The many maturations of the manual transmission shift pattern have varied widely through the years. An H-pattern four-speed is probably what most are familiar with, but some of the more seasoned veterans might even remember the venerable “three-on-the-tree” method of mashing.
Modern transmissions have continued to offer an array of arrangements to grab each gear. Most five and six-speeds feature the standard “extended H” configuration with reverse being up or down and to the right, although the aftermarket has a few fancier options.
Those that are really on top of the transmission tango that is gear-banging know that another alternative is sequential shifting. American Powertrain (AP) fits that bill and recently teamed up with Pfitzner Performance Gearboxes of Australia to create a fully-sequential six-speed Tremec Magnum transmission.
“We take their components and convert Tremec six-speeds over to full sequential. […] This isn’t just some shifter you bolt on the top to change your H pattern to up and down shifting. This is a full, stand on the throttle, sequential transmission,” AP explains.
The internals are all Pfitzner-sourced as well, including the input shaft, countershaft, and main shaft. Dog rings replace the synchronizers for maximum shifting speed and, incredibly, the only time the driver has to use the clutch is for first gear or reverse. A standalone LCD display indicates current gear position for quick, field-of-view glances at the track.
No doubt, it’s got all the bells and whistles and American Powertrain sounds certain that it’ll fulfill all of this customer’s clutchless desires. “He wanted the ultimate transmission, so we built him one.”
