The future, apparently, is all about the torque converter self-shifter
Double-clutch gearboxes are a solution employed by many manufacturers in order to blend snappy manual gear changes when you want them, with smooth, relaxed fully automatic driving when you don’t. It seems, though, that the days of the dual-clutch are numbered, at least according to Peter Quintus, BMW M’s VP of sales and marketing.
In his own words quoted by Australia’s Drive, "It's more a question of how long has the DCT got to go. How long will it last?”
He goes on to say that a dual-clutche “once had two advantages: it was light and its shift speeds were higher,” but now “we are now seeing automatic transmissions with nine and even 10 speeds, so there's a lot of technology in modern automatics,” and “a lot of that shift-time advantage has disappeared as automatics get better and smarter."
If you’ve driven any of BMW’s latest eight-speed automatic-equipped vehicles, you’ll understand what he means. These latest torque converter cog swappers are amazingly smooth when you’re just cruising and surprisingly direct when you fiddle with the sporty modes – there’s still that last level of shift ferocity that a dual-clutch still has, but there’s really little in it and the regular auto is a better all-round transmission solution.
Quintus’ last thoughts concerned the next-gen M3 and M4 models. He believes that there’s a chance they may not even be offered with a manual option at all. BMW is apparently aware that people hate the feel of their manual shifter and, well, they don’t seem all that interested in improving.