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Originally Posted by captainaudio
I am not sure whether that article came out before the announcement or not. FWIW McLaren is using a DCT (with no MT available) in the MP4-12C whcih has 443 Lb/Ft of torque.
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Yep. For that matter, the Panamera S has 500+ ft-lb and uses a DCT as well (no manual available there either), so those who said this type of gearbox could not handle the torque were always just speaking from ignorance.
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I heard ZF engineers speak at a presentation and they said that they expected that future versions of "traditonal" planetary gear automatic transmissions would rival and perhaps match the peformance of DCTs. They also felt that a torque converter is a very good device for smooth starts and as long as they get locked up at low speeds they have negligable effect on performance and efficiency.
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I don't necessarily disagree with them. However, I'll believe it when I see Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, etc, using torque converters in their cars again. Porsche used to use them of course, but now all of Porsche's passenger cars are using dual clutch gearboxes (their light trucks do use autos). Clearly there is something to be gained, or they would not have made this change. I also will point out that Ford and VW have been replacing their torque converter automatics in every day cars with dual clutch transmissions. They cite efficiency as a big reason.