I am an avowed fan of the pro_cee’d GT sporty hatch, Kia’s first sporty car developed under the “GT” sub-brand. Maybe soon become more desirable sports car according to the latest reports where the brand has confirmed plans to add a seven speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.
[ads id=”0″ style=”float:left;padding:9px;”]Jurgen Grimm, head of powertrain development of Hyundai-Kia European R&D Centre told CarAdvice that a pair of seven speed dual-clutch transmissions (7DCTs) would be rolled out in 2015, and indicated that the pro_cee’d GT is one of the cars that could receive a new self-shifting ‘box.
“About the seven-speed DCT … well, we will introduce two versions,” Grimm said. “One is for the gasoline applications, that means it ends up in a torque range of 270Nm, something like that; and we have also developed one for our diesel version, that ends up in the torque range 320-330Nm.”
Grimm said the new transmissions are a must for Europe, given that they help lower CO2 emissions. The pro_cee’d GT is currently only available with a six-speed manual gerabox fitted with a 1.6 Turbo-GDi engine.
“So for the European market we don’t think that we need a standard torque converter operated automatic transmission. Because the focus is that much on CO2, and therefore the DCT from its CO2 benefit is unbeatable.”
“It will start next year. So next year we will see it in various types of cars, in both brands,” he said, indicating sister company Hyundai could use the tech in its new-generation models (as we told you on the Veloster facelift exclusive details article).
