Last August, General Motors and Chinese partner Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) have publicly announced their plans to develop a dry dual-clutch transmission along with new small displacement engines, seemingly to go hand-in-hand. However details have remained scarce for both the engines and transmission since then. Thankfully, a recent patent publishing has at least shed light on what we can expect out of the transmission.
According to a patent filing made my The General, the elusive transmission will be destined for front-wheel-drive vehicles, and will have seven gears. Aside from the rumored eight-speed transmission in the works, this transmission will have the highest amount of gears GM has ever implemented, and will be the company’s first shot at a dry dual-clutch setup.
Unfortunately, the patent has not given us any indication on how much torque the transmission can handle, or if it will fit onto engines such as the 3.6L V6 (LLT) engine in cars as big as the FWD Buick LaCrosse. But the patent has been filed back in 2008, before it was published last November, so we may see the new transmission sooner than you think, but most likely in cars with small displacement engines.
Sources: Free Patents Online via Motor Trend
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