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Ford Patents 11-Speed Automatic Transmission

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2017 F-150 Raptor

So here’s something interesting: Ford—which had previously announced that the 2017 F-150 Raptor would come equipped with a 10-speed automatic paddle-shift transmission—may be looking to up the ante once again, according a patent that suggests the automaker is at work on an 11-speed transmission.

The patent, which was uncovered by AutoGuide, was filed on October 4th, 2013 and published on April 9th and outlines an 11-speed automatic transmission that Ford is presumably building on its own. The aforementioned 10-speed transmission is being co-developed with GM, but it appears that this gearbox—should it come to fruition—will be a Ford-exclusive.

When Autoguide reached out to Ford powertrain spokesman Paul Seredynski, he was as vague as could be reasonably expected, saying: “As a technology leader, we submit patents on innovative ideas as a normal course of business. Patent submissions help protect our new ideas but do not necessarily indicate future business or product plans.”

This may result in an 11-speed transmission, and it may not. Automakers seem desperate to one-up another in the race to add more gear ratios, and Ford being able to crank out an 11-speed for a future iteration of the Mustang or F-150 would likely be a sizeable feather in its cap—that is, until someone goes ahead and patents a 12-gear.

News Source: AutoGuide