There were so many trucks and vans and their variations (buses and motorhomes) produced in Europe with the 616 that there was/is a very large market for making the engine a little more peppy. I talked to a gentlman on the ferry from Portsmouth to Roscoff who had a turbo installed on his 616 engine in his motorhome and was very happy with it.
Even when MB put the 617 in their trucks and vans, it was almost never turbocharged.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13