Ok i know its not MGR but please listen a mo. This is a hugh leap forword in car design. I would say since cars went fuel injected or ABS. For those who don't know Audi have a sem-auto gearbox on the TT.

There are other systems about, but the Audi is differant. The others are either single plate normal boxes with hydro sifters. These are slow and eat clutch's. The other type are Auto boxes dressed up as semi-auto's.

The DSG system users TWO clutches, it has the next gear already selected. When you change you swop clutches not gears. I use a 1950's Ward lathe which works on the same idea.54 rpm to 2300 RPM and back in an instant!

The Audi changes gears in 300 mill secs! and the computer uses 5 differant senses to know if you want a higher or lower gear "cued up". I hope that MGR can buy in this set up beacuse i am sure this is the way of the pefomance car.

As for VAG, you can see the next step is for a Seat or even an Skoda rally weapon car. 1.8 Turbo, 225 BHP and the DSG. Its hard to think of something better on your faverate back road!

Cheers
Mega

Yes I've seen many similar mechanisms on machines at my place of work, some being late forties designed. Lathes and paper processing machines. It is a surprise no one had come up with it before for automotive use.

yeah I've seen this thing and it looks nice, its coming in the new A3

1 clutch is for 1/3/5 and the other is for 2/4/6

lets hope its reliable and you just no they are going to have monster teething problems

Listen Up.
When i was up at "Halewood" last and chatted to my contact he tells me that EVERY Ford engineer looked at it and said, "Bloody hell, why didn't i think of that!"

I can comfirm that Ford is now working a system. I hear that Toyota is just finishing theirs now!

So soon EVERY car producer will have one (MGR inclunded i hope).
Mega

Looks impressive, but do we really need it?

Those extra milli seconds will not make any difference when stuck in traffic or on the motorway.

Oh look, I've just discounted 80% of drivers.

from the theread title i had visions of clutches at 100 paces, pistols in hand..... oh well...

still i must say that a large number of people with autos woudl love a manual and something like this is combining the best of both worlds. If you ask me the days of the dumb auto bod you dump into drive have past. Every driver will demand to be able to take control and switch off the loathed autopilot.

Patrick, there will always be large numbers of people (I won't refer to them as "drivers") who can only just manage the concept of braking and steering, and don't want to get any further involved with the process of getting from A to B than that. Nissan Micra owners, mainly. :lol:

But Patrick, would you put it very high up MGR's priorities.

That's the point I was trying to make :(