BMW & Audi to Offer New 8-speed Transmissions

ZF 8-speed transmission / Automotive News

Germans join Lexus on high eight

By Thami Masemola
May 13, 2008 8:48 am
Filed Under: Audi, BMW, General, German, Technology

Power wars aside, car manufacturers from Germany are involved in battles that go beyond simple turbo, displacement, ‘Ring times and 0 – 100 barroom brawls. The new battle is being fought out in the open fields where real people drive real cars and do reported damage to the real earth. Enter ZF, the renowned gearbox maker that provided BMW with the world’s first 6-speed automatic which came, for better or for worse, with the 2001 7 Series. Automotive News reports that ZF is completing an 8-cogger and that Audi and BMW are first in line for orders. According to this piece of news for which Automotive News credits an Audi insider, Audi will fit it into its A7 four-door coupe, Q7 and next A8 while BMW is eyeing it for the next generation 7 Series. Lexus already beat the Germans, including Mercedes-Benz’s 7-speed G-Tronic by introducing its LS 460 straight with an 8-speed ‘box.

Multi-speed transmissions are used to improve fuel consumption in vehicles, thereby emitting fewer emissions on to the atmosphere. This is a fact, although it is puzzling as to why not more automakers are tuning into the realm of CVT which is found in cars like the Nissan Murano, Honda Jazz and Audi products. CVT basically implies a gearbox with an infinite number of gears, effectively negating the need for automakers always trying to outdo each other with higher-numbered gearboxes.

Thomas Wenzel, a spokesman for ZF, would neither confirm nor deny whether Audi and BMW would use its new gearbox.
"We have a very good relationship with a number of automakers who already use our six-speed transmission. Some of those could decide to use our eight-speed technology."

Although an 8-speed could technically be used even by vehicles the size of a Chevrolet Aveo, automakers often opt to fit such transmissions into luxury saloons because of the costs involved in their manufacture. Whether someone else out there is working on a 9-speed or even 10-speed changer will only be disclosed by time.

Source: Automotive News

Comments (page 1 of 2)

wolff
May 13, 2008 1:50 pm
at this rate by 2020, we'll have a100 gears!!:P

benz_man
May 13, 2008 4:03 pm
Its great. There are still more efficiency gains to be had though. Mercedes is behind the ball now, but they supply the 7G-tronic themselves, which leaves them in an interesting situation.

droobear
May 13, 2008 4:34 pm
at 8 gears the cvt is a nonsense. Been in a cvt. They suck. Its like my old 3 speed 1.3l. Takes forever to accelerate, one big long powerband. 7 gears can compare economically to cvt. 8 gears better than cvt for mileage. I imagine somewhere around 12 is max required for AUTOMOBILES.

Joe_Limon
May 13, 2008 6:16 pm
maybe you should try a car that has some power behind it with a cvt. Pretty sure its the engine that is the problem.

sub39h
May 14, 2008 9:07 am
i agree entirely. drove an A5 2.7TDI with a multitronic CVT gearbox. they're awful. made me consider shelling out an extra £3k for the 3.0TDI so i get a tiptronic, or consider getting another car entirely. CVT is NOT the way forward (but i think 8 gears is a tad ridiculous as well)

autoque
May 13, 2008 5:37 pm
It's not a matter of needs. These high tech gadgets are for those who are willing to pay the price, thus only the premium brands are going for these.

vurbin
May 13, 2008 6:05 pm
Now, what we need is a 8 speed Dual Clutch transmission.

Joe_Limon
May 13, 2008 6:16 pm
damn german copy cats, first they copy lexus's auto park, and now they copy their 8 speed gearbox

May 13, 2008 7:00 pm
It's the other way around the Germans are the innovators the Japanese just hone it......

Pentium
May 13, 2008 10:05 pm
what are u talking about!!? Lexus is a copy machine...like the LS460 for example!

songo
May 13, 2008 8:33 pm
come on man lexsus is copy everything from germans dont be stupid.german engineering papo not japanese rubbish .....

Joe_Limon
May 14, 2008 4:10 am
ahahaha you guys are unbelievable. I posted that because I constantly see posts that look the same, where everyone else is somehow copying from the Germans. Now when the japanese catch something first i.e. 8speed gear box/auto park/direct injection gas engines, you get all defensive. Why don't you try being world car fans, not just German car fans.

BDSawicki
May 14, 2008 7:40 am
Absolutely agree. I saw a number of posts bashing Lexus' 8-speed gear but hardly can see a single one discussing the idea of 8-speed gear in the German's cars in the same tenor. The same applies to e.g. hybrid technology - almost everyone is bashing the Toyota/Lexus' technology, but suprisingly all I can hear from all German companies (including Porsche) is that they will launch hybrid cars sooner or later (once they master the technology ;-).

sub39h
May 14, 2008 9:14 am
to BDSawicki. hybrid is NOT the way forward. i mean let's forget for a second the amount of damage that the nickel mining for the batteries does to the environment and focus entirely on the fuel economy of the things. smaller diesel cars almost always have better fuel mileage and lower emissions than something as silly as a Prius, and in the UK/Europe at least, buying a diesel Honda Civic (which is made in Swindon) or a Mini Cooper D (also UK made) would be A LOT better for the environment than shipping one of those naf Priuses over from Japan. and that's only if you think that the problem with the environment is as bad as the media is making out, which i don't personally. i think it's another hype (tho i do concede that thinking about the environment is important)

benz_man
May 14, 2008 4:53 pm
sub39h, dont be mistaken. Hybrid tech is the way to go. As electric motors get smaller and more efficient, they will be packaged in "optimum" locations (ie: transmissions, differentials, drive shafts). When coupled with further advances in Li-ion batteries and high power capacitors, current useless systems like the one in Lexus' 600h become obsolete. Packaged with a modern high power diesel powertrain, hybrid systems will be the efficiency leader.

sub39h
May 14, 2008 9:36 pm
i am not convinced by that argument because you're still ignoring the fact that the production and disposal of hybrid tech is incredibly damaging to the environment and the costs associated with shipping the cars all around the world (those big cargo ships aren't brilliant on CO2 emissions you know!) and hydrogen technology isn't the way forward either because to produce hydrogen you need electricity and most electricity in the world still comes from burning fossil fuels! the world leaders tell us to buy these alternate fuel cars to save the planet, when in truth it's either making it worse or making precious little difference but costing us more. i'd take a Golf Bluemotion over a Pruis any day. it's cheaper, better looking, better built, more comfortable and has a better badge. and in it's lifetime will expend less CO2 and less fossil fuels

yeaab
May 14, 2008 4:23 am
!! i can list you dozen of features and specs. which were copied by lexus "LS460" from Audi & BMW. tell me if you'd like me to..

yeaab
May 14, 2008 4:33 am
i can list you dozen of features and specs, copied by lexus "LS460" from Audi & BMW. Tell me if you'd like me to..

Ferrariguy
May 14, 2008 5:01 am
Now if the germans could only copy the japanese in reliability maybe their cars wouldn't have so many electrical failures.

The_woo_factor
May 14, 2008 7:32 am
Competition is good....

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