Despite the German brand being one of the first to use this type of automatic gearbox more than a decade ago, Audi has revealed its plans to axe its Multitronic continuously variable transmission (CVT).
Audi Multitronic CVT replaced by seven-speed dual-clutch transmission
The company said the transmission won’t be offered on next-gen models, in favour of using a new seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. According to a report by Motoring, Audi’s senior driving behaviour engineer Ralph Riegger, said that the Multitronic offered a major benefit, you were able to keep the engine speed at very low revs thanks to the transmission ratio, but were now able to use a stepped transmission and the efficiency there is better that is better.
The Audi Multitronic CVT was involved in a class action lawsuit during the course of its use, which said the transmissions are prone to premature failure in roughly 64 000 A4 and A6 sedans built between 2002 and 2006. Besides these two models, Audi is also offering the continuously variable transmission in the A5 and A7 but their successors won’t get it.
The new seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox (DSG) is believed to make its debut in the all-new A4 (B9) set to go on sale in the first half of 2015.
