Honda And Acura Among First To Debut ZF 9-speed Auto: Report

Honda and its overseas Acura luxury brand could be among the first to feature ZF's new nine-speed automatic transmission, according to reports this week.

ZF's new auto shifter was revealed early last year, but few carmakers have announced plans for the the box, known as the 9HP.

Chrysler will reportedly feature the new transmission in its upcoming models, with the replacement for the Jeep Cherokee leading the list of likely recipients. 

Now, a report in Automobile magazine points to plans for Honda to utilise the 9HP in its upcoming line-up, with a debut potentially occuring as soon as 2014.

The accuracy of the report is unclear however. Late last year, the Japanese carmaker revealed details of its new "Earth Dreams" engines and transmissions, detailing three new CVT systems but offering no word on a new tie-up with ZF.

In the report's favour however is the fact that the 9HP transmission was developed primarily for use in front- and all-wheel-drive configurations, making it an appealing option for Honda's family of FWD and SH-AWD models. 

It may be that the regular Honda line-up will get the CVT transmission, with the ZF box going into the upmarket Acura sedans and SUVs.

ZF says the 9HP auto will handle between 270 and 480Nm of torque, while bringing fuel consumption improvements of up to 16 percent over the more common six-speed option.