Automatics Are Getting Good Enough To Kill Off DCTs, Says BMW M Boss
At this point, we’re pretty used to the concept that - certainly for higher powered cars at least - the future of the manual gearbox is looking a little dicey. However, according to Peter Quintus - BMW M’s vice president of sales and marketing - the days of the dual-clutch gearbox may be numbered too.
Speaking to Drive.com.au, Quintus said: “It’s more a question of how long has the DCT got to go.”
DCT ‘boxes were nothing short of revolutionary when they broke into the mainstream, providing near immediate shifts that were a world apart from traditional, lazy auto slush-boxes many were used to. The trouble is, torque converter automatics have gotten a lot quicker and a lot smarter in recent years.
“The DCT once had two advantages: it was light and its shift speeds were higher,” Quintus explained, adding: “Now, a lot of that shift-time advantage has disappeared as automatics get better and smarter.”
On the subject of manuals, Quintus reckons 450bhp is about the limit of what they can reliably take. And while quite a few American cars manage much more than that with a stick shifter, he noted that “We looked at US gearboxes. We found they were heavy and the shift quality was awful”. Ouch.
Source: Drive via Jalopnik
Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.
Comments
So are we going to have to do this if we want manuals in the future?
Wtf is that? A F&F shifter?
BMW really likes to tell you want you want don’t they. Not a very good way to please customers.
They should take some advice from Ferrari who will make cars that their customers want, not cars that simply “inovate” technology
That’s Germans for you..
As long as there is vtec to kick, manuals will live !
Roasting the US car industry pretty hard lol
Quintus is right. The Charger Hellcat uses a 8 speed auto torque converter and the transmission is super quick.
Whateves
Well no sh*t they’re trying to create whatever has the highest efficiency and is the easiest to use? If you think you should be the one innovating, engineer and produce your boxes yourself, damn you.
Oh wait, I don’t see you doing that. Where are your millions in R&D?
Unfortunately, fun isn’t a priority. If it’s so important to you, make cars yourself. Because engineering is so easy, isn’t it?
Smart when the drifting comunity uses bmw boxes on 1000hp, cant take more than 450 my ass.
If we backtrack lets hope the Bmw m boss will anounce that manual transmissions will be good enough to kill off autos
Too many people want to save manual transmissions. And the dual clutch is better than the regular auto. IMO manuals aren’t going anywhere
Yes but they’re fun and reliable. And idk why he says they only hold 450hp…
Do you want to drive your car? Or do you want to let your car drive you? #ManualOverAutomatic