Fiat announced yesterday during it's Investor Day Five Year Plan presentation, the Fiat 500 will be equipped with the DDCT Dual Dry Clutch Transmission. This will be a new variation of the C635 DDCT that is being installed in the new Alfa Romeo Giulietta and future Chrysler products.
The DDCT transmission going into the Fiat 500 is a new 7 speed design specially created for smaller A and B segment cars.
The advantages of the DDCT transmission is it combines the shifting convenience of an automatic transmission with even greater operating efficiency than a manual transmission.
When you want to relax, you can drive it as an automatic, or when that sporting feeling hits, shift it manually. It delivers a superior sporty feel compared to electrically-actuated manual (MTA) gearboxes because of the greater gear shift speed and a near-zero power loss during gear changes.
An outstanding feature of this 3 shaft transmission is it is modular and can have an electric motor generator attached to one of the transmission input shafts making it the most compact and economical parallel hybrid powertrain on the market.
This is the first in its class and promises to open a huge potential market for Fiat. I've reported on the Fiat Hybrid system previously (you can read more here), but now the DDCT transmission completes the package.
The Fiat Hybrid is really the optimal hybrid propulsion system for city cars. This hybrid drive setup consists of the 900 cc two-cylinder TwinAir engine from the SGE family, combined with an innovative DDCT Dual Dry Clutch Transmission featuring an electric motor coupled to one of its two mainshafts.
The SGE engine�s small size makes it possible to use a simple, efficient transmission architecture, while coupling the motor downstream of the clutches means that all the characteristic functions of a parallel hybrid propulsion system, including electric drive, regenerative braking and torque boost from the two motors, can be provided in a compact, lightweight package: essential for small urban runabouts.
The hybrid propulsion system uses air-cooled lithium ion batteries housed in the car�s trunk. Other features include plug-in traction battery recharging and an HVAC system that can be powered by either the IC engine or the electric motor, using whichever unit provides peak efficiency at any given time.
The great news is this Hybrid Fiat 500 is getting closer to market and there was a running prototype on display for reporters to examine.
We can speculate (guaranty?) that the 7 speed DDCT will likely be a transmission option for the 500 Abarth when it makes it's debut here in the states next year. I'll have more about the DDCT transmission in an upcoming post.
With the help of Fiat Group Auto
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