred Büchi, a Swiss engineer and the head of diesel engine research at Gebruder Sulzer engine manufacturing company in Winterthur. Büchi specifically intended his device to be used on diesel engines.