WINDING ROADS May 3rd, 2007 1:19 PM
German supplier ZF is hard at work on an eight-speed automatic that it says is designed with both hybrids and all-wheel drive in mind. Lexus, you may recall, was the first automaker to bring such a gearbox to market in their techo-happy
LS460 sedan.
ZF?s octo-ratio transmission reportedly augments fuel economy
by six percent over a six-speed ?box, yet it can handle more torque and is dimensionally similar to the company?s own unit with two fewer ratios.