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Originally Posted by e60_M5driver
They stated quite emphatically that it would be have a new 8-speed automatic because no other transmission could handle the torque of the new motor while delivering dramaticially faster shift times than the e60's notoriously slow SMG. I shook my head in disbelief over the transmission choice, but they went on to say the new automatic is faster than any DCT available and is more than capable of handling the torque.
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Interesting. Thanks for posting this. If what they told you about the shift speed is true, then I suppose there is no reason to worry or be upset. It seems hard to believe though. Granted I have not driven any of BMW's with the new 8 speed sport automatic (like an F10 550i MSport, for example), so I have no first-hand experience. Plus, this may be a further evolution of that transmission rather than the same one.
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I frankly don't know what to make of the "DCT confirmed" news item given how clearly my BMW engineering friends stated that the new M5 would have an 8-speed automatic,
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Yeah, I would love to know more about how the guy from EVO knows about the transmission. I.e. was it told to him explicitly, or was he simply told "it would be much faster than the old M5" or something like that.
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but I have to admit that in the end I'm only interested in how many gears and how fast I can change from one to another. If eight forward automatic gears get me where I'm going faster and more efficiently, then I'm all for it, as long as I get to decide when to change from one to another. How it's done is really no concern of mine.
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I agree, when it boils down to it, that is what is most important. I do have a soft spot for DCT technology though, so I hope that regardless of what BMW decides to do, this is tech continues to be refined by others and remains in the forefront of transmission development.