Selespeed

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Selespeed is name of gearbox type used in Alfa Romeo cars. The Selespeed is robotized gearbox which can be operated via paddle shifters from steering wheel or via "joystick" like real sequential manual gearbox. With right hand side paddle shifter the driver can shift upwards and from left side downwards. The gearbox also has a city-mode which allows using the gearbox like traditional automatic gearbox.

Selespeed was first introduced in 1999 in the Alfa Romeo 156. At that time it was the first car in its class with such a robotized gearbox. This first version had buttons on the steering wheel for changing gear. With the facelift of the 156 in 2002 these buttons were replaced by paddle shifters.

During normal driving it is possible to use either paddles or joystick but if the driver tries to use paddles during joystick mode the joystick has higher priority. Speed of gear change depends on used engine revs, if the engine has more than 5000 rpm and throttle is pressed more than 60% the change is faster. System has also rev limiter to avoid over revving, in GTA models this behaviour is removed. This gearbox is made for sportive driving but the city-mode allows using it like automatic gearbox in city driving.

Newest generation of Selespeed has 'Sport' mode for both manual shifting and automatic operating.^[1]

System is produced by Italian company Magneti Marelli. Other cars using similar gearbox is eg. Ferrari F355 F1 and Aston Martin DB9. Base system is similar in all cars but the speed of operation is usually faster in higher priced cars. BMW´s first generation SMG was also partly Magneti Marelli system.^[2]

The following Alfa Romeos where/are equipped with Selespeed: