7/26/07

DSG: Not Anytime Soon

All you MCSa heads out there, don't hold your breath waiting for a DSG type tranny in a MCSa. It seems that there just isn't any resources to develop this under the BMW roof. And nothing currently in development could be adapted to the new MINI. Here's an exerpt from Motoringfile's interview with MINIUSA product manager Jeff Stracco:
MF: A lot of posters want to know if MINI will be getting a DSG or equivalent.

Stracco Speaks: The only real manufacturer of Dual Clutch Transmissions right now is VW. They don’t have a supplier, they manufacture the DSG themselves. Their front wheel drive box is actually manufactured by VW under license from Borg-Warner. They can afford to manufacture it themselves because they have huge volumes with VW, Seat, Skoda, etc. But, as you could imagine they are not prepared to manufacture those for anyone outside the VW family.

Everyone else has a dual clutch gearbox “In development” or something like that. Or if they have one, it’s not appropriate for a MINI. So it will be a while yet.


I am not an expert in market feasibility but I would think the "business case" would be very strong seeming that the market would include everyone from a novice motorer to a well experienced driver. The fact that the DSG transmission could produce faster shift times and ultimately faster cars would get me (and many other enthusiasts) very interested.

For more info check out:
GTI Test Drive [ dcmini ]
VW DSG [ Carpages.co.uk ]
DSG Auto [ dcmini]
Direct Shift Gearbox (DSG) [ about.com ]

1 comment:

DanC said...

No doubt it would be more fun. Perhaps a manual might be in my future as well. Congrats on ur new r56 btw. :-)