Audi is introducing its new "lightning speed" seven gear transmission system into several mid-range model lines this year, the company announced recently. ( dpa )
Designed to work with longitudinally installed engines and quattro all-wheel drive systems the S tronic transmission can be used in various modes, providing more comfort and economical driving, the car maker said.
In automatic mode a computer selects the gear, but the gears can also be manually switched with the shift selector lever or with the optional rocker switch on the steering wheel.
Two transmission structures are continuously active, but only one is powered at a time by the engine. When the driver accelerates in third gear, the fourth gear is engaged in the second transmission structure lying in wait. According to Audi the switching process takes only a few hundredths of a second and is so smooth that the driver hardly notices it.