Other applications include motorcycles, trucks, buses, and railway vehicles. These systems are currently used on a variety of top-tier racing car classes including Formula One, Ind圜ar, and touring car racing.

Semi-automatic transmissions with paddle shift operation have been used in various racing cars, and were first introduced to control the electro-hydraulic gear shift mechanism of the Ferrari 640 Formula One car in 1989. Less common than traditional hydraulic automatic transmissions, semi-automatic transmissions have nonetheless been made available on various car and motorcycle models and have remained in production throughout the 21st century. The first usage of semi-automatic transmissions was in automobiles, increasing in popularity in the mid-1930s when they were offered by several American car manufacturers. This contrasts with a preselector gearbox, in which the driver operates the clutch and selects the next gear ratio, but the gear change within the transmission is performed automatically. These systems facilitate gear shifts for the driver by operating the clutch system automatically, usually via switches that trigger an actuator or servo, while still requiring the driver to manually shift gears. Names for specific types of semi-automatic transmissions include clutchless manual, auto-manual, auto-clutch manual, and paddle-shift transmissions.

But some semi-automatic transmissions have also been based on standard hydraulic automatic transmissions with torque converters and planetary gearsets. Semi-automatic transmissions were almost exclusively used in motorcycles and are based on conventional manual transmissions or sequential manual transmissions, but use an automatic clutch system. Type of multi-speed motor vehicle transmissionĪ semi-automatic transmission is a multiple-speed transmission where part of its operation is automated (typically the actuation of the clutch), but the driver's input is still required to launch the vehicle from a standstill and to manually change gears.

Sequential manual transmission subaru