[Tishabet]

Porsche's Tiptronic was the earliest semi-automatic transmission offered by a major car maker. First appeared in 1990 in the 911 as an option, it became available in 968, Boxster and was licensed to Audi and Mitsubishi for production.

Based on an automatic transmission with torque converter, besides conventional auto mode it offers a manual override allowing the driver to shift by pushing the gear lever forward and backward. Faster reaction it may not had, but more fun to the driver was assured.

The auto mode had 5 different programs to suit different driving style, something like the "Sport", "Economy" and "Winter" mode in traditional autoboxes. The computer determined shifting according to driving style. For instance, frequent full-throttle operation and brisk release of throttle indicated a sporting driving mode, thus "fast" program would be selected.

Even in manual mode, the computer might intervene under harmful conditions, e.g. it would shift up without the driver's command if the engine speed had reached the upper limit.

Tiptronic was developed in conjunction by Porsche, ZF and Bosch. Porsche originated the idea, ZF made the gearbox and Bosch was responsible for the electronic control. Little had changed since its introduction :
1995 : Tiptronic S introduced steering-wheel mounted fingertip control.
1996 : 5-speed Tiptronic appeared in Boxster, instead of the original 4 speed version.