Toyota continues to look for ways to preserve the emotions of driving in the era of electric vehicles. According to a new patent, the company is working on a virtual manual transmission system that will allow the driver to shift gears and use the clutch even in a car without a traditional gearbox.
Technically, an electric car does not need a manual gearbox. An electric motor can develop maximum torque from virtually zero revolutions, so most modern models use a single-speed reducer. However, Toyota believes that many drivers value not only efficiency but also the process of driving the car itself.
According to the patent description, the system will use a gear lever and a clutch pedal as software control elements. The electronics will change traction characteristics, simulate gear shifts, RPM drops, and even the possibility of stalling if the clutch is operated incorrectly. At the same time, no real mechanical connection between the lever and the electric motor is provided.
Toyota has been developing this idea for several years. Back in 2023, the company showed a prototype electric Lexus with a virtual manual gearbox and announced its intention to implement similar technology in future models. It was assumed that the first production cars with such a system could appear in the second half of the decade.
While most manufacturers strive to simplify the control of electric vehicles as much as possible, Toyota is actually moving in the opposite direction. The company is trying to preserve familiar sensations for sports car drivers and fans of manual transmissions.