Years go by, cars are renewed and manual boxes die. For some time now, and more with the electrification of a large part of the market, automatic transmissions are imposed. More if we take into account that the electric ones work with a gear (with the exception of the Porsche Taycan).
But not all manufacturers are willing to let the manual transmission die. As we told you some time ago, Ford, Toyota, Kia and Hyundai are launching or registering patents to try to keep these types of changes alive, less and less demanded by the public and more expensive to implement.
With the market limited, there are two paths for manual gearboxes: the low ranges or the very exclusive vehicles. And it is precisely in this field that Koenigsegg moves, in the offer of exclusive and very special hypercars. Now, also with a gearbox that is a true goldsmith’s jewel.
9-speed, 7-clutch automatic
This same month of August, Koenigsegg presented the CC850an impressive hypercar with 1,385 CV of power and that, although it is unimaginable, is the access model to the range, with the Koenigsegg Jesko above. The expectation has been so great that, finally, they will manufacture 70 units that will be sold to €3.5 millioninstead of the planned 50 units.
But what really caught the attention during the presentation of this new hypercar was its gearbox. A transmission that can work in manual and automatic mode, with seven clutches and that changes the number of available relationships depending on one or another mode of use.
The gearbox is part of the one already used in the Koenigsegg Jeskowhere only an automatic transmission was chosen so that the driver was able to manage all its power (it can reach up to 1,650 CV in its most powerful version).
This gear change already has nine ratios and seven clutches. Koenigsegg points to a double clutch transmission it is fast, because it always has the next gear engaged (up or down) depending on the data records obtained by the control unit.
However, they point to a problem. If the car wants to reach its full potential and has to significantly reduce its number of gears, it is essential that it go all the way by jumping from one gear to another. To jump from the seventh relationship to the fourth, it will be necessary to go through the sixth and the fifth, irremediably.
Their LST gearbox (Light Speed Transmission, for its acronym in English) of nine relationships eliminates this problem. How? A little rough. Adding up to seven clutches. Thus, if the car detects by using the accelerator that we want to get the full potential of its engine, it jumps to the desired gear (from ninth to fourthfor example) without having to go through all the previous steps.
The result is that the Koenigsegg are capable of changing brands (whatever it is) in just 20 milliseconds. They do this with three sets of three gears and seven oil-bathed clutches, lacking synchronizers. Use the three gears placed on three different axes, giving rise to 21 possible combinations.
A typical transmission uses two gears per gear, which forces it to be synchronized before making the jump to each of the relationships. All this is controlled by the UPOD (Ultimate Power On Demand) dedicated to choosing the most suitable transmission for each moment.
And despite the fact that its figures are dizzying, all this development has allowed the Swedish brand to achieve a more compact and lighter gearbox than the outgoing one, which improves its behavior and performance.
Or manual… lie
This incredible gearbox can also be activated manually, with paddles on the steering wheel that only allow you to jump to the higher or lower ratio. But Koenigsegg has wanted to go one step further.
His Koenigsegg CC850 was presented with a traditional gear shift six relations, with gear lever arranged in H. Why this change? Because the brand wants to ensure that the touch of the, of course, manual transmission is as realistic as possible. With this mode, the first corresponds to the second of the automatic gearbox. The second of the manual gearbox is actually the fourth. And the sixth manual is the eighth. This eliminates the automatic jumps of the first, third and ninth ratio.
These same gear ratios also vary depending on the chosen driving mode: Comfort, Normal or Track. The latest and sportiest launches the car already in the third gear of the automatic transmission, as there is no risk of colliding with another vehicle waiting in front.
We say that it is a supposed manual change… because, in reality, this does not exist. Lever is not connected physically with the transmission, it only has a force control that simulates the effort of engaging the chosen gear. The same happens with the clutch pedal, there is no type of physical connection, only its hardness is simulated at the moment you want to step on it.
From the movements that the driver makes of the clutch lever and pedal, the electronics is what ends up engaging the chosen gear. However, the firm ensures that the behavior is so realistic that the car can even stall.
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