Tata Group owned Jaguar Land Rover is fast upping the ante in most of the car segments it caters to. After having introduced an 8-speed transmission on the new Range Rover and Discovery, Land Rover is prepared to introduce world’s first 9 speed automatic transmission at the fast approaching Geneva Motor Show that will commence next week.
The new transmission should help in boosting the economy and lowering the emissions. The new transmission will be showcased on the high selling Evoque.
The ZF ’9HP’ transmission is claimed to be the world’s most technically advanced gearbox for any production car.
The new gear box is also being expected to bestow the Evoque with improved acceleration and top speed figures along with having an improved shift quality and higher refinement.
The ’9HP’ has been designed with keeping off-roading applications in mind and the lowest ratio on the 9HP is considerably lower than the lowest ratio on the six-speed transmission that is currently employed in the Evoque. The new 9 speed ‘box has been made to suit applications such as off-road, towing, high altitude and steep gradients.
Unlike the sequential shift feature of the current six-speed transmission, the 9HP has a skip-shift function that enables faster downshifting. The torque converter on the new transmission has a multi-stage damper system for better refinement. The transmission also has a feature that allows it to become sharper during brisk driving and become economical under sedate driving.
Even though the new transmission gets three more gear ratios, the gearbox is 7.5 kgs lighter and is only 6mm longer than the outgoing six-speed transmission!
The new 9HP transmission is produced at ZF’s Gray Court plant in South Carolina.
This gearbox had been developed a long time back.. Wonder why it took so much time to put it into a car.. If you ask me it should have come in the Range Rover too.. Not to mention all the other new cars that were out..