Experiences with Common Rail, a Technology Changing the Image of Diesels in Europe

Built on the pioneering work done at Centro Ricerche Fiat and Fiat Auto in Turin, Italy in the 1990's, Alfa Romeo introduced the first passenger car with a common rail fuel system in 1997. The evolution in the development in common rail systems has continued since 1997, first within Fiat and later, after a merger of powertrain activities in Europe and South America, within Fiat-GM Powertrain. Key events in this history and the impact of the resulting common rail systems are described in this paper.