Why automakers are putting ‘fake’ gearboxes in high-performance electric vehicles

With the advent of electric vehicle powertrains, we’ve seen a crossover from virtual gaming to reality, rather than the other way around.

It happened with the N e-Shift of the Ioniq 5 N when Hyundai became the first to admit that for sports cars a high-performance combustion engine and a mechanical gearbox were going to be a tough act to follow. Porsche designed its E-Shift system to bring the Taycan to life, as BMW will do with the M3 EV scheduled for 2027.

Walking through the mists of time, the psychology of why these virtual step-change systems are now imperative will become clear. In the past, you could choose between manual gearboxes or unappealing torque converter gearboxes, known as slushboxes for the lack of positivity of their snail-paced shifts. Manuals were a topic of conversation among drivers, whether the gate was precise or not, the gearing was slick or clumsy, the shifter stroke long or thrillingly short. These details could make or break any chance of a perfect driving experience.

Then Ferrari introduced the semi-automatic gearbox to Formula 1 in the late 1980s and suddenly there was something more to look forward to in road cars. It appeared in 1997 with the F355 F1. Alfa Romeo then launched its similar automated manual, the Selespeed. Before both, BMW introduced its SMG (sequential manual gearbox) in 1996 in the ‘E36’ M3 and two more faster-shifting versions followed.

They were essentially robotic, single-clutch manual gearboxes that cut torque when shifting, with questionable degrees of satisfaction. Shift speed was limited by the need to retain timing, whereas a sequential racing gearbox could do without it to achieve quick shifts in milliseconds with a “dog” gear gearbox at the expense of noise and an incredibly high wear rate.

The prospect of equalization that arose with the dual-clutch gearbox. The British company Automotive Products conceived its Hot Shift gearbox concept in 1980 and Porsche’s PDK appeared in motorsport in the mid-1980s. Dual-clutch gearboxes from different brands (e.g. DSG and PDK) do the same. Two clutches allow automatic preselection of the next gear and a gear change is equivalent to opening one clutch and closing the other without interrupting torque.

Finally the holy grail of acceleration? Not quite. This came with the continuous flow of torque from an electric motor. Except it seems we’ve come full circle because what once seemed so appealing may not be so appealing in reality. Perhaps, after all, those brief interruptions in progress create a sense of anticipation and excitement that the human brain simply cannot live without.