11 April 2002: A range of ZF’s new myTronic automatic gearboxes suitable for all cars is being developed by the company following the production of the world’s first 6-speed stepped autobox for passenger cars installed in the latest Jaguar S-Type.

The system is based on a Lepelletier epicyclic gear train which allows the building of a 6-speed unit with 30% less parts than a conventional 5-speed autotrans. The lighter unit - 11kgs less in the case of the Jaguar unit - along with the very ‘tall’ sixth gear also improves fuel consumption by up to 7% over other systems.

Acceleration tests also show up to 5% improvement over 5-speed units in comparable cars.

ZF is the third-largest automotive supplier in Germany and ranks 15th worldwide.

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