Garrett

Garrett Motion: The Gold Standard in Turbocharging Technology

Few names carry as much weight in the world of forced induction as Garrett Motion. Garrett traces its roots to 1936, when founder John Clifford "Cliff" Garrett established a one-man aviation supply operation in Los Angeles. What began as an aerospace venture evolved over the following decades into the defining force in turbocharger engineering. Today, Garrett Motion is a publicly traded company headquartered in Rolle, Switzerland, and its products can be found under the hoods of vehicles on virtually every continent.

The journey from aviation to automotive is a story of relentless innovation. During World War II, Garrett produced aircraft turbochargers for the war effort. By 1955, the company had delivered its first automotive-grade T-15 turbocharger to Caterpillar, unlocking a massive new market in construction and industrial equipment. Through the 1960s and 1970s, Garrett expanded steadily into passenger cars and commercial trucks, and by the 1990s, its pioneering Variable Nozzle Turbine (VNT) technology helped bring turbocharged engines into the mainstream for everyday drivers.

Today, Garrett turbochargers remain the cornerstone of the brand's lineup. The catalog spans an enormous range of applications, from compact passenger cars to heavy-duty trucks and off-highway equipment. Performance enthusiasts are well served by product families like the GT Series, GTX Series, and the flagship G-Series, which was engineered to extract the highest power output from the smallest possible package. Garrett's motorsport presence underscores the quality of its engineering: the brand has been represented in Formula 1, FIA World Rally Championship, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where teams running Garrett turbos have claimed victory for 26 consecutive years.

Behind every well-functioning turbocharger is a precision-engineered turbocharger wastegate actuator. Garrett designs and manufactures these critical boost-control components in-house, ensuring that they meet the same exacting standards as its turbochargers. Proper wastegate actuation keeps exhaust gas flow — and therefore shaft speed — within safe operating limits, protecting both the turbo and the engine it serves. Garrett's GVW external wastegate lineup, developed by the same engineers who created the G-Series and GTX Gen II turbos, features CFD-optimized designs and liquid-cooled actuator ports for superior durability in high-heat environments.

For engine rebuilders, fleet operators, and performance tuners looking to restore or upgrade an existing turbo system, Garrett also offers turbocharger cartridges (also known as CHRA — Center Housing Rotating Assemblies). These core components allow technicians to replace the heart of a worn turbocharger without swapping the entire unit, a cost-effective and efficient approach to turbo maintenance.

One of the technical milestones that sets Garrett apart is its patented single-cartridge dual ball bearing technology, which uses a single sleeve system with angular ball bearings at each end to reduce rotational friction and improve spool response. This kind of innovation, developed over nearly nine decades of engineering, is why Garrett technologies have found their way into more than 130 million vehicles worldwide and why the brand remains the benchmark against which all other turbo manufacturers are measured.