The DAF 600 became the first mass-produced automobile with a continuously variable transmission in 1958.
Dutch manufacturer DAF introduced the small 600 at the 1958 Amsterdam Motor Show. Its transmission, called Variomatic, used belts and variable-diameter pulleys instead of fixed stepped gears. The system could vary the ratio continuously, allowing the engine to operate over a useful speed range without conventional gear changes.
The DAF 600 was a compact rear-engined car powered by a two-cylinder air-cooled engine. Variomatic was simple to operate: the driver selected forward or reverse, then used the accelerator and brake pedals without a normal manual gear lever. The transmission also allowed the car to travel backward at similar speeds to forward travel, a memorable characteristic of early DAFs.
DAF did not invent every form of continuously variable transmission, but it was the first manufacturer to put one into series-produced passenger cars. Modern CVTs use different belt, chain and control technologies, yet the DAF system established the practical automotive precedent.