Multistep gear mechanism

A multi-stage transmission of a planetary design of a motor vehicle, the multi-stage transmission comprising:

• a drive shaft (1),
• an output shaft (2),
• a housing (G),
• a first planetary gear set (P1), a second planetary gear set (P2), a third planetary gear set (P3), and a fourth planetary gear set (P4), and each of the first, the second, the third and the fourth planetary gear sets comprising a sun gear, a carrier, and a ring gear, a plurality of rotatable shafts (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9) and a plurality of shift elements (03, 04, 26, 39, 58, 78) comprising brakes (03, 04) and clutches (26, 39, 58, 78) whose selective engagement produces different transmission ratios between the drive shaft (1) and the output shaft (2),
• wherein the fifth shaft (5) continuously connects the sun gear of the first planetary gear set (P1) with the ring gear of the third planetary gear set (P3) and the fifth shaft (5) is connectable, via a first clutch (58), to an eighth shaft (8), the eighth shaft (8) is connected to the carrier of the second planetary gear set (P2) and is connectable, via a second clutch (78), to a seventh shaft (7), which is continuously connected to the sun gear of the third planetary gear set (P3) and the sun gear of the fourth planetary gear set (P4),
• the drive shaft (1) is continuously connected to the carrier of the first planetary gear set (P1) and is also connected to the ring gear of the second planetary gear set (P2),
• the sun gear of the second planetary gear set (P2) is connected to a ninth shaft (9) and the ninth shaft (9) is connectable, via a third clutch (39), to a third shaft (3), the third shaft (3) is connected to the carrier of the third planetary gear set (P3), and the carrier of the third planetary gear set (P3) is connectable, via a first brake (03), to the housing (G) of the transmission,
• the ring gear of the fourth planetary gear set (P4) is connected to a fourth shaft (4) and the forth shaft (4) is connectable, via a second brake (04), to the housing (G) of the transmission, and
• the output shaft (2) is connected to the carrier of the fourth planetary gear set (P4), the ring gear of the first planetary gear set (P1) is continuously connected to a sixth shaft (6), and the output shaft (2), when a fourth clutch (26) is engaged, is solely connectable to the ring gear of the first planetary gear set (P1).