The Toyota Motor Co. Ltd was first established in 1937 as a spin-off from Toyoda Automatic Loom Works, one of the world's leading manufacturers of weaving machinery. The Toyoda Automatic Loom Works was then headed by Japan's "King of Inventors" Sakichi Toyoda. The patent rights to one of his machines had been sold to Platt Brothers (UK) and provided the seed-money for the development and test-building of Toyota's first automobiles.

The fist of the Toyota turbos, CT20-types, was marketed with 3T-GTE engines in 1982.

In 1983, Toyota introduced Japan's first intercooled turbo, 1984 saw introduction of the CT26, and a new compact turbo, the CT12, was introduced in 1985.