They said it could not be done, but yet again Audi has proved them wrong, and in so doing has stolen a march on everybody else. Conventional wisdom has dictated that the continuously variable transmission (CVT) systems were only applicable to smaller engines and certainly nothing over 1.8 litres. This was due to the inability of the band being able to accommodate too much torque. However, with its newly announced multitronic, Audi has got around this problem and mated a CVT system with a 6-cylinder 2.8-litre engine developing 195 ps (143 kW) and, more significantly, 280 Nm of torque. If necessary, it will even be able to handle up to 350 Nm of torque says Dr Reinhard Gesenhaus, the manager responsible for the programme at Audi.
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