Lotus cars traditionally come with a manual transmission or with the Lotus IPS automatic drive. A sporty Dual Clutch option was often requested, but has never been offered as an option. Now – in the final year of production for the current Lotus line-up, the long desired dual clutch gearbox is available for the legendary Elise, Exige and Evora models. Developed by JUBU Performance – the Austrian Lotus-Partner – it promises ultra-fast manual shifting as well as a smooth automatic drive.

Fast on track, smooth on roads
Martin Jung, CEO of JUBU Performance: ntil now, the fastest shifting option for a Lotus was to install an aftermarket sequential gearbox. Such a system significantly shortens shifting times, but comes with some major downsides: sequential gearboxes are loud, wild and almost impossible to drive daily on regular roads. They also need a lot of maintenance. On the other hand, besides the classic manual shift, there is the Lotus IPS system: comfortable, smooth and reliable – but sometimes not as fast as some sporty drivers would desire. Our dual clutch transmission combines the best of both worlds: ultrafast manual shifting with paddles AND a smooth automatic mode for relaxed but sporty cruising.”

Development & Quality
In fact, the JUBU DCT is almost as fast as a sequential gearbox (sequential: 50-65ms/gear change, JUBU dual clutch: 65-80ms/gear change). To achieve this goal, the JUBU engineers took about 3 years of time, more than 1500 hours of development and engineering work as well as more than 30.000 kilometers on roads and tracks for testing and finding the final setup. According to Martin Jung, this effort was necessary to reach the OEM approach of the Austrian manufacturer: “We wanted nothing less than a perfectly working gearbox which is fully integrated with all the OEM-systems of the car – and this is what we now are able to provide. Every car with our DCT looks and works like it came straight out of the Hethel factory. The only visible changes are an updated gear lever and an additional gear display which clearly shows the current gear and displays additional relevant information like the temperatures of the engine and the gearbox oil.“

Reliable for up to 800Nm
JUBU promises, that their DCT-Gearbox does not require any special skills, care or maintenance and offers two years of warranty on their system. Martin Jung: „Our DCT is based on the latest version of the 7-speed VAG gearbox which is sold in more than 10.000 units per year. It was initially designed for up 650Nm of torque by VAG and we even use it in a slightly modified version for our JP ZERO race cars which come with up to 750hp and 800Nm. Mechanically, it’s kind of bullet proof. All the necessary electronics and mechanical modifications have been carried out by our highly qualified engineers and are also super-reliable.“

7-Speed, VAG-based
During the development of their system, JUBU went the extra mile: as Martin Jung explains, they initially started their development work with a 6-speed gearbox – but the system reached its limits too early. „The development on the older 6-speed DSG was simple, compared to the more modern system we now use as our basis. Once developed, the 6-speed DSG worked kind of ok, but it wasn’t the perfect match for the Lotus Line-up. The gear ratios did not fit that well and the mechanical components of the VAG 6-speed DSG were also close to their limits when being used in high-power environments. We were not happy with it, because such an „Ok-Solution“ was never our approach – so we decided to trash the already working 6-speed DCT and start all over again. Now, we have developed a fully new system, based on the most recent VAG 7-speed DSG gearbox with all its benefits. It was a hard way, but the right decision. With our 7-speed DCT we can offer a modern system which fits perfect, works great on track as well as for road driving and feels likeit comes as a Lotus OEM-option.“

The JUBU DCT gearbox is available for all current Elise, Exige and Evora models as well as for the 3-Eleven, the 2-Eleven and all Elise S2 and Exige S2 models with Toyota engine.

It might not be the right thing for purists (who mostly still prefer to shift manually), but for drivers who want to own a track-monster which is also fully capable of relaxed daily driving, the system may be worth considering.


Info:
Gearbox
• JUBU DCT (Dual Clutch Transmission), based on a modified VAG 7-speed DSG ECU
• JUBU/SYVECS

Gear ratios
• 1st gear (7000rpm): 50 km/h
• 2nd gear (7000rpm): 85 km/h
• 3rd gear (7000rpm): 128 km/h
• 4th gear (7000rpm): 175 km/h
• 5th gear (7000rpm): 228 km/h
• 6th gear (7000rpm): 283 km/h
• 7th gear (7000rpm): 338 km/h (Eco-Gear for cruising)

Available for
• Lotus Elise S3
• Lotus Exige S3
• Lotus Evora
• Lotus 3-Eleven
• Lotus Elise S2 (Toyota)
• Lotus Exige S2
• Lotus 2-Eleven

JUBU Performance GmbH | Saxenegg 3a | A-4323 Münzbach | +43 7264 20175 | [email protected]


JUBU Lotus Evora 460 DCT dyno run:


JUBU Lotus Exige 500 DCT endurance test:


JUBU Lotus Exige 500 DCT onboard:

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