 Four @-@ wheel drive was decided against early in the development process , for a number of reasons . It was thought rear @-@ wheel drive would be adequate in the majority of situations , that the additional complexity of the four @-@ wheel drive system would hinder the development process and potentially be problematic for the customer . FF Developments were contracted to provide the gearbox / transaxle assembly , modifying their four @-@ wheel drive transaxle assembly from the XJ220 concept into a pure rear @-@ wheel drive design for the production car . A five @-@ speed gearbox is fitted ; a six @-@ speed gearbox was considered but deemed unnecessary , as the torque characteristics of the engine made a sixth gear redundant . The transaxle featured a viscous coupling limited slip differential to improve traction . 
