Transmission arrangement

A transmission arrangement including a torque converter, a first shaft fixed to rotate with a turbine of the torque converter about an axis, a second shaft fixed to rotate with a casing of the torque converter about said axis, a gear mounted on the first shaft and being fixed to rotate with the first shaft and a clutch selectively engageable to cause the first shaft to be fixed to rotate with the second shaft and being selectively disengageable to allow the first shaft to rotate relative to the second shaft, the clutch being rotatable about said axis, the gear being positioned axially between the torque converter and the clutch, the second shaft having a first end proximate the torque converter and a second end remote from the torque converter, the first and second ends defining a second shaft length and the gear being positioned axially closer to the first end than the second end, the first end including a spline and the second shaft including an external spline proximate the second end, the spline of the first end and the external spline defining a first length over which power is transmitted when the clutch is engaged, the gear being positioned axially closer to the spline at the first end of the second shaft than it is to the external spline proximate the second end of the second shaft, and

• the transmission arrangement further including a third shaft fixed to rotate with the second shaft about said axis, wherein the clutch is supported by the third shaft,
• wherein when the clutch is engaged, power is transferred over a second length, defined between the external spline and the gear, via the third shaft, the clutch, and a portion of the first shaft, thereby defining an effective length over which power is transmitted from the spline of the first end to the gear.