Yeah no doubt but of course that's not the fault of the car. Clearly to maximize the performance of the 6MT you have to have a *LOT* more experience driving a manual, launching technique, shifting technique, etc, especially if you expect to provide mechanical respect to the drivetrain.
My point up above was that the 6MT is nowhere close to 0.6 seconds slower in the 1/4 mile as long as we assume purely competent drivers in each car. After all it takes a good bit of experience launching the DCT car to minimize its 60ft time too as it's somewhat difficult to manage that extremely brief period of initial weight transfer which is so critical to a good launch.
I think we agree on far more than we disagree here with respect to 6MT/DCT. Is DCT faster through the gears? Yep. Is it 0.6 seconds faster in the 1/4? No chance. Up to license losing and potential jail time (in some jurisdictions) is there a huge difference in performance? Not really, unless you consider a couple of tenths of a second advantage (again, assuming very competent 6MT driver here) from 2 shifts a make or break deal. Is DCT an awesome accomplishment by BMW and a
freaking blast to run up through the gears?
ABSOLUTELY!
I'd be glad to drive my 6MT at the strip up against a similar (and completely stock) 2011 DCT. I'll buy the rear tires, fresh, identical. We'll race for pink slips but I'll get that 0.6 second claim spotted to me.
Regards,
Chuck