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Mercedes will launch a nine speed automatic gearbox in the E Class, with other models set to follow in the same direction. It will go on sale in Europe September of this year, though it will not be available in the United Kingdom until 2014.
It replaces the old seven speed 7G-Tronic, is called 9G-Tronic and offers improvements in both emissions and efficiency. It will arrive first with the Mercedes E350 BlueTec, where CO2 will be dropped from 157 g to 138 g. It also takes fuel economy from 47.1 miles per gallon to 53.2 miles per gallon.
There are also benefits to the refinement, Mercedes claim that when someone is driving at 75 miles per hour, the engine is only spinning at 1,350 revolutions per minute. It is also lighter than the seven speed and takes up the same room, though it doesn't add any improvements to the acceleration.
Thw new automatic gearbox can handle up to 1,000 newton metres of Torque, meaning that it will be able to be fitted into the model powerful of Mercedes models. At the moment, the CL65 AMG and S65 are fitted with a five speed automatic, instead of the 7G-Tronic because it is not able to handle their 1,000 neton metres of torque figures.
In the E350 BlueTec model, the addition of the new nine speed automatic gearbox doesn't actually add anything to the price of the seven speed. A gradual roll out of the 9G-Tronic is expected throughout Mercedes range, with the Mercedes S-Class Coupe, set to get it from launch, when it is unveiled in September.