Volkswagen working on 10 speed DSG automatic gearbox and high output turbo diesel engine

Volkswagen is working on two interesting projects, both of them potential game changers for the Volkswagen group. The first project is the 10 speed dual clutch automatic gearbox that promises a 15 % bump up in fuel efficiency. Over the years, automatic gearboxes have added more and more gears in order to deliver seamless power delivery by keeping the car in the torque band, akin to the process on manual gearbox equipped cars. The higher number of gears also allowed for overdrive in the higher gears, making for better fuel efficiency during highway cruising.

While 9 speed automatic gearboxes have already hit production with the Range Rover Evoque being a prominent car that features one, the 1o speeders aren’t in production just as yet. Volkswagen aims to combine a large number of gears, in this case 10 speeds, with DSG dual clutch automatic gearbox technology. By having two clutches to shift a bank of 5 gears each, gear shift speeds will get quicker, leading to more sporty performance. Also, DSG gearboxes are lighter than conventional torque converters.

They also have lower frictional losses as they are a combination of two manual gearboxes and clutches in a single housing governed by an electronic control unit, unlike a heavier torque converter automatic.  The combination of lower weight and lower frictional losses make the DSG automatic gearboxes more fuel efficient than conventional torque converter automatics. The new 10 speed DSG gearbox will work with both transverse and longitudinal engine mountings. The gearbox will replace the 6 speed DSG unit that Volkswagen cars feature and will support a maximum torque rating of 500 Nm.

Coming to the other major game changer from Volkswagen, the German car making behemoth is working on a new twin turbo diesel engine which will output 236 Bhp from its 2 liter-4 cylinder layout, a big step up from the 177 Bhp maximum that 2 liter TDI engines have been doing on Volkswagen cars. The step up in power and torque is due to the multiple turbochargers, which will also allow crisper throttle response and copious torque across the rev range of the engine. The 2 liter twin turbo TDI diesel engine will be shoehorned into the next-generation Passat, due later this year in international markets.

Via Autocar