Aston Martin at the Paris Motor Show today announced its V8 Vantage sports car will get a new automated manual transmission option called Sportshift. Sportshift offers gear changes up to three times faster than the manual transmission already available, with the driving enthusiast able to access precision gearshifts in less than 200 ms. To adapt to all driving conditions, an additional ‘Comfort’ mode offering a more relaxed gear change is also available, which is selected via a single button on the centre console.
The technology was honed at a range of testing locations including Nardo in Italy and the NÏ‹rburgring in Germany over 18 months, the company said. Aston Martin Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Dr Ulrich Bez said: “Sportshift offers a truly engaging and rewarding driving experience giving an even greater performance feel. It is the sporting choice which we have developed to perfectly suit the inherent characteristics of the Vantage.”
