Chevy says its 10-speed auto shifts quicker than Porsche's PDK


When the 2017 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 goes on sale later this year, it’ll be the first General Motors product to use a brand-new, 10-speed automatic transmission. Chevy’s been testing this 10-speed for a while now, and the engineers have revealed an interesting bit of information: it’s quicker to shift than Porsche’s infamous PDK gearbox.
That’s an important benchmark; PDK is widely heralded as the one of the best dual-clutch gearboxes you can buy in a sports car today. It delivers smooth, lightning-fast shifts, and Porsche models equipped with PDK are routinely quicker to accelerate than their manual-transmission counterparts.
But Chevy says it’s got something really special on its hands with the new 10-speed automatic. Comparing the two transmissions, GM says its ZL1 testing shows “the 1-2 upshift is 36-percent quicker than the PDK, while the 2-3 and 3-4 upshifts are 27-percent and 26-percent quicker, respectively.”
The 10-speed transmission has a wide 7.39 gear ratio spread, with a 4.70 ratio for first gear, and teensy tiny steps between all the other cogs. That’s one of the reasons why it’s so darn quick to shift – the tach needle won’t move a tremendous amount between gears.
GM’s Hydra-Matic 10-speed will be mated to the ZL1’s supercharged, 6.2-liter LT4 V8 engine, good for roughly 640 horsepower and 640 pound-feet of torque. And purists rejoice – if you’re not impressed by the go-fast wizardry of the new 10-speed box, Chevy will happily sell you a Camaro ZL1 with a proper six-speed manual.

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