• Zeroshift, a privately owned British innovation company specialising in the development and application of power transmission and electronic control solutions has invented new damping systems to enhance its compact, highly efficient automatic transmission. The Zeroshift transmission won a prestigious innovation award at the 2007 SAE World Congress and the company is the Frost & Sullivan 2007 European Powertrain Company of the Year.

• Zeroshift technology provides a compact, low-cost fully automatic transmission that changes ratio with zero torque interruption (with no let up in acceleration during gear change), providing better performance, refinement and passenger comfort. It’s estimated that in a typical mixed drive cycle, the system should generate an increase in fuel economy of at least two per cent compared to a manual transmission and seven per cent compared with a six speed planetary automatic (gears different than the usual torque converter automatics).

• The Zeroshift transmission is cheaper to manufacture than a Dual Clutch Transmission (DCT) or a sophisticated planetary automatic. The shift mechanism can be built into an existing manual gearbox so it can be assembled on the related manual transmission production lines. “The cleverness of it is in the design innovation and the control systems,” explains managing director Bill Martin. “For an established manufacturer of manual gearboxes, it is a very affordable way to offer a high-quality, automatic transmission.”

• A Zeroshift transmission uses mainly technologies proven in established volume applications, supplemented by innovative Zeroshift components. The synchromesh elements found in a conventional gearbox are replaced by pairs of interlocking rings, each incorporating three specially contoured drive elements that engage and disengage the drive gears.

• The control system, also developed and calibrated by Zeroshift, coordinates gearshift actuation, engine management and clutch operation to provide full control over the driveline, which transfers power from the engine to the wheels, during gear shifting. Other new features include an oil damping system embedded in the drive gears to increase refinement during gear changes and a new hydraulic actuation system.

• The Zeroshift automatic transmission can be used in passenger cars, commercial vehicles, off-highway vehicles and motorcycles.