RE: Audi to do a CVT Transmission?

["Anders Paulsson" <amp5@lehigh.edu>]

Perhaps someone can clarify this for me.  A CVT transmission theoretically
would have no "gears" in the traditional sense of the word, but would
continuously change the effective gear ratio as the car accelerates,
cruises, and decelerates, between the engine and drive wheels, correct?  Is
this what the Multitronic is?  Is the Audi system a high tech automatic
transmission, or a variation on a CVT?
Either way, the press release stated that if desired, the car could be
shifted like a manual (minus the clutch).  Does the car actually shift then?
How would this feel to drive?  Couldn't the engine just be kept at a
constant RPM and instead of varying engine RPM, just vary the gear ratios?
In the desperate search of knowledge I will never use,
Anders

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-quattro@audifans.com [mailto:owner-quattro@audifans.com]On
Behalf Of George Achorn
Sent: Wednesday, December 15, 1999 12:25 AM
To: Audi
Subject: Re: Audi to do a CVT Transmission?

We have the Audi AG press release up with pics at :
http://www.vwvortex.com/news/audi_multi_T/index.html