Heinz Ketchup. Google. The Adidas Predator football boot. Some products nail their brief with such H conviction that they transcend any notion of competitiveness in their respective fields. They become ubiquitous for a reason. Which brings us to the ZF 8HP, a very prosaic name for a gearbox that has found a home in the BMW 1 Series, the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and all manner of vehicles in between.
Now into its fourth generation and embracing electrification, ZF Friedrichshafen's eight-speed automatic gearbox made its debut in 2008 in the Mk5 BMW 7 Series, but its development process started 20 years ago, within an automotive landscape that looked very different. Manuals dominated the mainstream and any excitement about automatics concerned dual clutches, the BorgWarner-designed VAG DSG having just been launched to great acclaim in the Volkswagen Golf R32 and Audi TT 3.2.
Did ZF spy the rise of autos in its crystal ball when devising the 8HP?
"I wouldn't say it was accidental, but obviously we're happy that the tendency went in that direction," says Didier Manning, vice-president at the of electrified powertrains German firm. "We've had a strong heritage with BMW from the 1960s onwards as our systems-integration partner. This enabled us to have a robust architecture that we could use in a lot of different applications, and this is definitely something that helped us achieve success with the 8HP.
"The gearbox can go from 200-1000Nm [148738 lb-ft of torque] and you see no difference from the outside.
"With our fourth generation, we've bridged e-mobility from within the gearbox."
Bu hikaye Autocar UK dergisinin May 03, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Autocar UK dergisinin May 03, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
The venomous nature of the Cobra
Last week, Matt Prior drove a totally new kind of AC Cobra. This is a car with one of the strongest allures of all - but also an incredibly complex and controversial history.
SKODA KAMIQ
A long getting-to-know-you trip to Spain reveals all
THE SEVEN-YEAR TITCH
Outgoing baby Jag is plush, practical and now eminently affordable
'Our time has come'
Honda may be late to the EV party, but a barrage of bold new battery-powered cars is on the way. JAMES ATTWOOD speaks to boss Toshihiro Mibe at its R&D base to find out what's in store
Lion kings
Plush, powerful four-door cars are an endangered species - and now Peugeot has called time on its latest, the 508 PSE. STEPHEN DOBIE compares it with its most significant ancestor, the 505 GTI
VOLKSWAGEN GOLF
Wolfsburg gives the lesser-known Golf PHEV a big-impact refresh
PORSCHE PANAMERA GTS
Stuttgart's latest 'bahnstormer targets driver appeal over outright punch
MERCEDES-AMG GT 63 PRO
Hardcore variant of V8 sports car engineered with track days in mind
TESLA REVEALS ROBOTAXI
Firm unveils Cybercab coupé and 20-seat Robovan in autonomy push
DACIA PLOTS AMBITIOUS EXPANDED EURO LINE-UP
Firm teases something different’ ahead of impending C-segment reveal