Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) Automatic Plus 4 Launched

meanwhile, has the automatic gearbox (for the Plus 4) ever been officially introduced by MMC?

I am not aware they put in auto boxes at the factory.

So the Ferrari 488 isnt a true sports car?

Surely the issue here is modernity against tradition not manual versus auto. The problem with an auto Trad with flappy paddles is that you are going against the very reason for buying a Trad, the nostalgia bit. If you go for the flappy paddle modern gearbox, what about proper modern suspenion and brakes? Maybe modern aero too? And before you know it you have an MX5.

On the other hand if you are buying a really modern up to date sports car you would want the best up to date technology. F1 cars dont use manual gearboxes because they are slower

Nothing wrong with a good autobox in my mind. I prefer though the manual in my Roadster.

The charm of a manual gearbox can't be beat with an automatic, i have own a Boxter , and later a DB9 i swap them for the Auto Gearbox. But every taste is in the nature.

PS: F1 are electronically assisted, not automatic (like the Boxter)

Chaps,

Please correct me if I am wrong but aren't todays auto boxes merely "robotised" manual boxes unlike a true auto box like the Hydromatic etc?

Crazy or not Neil, I also bought a new Golf last year with the option of the dual clutch/auto box, and after a decent test drive in which I couldn't help but be impressed by the speed of the change, I decided that it just wasn't involving enough, not at all. Clutch modulation and changing gear is one of the last really skillful things a driver does. They will be telling us you can have a car that parks itself, brakes for itslef, doesn't drift out of lane and will even drive itself next!

Here is a Wikipedia photo of a ZF auto gearbox showing the internals and the planetary gears. If I understand correctly the gears are constantly in mesh but the different ratios are actuated by hydraulic controls. According to Wikipedia it can shift gears in 200 milliseconds!!!



It uses fluid coupling to the engine instead of a torque converter. The torque converter in itself is a variable transmission which allows a reduction in the number of gear ratios in the box itself. A lot of the early autos using torque converters had fewer ratios in the auto version as against the manual version of the same car.

I had a Golf TDi DSG loan car while mine was in for service. It was the 1.6 so I didn't expect much.
I didn't get much either. It has four modes. Econ; normal; sport; bespoke..........
Totally uninvolving. I don't care if it's quicker than a manual. There's a lot more to driving enjoyment than a nought to whatever dash.

it seems like VITESSE LTD is in charge of the automatics topic and I am now in contact with them.