GKN unveils innovation in electric drivetrain

Currently under test at GKN's winter driving test programme in Arjeplog, Sweden, the drivetrain has been installed in a standard Jeep Renegade and is called GTD19. As well as torque vectoring, which effectively steers the car by putting different amounts of force through the wheels on each side of the vehicle, the system is claimed to have the potential to extend vehicle range, while providing greater acceleration, greater torque and a higher top speed.

GTD19 has an optimised "seamless shift" eTransmission and is the development of a system demonstrated last year in a Mercedes-AMG GLA 45 test vehicle. It features an electric “eTwinster” motor mounted onto the rear axle of the car, twin clutches and a mechanical "Twinster" system on the front axle, paired to the rear axle system. Twinster is GKN's proprietary name for torque vectoring technology, and the company produces both electric and mechanical clutch systems.

The set up in GTD19 uses the electric two speed gearbox to minimise loss of power and torque while changing between the two speeds. GKN claims that Twinster technology provides swift and smooth acceleration," while also providing greater lateral control and optimised front-wheel driving dynamics for both safety and driver satisfaction."