Porsche’s Seven-Speed Manual Gearbox

Porsche presented the word’s first seven-speed manual gearbox with the seventh generation Porsche 911 in 2011.

Seven-Speed Manual Gearbox

The seven-speed manual was designed to provide excellent shifting comfort and improve the fuel efficiency. For normal or sporty driving, you’ll only need the first six gears. The car reaches it top speed with the sixth gear. The seventh gear has a long ratio and is there just to save fuel.

With the seventh gear, the cruising speed is attained at a lower engine speed. The high level of efficiency and the optimised weight of the gearbox help to make the vehicle more fuel efficient. It is also combined with an automatic start/stop function as standard.

Based on the PDK

The new manual gearbox was designed on the basis of the seven-speed double-clutch (PDK) transmission. As the seven-speed double-clutch transmission is designed as a modular system, many of the same parts were able to be used for the construction of the seven-speed manual gearbox.

However, one challenge had to be overcome. Due to the concept of the PDK, the gears are arranged differently than with a normal “H” shift pattern in the manual. For this reason, converted shift actuators were developed especially for the manual gearbox version. They enable the traditional H-pattern to be achieved with the Doppelkupplung gear sets too.

There is also a patented system that prevents the wrong gear from being engaged. For example, the seventh gear can only be engaged directly after the fifth or sixth gear.

Read also: What is the PDK transmission