Cars that use a centrifugal clutch

[NDNDNDND]

Following the Brabus Roadster thread, where there was the usual denialism about the state of the gearbox, I started wondering what alternative transmissions the Smart could have used. What came to mind was the centrifugal clutch/dog-box drivetrain in our Honda Foreman quad. It's operated using buttons in the handlebar, but there's a satisfying knack to lifting off the throttle just right to let the next gear snap home. You can perform fairly smooth gear changes by easing the throttle, or a quick, well-timed lift can see a very rapid click to the next gear. It's quite fun, you can even 'heel n' toe' it (well, 'thumb n' thumb' it) when downshifting.

I suspect the Smart car with a similar gearshift could have been quite a lot of fun. It certainly would have been a lot more decisive. It might have been a little too agricultural for a road car, as each gear selects with a mechanical thunk of the solenoid, but I'm sure that's just an NVH issue. I'm sure it could be rigged to work in a fully automatic mode, too. I believe the Smart already uses a gearbox with a motorcycle-style shift drum.

Question is, are they any other road cars that used a similar set up, and would it have worked for the Smart? There was a 2CV/Dyane that used a centrifugal clutch, but I think in tandem with a conventional dry plate clutch for changing gear when moving. The only other road car I can find is the Praga R1R. Of course, the 2CV uses a conventional gearbox and the Praga a Hewland, but are there any others?

[donkmeister]

Piaggio Ape, if you can call it a car.

I think there were Vespa cars too, maybe any sort of VSP or Italian Microcar?

[CrutyRammers]

[finlo]

I may have dreamt it but I seem to recall various NSU's did back in the day.

[BertBert]

I have it on good authority (from Phil Abbott himself) that the Revolution race car now has a centrifugal clutch. They never do standing starts and with a clutchless paddle shift change and rather sharp race clutch starting off is very hard indeed. I've not driven the new lawnmower version but can vouch for how hard they are to get going without!

[Granadier]

The Volvo 340 Variomatic had a centrifugal clutch in conjunction with a belt-drive CVT (and dog gears for forward/reverse/park). There was a notice in the car warning you not to rev the engine above idle when shifting between P, D and R, as trying to 'change gear' while the clutch was engaged could cause serious damage. This notice was reinforced by a loud buzzer and big flashing red light which came on when the selector lever was between gears. Which caused bemusement when giving drunk mates a lift home from the pub, it was a bit like being in a submarine under attack in a film.

[donkmeister]

Clicking through from the Wikipedia article on centrifugal clutches, Armstrong Siddeley fitted a Newton centrifugal clutch from 1936, to complement the Wilson pre-selector.

https://web.archive.org/web/20130619055632/http://...