Christian von Koenigsegg celebrated his 50th birthday and abandoned the traditional champagne and the midlife crisis Porsche. Instead, he unveiled an entirely new kind of transmission. Really, no one parties like von Koenigsegg. The new six-speed manual transmission not only has variable gears, but can also change gears itself – as a nine-speed automatic.
The manual transmission is based on the brand’s automatic Light Speed Transmission. They call this version the Engage Shift System and it weighs only 90 kilos. In addition, it is about the same size as a regular six-speed gearbox. In Track mode, the transmission behaves differently than in Normal mode. You’ll find it in the new CC850. We make an attempt to explain how the new technique works.
The clutch pedal functions normally
For starters, the clutch pedal is a real pedal that is connected to the transmission via hydraulic lines, just like a normal manual transmission. When you press the clutch pedal, the gearbox disengages from the drivetrain. So far nothing new. In reality, you uncouple six couplings at the same time, but you don’t notice that.
In total there are nine possible gear combinations, so you basically have nine gears. If you put it on automatic mode, it is also a nine-speed gearbox. “But you don’t want nine gears in a manual,” Christian von Koenigsegg told TopGear.
Therefore, the car selects six gears to use in manual mode. Which six gears you get depends on the driving mode you’ve selected. You operate the gearbox with the clutch pedal and the poker in the center console. This is possible because there is no physical connection between the lever and the transmission. Koenigsegg does promise that the poker does not ‘feel fake’.
The distributions of the gears
In Track mode, first gear is actually the automatic’s third gear. The next gears are close together for maximum acceleration and a lot of driving involvement. The ‘real’ first gear never uses the manual gearbox, because it is very short.
In normal driving mode, the first gear is the second gear of the automatic transmission. The second is then the fourth. This way you have a better spread and you can switch more calmly. The normal driving mode must also correspond to a manual gearbox in a normal car in terms of driving experience.
The Koenigsegg manual gearbox feels like a normal manual gearbox
Although the manual transmission is actually an automatic transmission with a clutch pedal, it should feel like a classic manual transmission. Von Koenigsegg explains: “There are a lot of intricacies, so when you shift quickly you feel like the synchros are holding you back and then you have to push harder. The same goes for the clutch, if you push it hard it is a bit heavier because of the sluggishness you would have.”
Also read: This is the price of the Koenigsegg CC850
“If you’re not in the mood, you can of course slide the lever all the way to the right and down, and the gearbox turns into a nine-speed automatic,” he adds. The Swedish car brand worked on the gearbox for no less than two years. The car you saw was still a pre-production model. The CC850 will be fine-tuned before it goes on sale.
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