Marton Pettendy•28 Feb 2013
NEWS
Nine-speed auto for Range Rover Evoque
Range Rover Evoque to offer world-first nine-speed auto in Australia within 12 monthsThe world’s first nine-speed automatic transmission to be fitted to a regular production car will become available in the Range Rover Evoque within a year.
Land Rover has confirmed the ground-breaking new ZF-developed transmission, for which it is a “lead partner” will make its global debut at next week’s Geneva motor show.
Designed for transverse applications including front-, all-wheel drive and hybrid applications, the 9HP gearbox will supersede the six-speed auto in all petrol- and diesel-powered Evoque models in Australia from January 2014, when the six-speed manual will continue to be offered as an option.
It will also be fitted to various models from Chrysler and Honda’s US luxury brand Acura, and will be built at the German transmission specialist’s Gray Court facility in South Carolina, North America.
Thanks to its closer ratios, Land Rover claims “significant improvements in real-world fuel economy” and CO2 emissions, as well as improvements in shift quality, refinement and acceleration response, and reduced noise at higher cruising speeds.
ZF says the super-quick gearshift time of the new auto, which is designed to handle between 270 and 480Nm of torque, are “below the threshold of perception”.
The 9HP gearbox, which is 6mm longer but weighs 7.5kg less than the six-speed auto it replaces, incorporates a particularly tall ninth ratio to aid fuel economy and a much shorter first gear to improve the Evoque’s off-road ability, towing performance and take-off acceleration.
The torque converter incorporates a multi-stage damper system for smoother pulling away and improved refinement and there is also a ‘skip-shift’ function, in which gear ratios can be bypassed during sharp throttle inputs and hard acceleration.
According to Land Rover, if the driver requests a downshift when the vehicle is travelling too fast, the transmission will remember the request and make the shift when the speed drops to an appropriate level.
In all-wheel drive applications, the 9HP can disconnect drive to the rear wheels, reducing fuel consumption by an average of five per cent compared to a traditional full-time AWD system – in addition to a claimed 16 per cent fuel efficiency increase over the Evoque’s six-speed auto.
Naturally, like the six-speed ZF auto fitted to Ford’s Australian-made Falcon and the ZF 8HP unit seen in a plethora of luxury vehicles including the new Range Rover and Discovery 4, the new nine-speed auto features an adaptive-shift function that varies shift points and speeds to suit individual driving styles.
“We are extremely excited about the 9HP which has been tailored exactly to dovetail with the unique attributes of our vehicles,” said Land Rover Global Brand Director, John Edwards.
“It will add another layer of performance, refinement and efficiency, further enhancing Land Rover's world class abilities.”
Read the latest news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site...
Tags
Land Rover
Range Rover Evoque
Car News
SUV
4x4 Offroad Cars
Green Cars
Prestige Cars
Written byMarton Pettendy
Our team of independent expert car reviewers and journalists
Related articles
Disclaimer
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
Love every move.
Buy it. Sell it.Love it.
®Contact
Advertise with us
Local marketplaces
International marketplaces
Scan to download the carsales app
Want more info? Here’s our app landing page
App Store and the Apple logo are trademarks of Apple Inc. Google Play and the Google Play logo
are trademarks of Google LLC.