Renowned motor-sport transmission specialist Xtrac (
www.xtrac.com), which is fully engaged with the Government’s agenda on advanced propulsion systems, recently showcased its new family of electric-vehicle gearboxes at two major international automotive-industry events.
Initially developed for ultra-high-performance and luxury road vehicles, Xtrac’s project P1227 Integrated Lightweight Electric Vehicle (ILEV) transmission system was presented (simultaneously) at the annual
Cenex LCV 2016 conference at Millbrook in Bedfordshire, and in the USA at the
Electric & Hybrid Vehicle Technology Expo in Novi, Michigan.
James Setter, head of Xtrac’s automotive and engineering business unit, said: “With the increased trend towards vehicle electrification and hybridisation, you need innovative lightweight transmission systems that are designed specifically for these new methods of vehicle propulsion — and to suit their unique operating characteristics. Xtrac has received significant interest in the transmission system from a number of OEMs and Tier One suppliers.”
The P1227 offers a range of installation possibilities, including front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. Mr Setter says that Xtrac has focused on the integration of the transmission with a number
of proprietary electric-motor/generators (traction motors) and their control systems.
“Close discussion with electric-motor suppliers — including YASA, GKN and Borg Warner— have been a key part of the ILEV’s design and development, with the optimised integration of the electric motor and the transmission as a single unit leading to significant weight and packaging benefits. The new transmission system also achieves a 20% reduction in mass compared with the previous P1092 torque-vectoring transmission.”
Xtrac’s managing director, Adrian Moore, who represents the UK motor-sport industry on the technology group of the UK Automotive Council, says the P1227 transmission system evolved from collaborative development programmes, such as the REEVolution project (part-funded by Innovate UK) and the development (in 2010) of the ground-breaking Lotus Evora 414E and Infiniti EMERG-E — both of which used the previous-generation P1092 transmission — as well as the Jaguar XJ-e plug-in hybrid.
Importantly, the REEVolution programme brought together different organisations, including Axeon Technologies, Evo Electric (now part of GKN) and Xtrac, with car-makers Jaguar Land Rover, Lotus and Nissan, to work on next-generation components for range extender and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.
"More recently, Xtrac has been engaging with the UK’s £1 billion automotive technology initiative steered by the Advanced Propulsion Centre, which is based in London and Warwick and aims to engage in the delivery of new highly efficient low-carbon technologies, along with the development of the UK automotive-industry supply base.”