ZF Plant Builds 3 Millionth Transmission for BMW

The ZF transmission plant in Brandenburg, which is located at the Havel river, has built a total of three million passenger car transmissions for BMW. At the moment, the second generation of the 6-speed manual transmission for BMW is made there, together with another 7-speed dual clutch transmission for Porsche models like the 911, Boxster/Cayman, and Panamera.((The ZF plant has been producing manual transmissions for BMW since as early as 1998.

It all started 13 years ago, with a 5-speed manual transmission, followed by the current 6-speed in 2010. This second-generation unit reduces fuel consumption due to a higher efficiency and the newly developed lubrication by injection. What’s more, it can be combined with the BMW start-stop feature. Since they facilitate quick gear changes and increase the shifting comfort, a new internal shift system and the carbon synchronizers make their contribution to this transmission’s sales success for the German carmaker.

Since 2008, ZF has been producing another technical highlight at the Brandenburg location, namely the 7-speed dual clutch transmission (7DT) for Porsche. It is especially designed for sportive applications with demanding requirements. The dual clutch unit features two sub-transmissions that are connected with the engine through two parallel powershift clutches.

Thus, the 7DT and enable a gear change without torque interruption serve as a technical basis. This results in excellent acceleration and driving properties, but keeps the fuel consumption at a low level at the same time. Thanks to its flexible modular design, the 7DT can be adapted to different sports cars’ requirements. Porsche is currently using it in four of its models: 911, Boxster, Cayman, and Panamera. The 7-speed thus sees application spectrums reaching from the normal longitudinal installation to the mid- mounted and rear-mounted engine configurations.