Volkswagen’s up! becomes automated
Posted 2nd August, 2012 in Volkswagen | Leave a comment
Volkswagen has released details of its new automated manual gearbox (ASG) option for the company’s up! city car.
An automated version of the five-speed manual transmission, the driver simply selects from D (Drive), N (Neutral) or R (Reverse) and the gearbox chooses the optimum gear for that particular situation. Alternatively, the driver can change up or down through the gears – manually via the gear lever, rather than flappy paddles as seen on the more sophisticated DSG.
Weighing just 3 kg more than the five-speed manual, the ASG uses a pair of gearbox-mounted electromechanical actuators to control the gate selection and disengage or engage the gears., while another electric motor controls the clutch.
The ASG can only be specified on the move up! and high up! models, using both the 44 kW (60 hp) and 55 kW (75 hp) engines for an additional price of €725. Volkswagen has also just also just announced that its electric-powered up! will go into production towards the end of next year. First seen in concept form last September, a 210 Nm electric motor fed by 18 kWh capacity batteries will provide a range of up to 130 kilometres.
[Source: Volkswagen]
