Audi Backs Away From Dual Clutch Transmissions In S And RS Models

The four-ringed brand is among the pioneers of the dual-clutch transmission – the famous DSG – having it inside the sporty TT coupe from the early 2000s.

The gearboxes were popularized because they offer fast gear changes and the same comfort and convenience as a regular automatic – with the added bonus of delivering fuel economy on par with manual transmissions. But it appears that according to the latest report on the matter Audi is backtracking from this transmission choice where it matters – in performance versions of its popular cars. Audi powertrain engineer Florian Beck has recently explained the regular automatic will be more feasible for the cars that have huge amounts of torque – the automaker’s DCT’s being limited here in terms of loads.

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MDarringer - 6/22/2016 12:18:59 PM

+2 Boost

Dual-clutch transmissions offer fast shifts, yes, but they are not always as smooth as a conventional automatic and whatever MPG advantage they have is dubious at best.

VWAG has had more than a few headaches with their DSG technology. Audi stepping away from that is a good move.

TomM - 6/22/2016 5:53:20 PM

+3 Boost

Automatic transmissions have a history similar to Dual-Clutch ones - early ones had all sorts of problems - and in reality automatic transmissions had high failure rates early on too. IT took more than half a century for them to evolve into the reliable devices we now see (For the most part) - YET - we still see growing pains on transmissions that are new to the market. The GM THM 350 - one of the best of transmissions for a long time - had really big problems in its first couple of years. Somewhere in the early 2000 years - reliability greatly increased and failure rates of automatic transmissions dropped considerably - the result of years of development. I believe that if a company really wanted to produce a really superior Dual-Clutch unit - it could be done. However - with the future of Automobiles going to Electric motors - there just is not enough time - or need.

mpls - 6/22/2016 5:32:50 PM

+3 Boost

yes, just look through DSG problems on various forums,,,