My buddy Roy Wireman recently completed the design and buildup of a new twin-cluster five-speed manual transmission that has some very innovative thinking behind it. The key to the trans is two cluster gears that split the input shaft torque. This effectively doubles the torque capacity of the transmission since it engages two gear teeth on opposite sides of the input gear. This also required Wireman to manage backlash, which he did by adding a torsion bar to the inside of each cluster. This has the added benefit of reducing the impact load through the cluster, which improves the durability. At this point, the trans is just a prototype. He’s been in discussions with several transmission companies about building them for production, and it does have a patent, but at this point, nothing concrete has happened. The box is horizontally oriented and obviously is a little heavier with two clusters, but it’s a super idea.