We’re well beyond the days of automatic transmissions being slow, thirsty, and far from performance oriented. These days, most are faster than their manual counterparts, and are far more durable than ever.
Of course, there are still doubters out there, and we can’t blame them. After all, it’s hard to shake off preconceived notions that have run for decades. In a bid to prove otherwise, Toyota is putting one of its cars through an acid test of sorts.
That car is the Toyota GR Yaris automatic, and the company is set to enter it in what is perhaps the toughest endurance race that any production car enter. That would be Nürburgring 24 Hours.
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The Nürburging 24 Hours is torture for any car. Not only that, the 24 hour race combines both layouts of the track, the 5.1km GP-Strecke and the demanding 20.8km Nordschleife. All in all, you’re looking at about 170 corners that involves, you guessed it, a whole lot of gear changes.
The car that will be entered will be close to stock. By that we mean most mechanicals will be unchanged from the showroom version. It’ll likely get uprated brakes, tires, and suspension, along with a roll cage to comply with safety rules. The engine will probably be left untouched, and since they will be racing the European version, it’ll pack 300hp and 400Nm, more than what we get here.
It’s the ultimate test for Toyota’s new eight-speed Direct Automatic Transmission. It will run at competition speeds for a whole day with, quite literally, thousands of gear changes along the way. The company says it will use the results of this race to see how it holds up, as well was find more ways to enhance it. As they say, racing improves the breed.
Should it succeed, Toyota might be able to convince any skeptics that their new transmission is up for the challenge. If it can last that long on the Nürburgring 24 Hours, then we reckon a few hot laps around Clark International Speedway or Batangas Racing Circuit will be a walk in the park.
And for those who’d like to buy a Toyota GR Yaris with the DAT, it’s yours for P3,550,000.
