Several Land Rover models sold in the U.S. will receive a ZF-sourced eight-speed automatic transmission for the 2013 model year, a source within the company has told us. We expect that the Range Rover Sport, its close sibling, the LR4, and the international-arms-dealer special, the Range Rover, all will feature the gearbox when they go on sale some time in the second half of 2012.
Diesel versions of the Range Rover Sport and LR4, which aren’t sold in the States, are being fitted with the ZF gearbox right now as part of a broader powertrain upgrade for 2012. They are also switching to a rotary gear selector like that in Jaguar’s cars, and we assume that when the eight-speed is installed in U.S.-bound Land Rovers, we’ll see the puck move here.
This eight-speed transmission does duty in vehicles from a number of brands, including Audi, Bentley, and BMW; Chrysler has licensed the design for assembly at its own plant for use in the new 300 and Charger, among many other models. We expect that it will help bump fuel economy across the Land Rover lineup—relatively speaking, of course—and the box’s more closely spaced ratios may improve acceleration, too.
Source : Google Reader
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