7-speed gearbox
With its close ratios, it is designed to be able to skip gears when changing.
The case is out of magnesium, and the total weight is only 1.5kg higher than the current 5 speed auto.
First version is for up to 700Nm but a gearbox capable of handling up to 1200 Nm will follow.
When will the E55 get that gearbox? Hopefully in 2004.




My source at Mercedes-Benz USA (who is the AMG brand manager) tells me that the W211 E55 is NOT slated to ever receive the 7-speed automatic gearbox during its production lifetime.

Expect the new 7-speed auto tranny around autumn in the E55, this is what a lot of rumors indicate. Could even start with MY 2004.
A little sidenote regarding the 7-speed auto tranny: nobody has any experience with this tranny right now, so it doesn't really make sense to wait for it and delay car delivery. The 7-speed auto tranny might be great, it might be worse than the 5-speed too. Remember the hype about the SBC brake?
So enjoy your E55 and forget about the 7-speed auto tranny. When it'll come, it comes. Mercedes upgrades the cars all the time during production (mostly unvisible!) and at the time of delivery, people already drive an outdated version. It doesn't make sense to always wait for the newest stuff.



