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Atransaxle is a single mechanical device which combines the functions of an automobile'stransmission,axle, anddifferential into one integrated assembly.[1] It can be produced in bothmanual andautomatic versions.
Transaxles are nearly universal in all automobile configurations that have the engine placed at the same end of the car as the driven wheels: thefront-engine/front-wheel-drive;rear-engine/rear-wheel-drive; andmid-engine/rear-wheel-drive arrangements.
Manymid- andrear-engined vehicles use atransverse engine and transaxle, similar to a front-wheel-drive unit. Others use alongitudinal engine and transaxle likeFerrari's 1989Mondial t which used a "T" arrangement with a longitudinal engine connected to a transverse transaxle.Front-wheel-drive versions of modernAudis, from the A4 upwards, along with their relatedmarques from theVolkswagen Group (which share the sameautomobile layout) also use a similar layout, but with the transaxle also mounted longitudinally.
The front-wheel-driveRenault 16 had a longitudinal engine and transaxle, with the engine behind the transaxle. The transaxle case was designed to allow the final-drive ring gear to be on either side of the pinion; this allowed the engine-transaxle assembly to be used in the rear-wheel-driveLotus Europa, which had the engine in front of the transaxle (i.e.,mid-engined).
Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive vehicles tend to have the transmission up front just after the engine, but sometimes a front-engine drives a rear-mounted transaxle. This is generally done for reasons of weight distribution and is therefore common onsports cars. Another advantage is that since thedriveshaft spins at engine speed, it only has to endure thetorque of the engine instead of the torque multiplied by the 1stgear ratio. This design was pioneered in the 1934Škoda Popular, and then in the 1950Lancia Aurelia, designed byVittorio Jano.
Since this placement of the gearbox is unsuitable for alive axle (due to excessiveunsprung mass), the rearsuspension is eitherindependent, or uses ade Dion tube (notably inAlfa Romeos). Rare exceptions to this rule were the Bugatti T46 and T50 which had a three speed gearbox on a live axle.
Notable front-engine, rear-wheel-drive vehicles with a transaxle design include:
Note: The C5, C6 and C7 Corvettes, produced in the 1997 to 2019 model years, do not feature an integrated transaxle, where the transmission, axle and differential are combined into a single assembly. These years actually featured a rear-mounted transmission, which was a stand-alone unit bolted directly to the differential. While many, including General Motors, refer to this configuration as a transaxle, the first Corvette with an integrated transaxle was produced in the eighth generation Corvette, which was released in the 2020 model year.
Volkswagen and laterPorsche made extensive use of transaxles in their rear (and mid) engined vehicles. Over the years, models adopting this configuration have included:
AllAudi cars withlongitudinal engines and their 'trademark'quattrofour-wheel-drive (4WD) system, along with their relatedmarques from theVolkswagen Group which share the samelayout, utilise a transaxle. This is mounted immediately behind thefront-mounted engine (again, longitudinally) and contains the 'gearbox' (manual, automatic,DSG, orCVT), along with both the centredifferential, and the front differential and final drive unit.
TheNissan GT-R andFerrari FF (and its successors) are unusual in being all-wheel-drive cars with front-engined layouts and rear-mounted transaxles. In the Nissan, one driveshaft sends power to the transaxle (which also contains the 'center' differential) and another driveshaft sends power back along the car to the front wheels. In the Ferrari, the rear transaxle works in a conventional manner, whilst the drive to the front wheels comes from a separate gearbox at the front of the engine.
Other 4WD applications include:
