I'm not a fan of the DCT transmission, but up until a short time ago, I, like most folk I guess, was under the impression that this was a Porsche invention. Not so, and not by a very long time. It was actually devised, patented, and a working prototype made in 1939 by French engineer Adolfe Kegresse.

The article I read about him was mostly about him having invented the 'half-track', (and in a later variation, the 'snowmobile' by replacing the front wheels with skis). This was in Russia shortly after 1910 whilst under the employment of Tsar Nicholas II(!), who, being a big fan of the new fangled horseless carriage, wanted something suitable for the notoriously harsh Russian winters. So the Tsar Adolfe the task of coming up with a solution for which his existing collection of 21 cars could be adapted to use.

When the October Revolution got under way, Adolfe headed back to France where he was snapped up by Andre Citroen (who saw the potential for the half tracks in North Africa). This resulted in various expeditions, starting with a 2000 mile journey across the Sahara to Timbuktu taking 22 days rather than the 6 months by camel train!. And of course, the half track also proved crucial in WW2 with the US producing over 40,000 M2 and M3 halftracks using Adolfe's design under license.

After the death of Andre Citroen in 1935, Adolfe left the company to do his own design work from his country house. It was during this period) that he came up with the dual clutch gearbox and fitted one to a Citroen Traction Avant.

Presumably it couldn't be made to work properly/was too costly/was too unreliable(!) at the time, to get into production, hence it was forgotten about for 4 decades or so. Not sure if Adolfe Kegresse is remembered and credited widely re the half track, but it is a little sad that he is, apparently, barely remembered or acknowledged as being responsible for coming up with the dual clutch gearbox.

At the end of the article, it mentions that Adolfe, who died from a heart attack in 1943, didn't get to see the liberating Allied armies parading through Paris in their half tracks, of his design.