Will Ferrari’s electric vehicle have an ‘authentic’ roar? Please stop this madness

Automakers of all stripes are trying to adapt to the shift to electric propulsion, but there’s one small problem in the transition that keeps coming up: what kind of noise Should electric cars be made? There are many possible answers, but my vote goes to “as small as possible.”

Full disclosure: I happily own and drive an electric car, the make and model doesn’t matter. This is truly a fully electric vehicle, not a hybrid, mild hybrid, plug-in hybrid, hydrogen fuel cell, or electro-restomod. Just a small, affordable car with a thankfully big battery and a 200 horsepower motor that gets me and my family around just fine, is actually fun to drive, and is very, very quiet. Full disclosure: I own several not-so-quiet gas-powered motorcycles and a diesel pickup truck that can be heard coming from a long way away even though it has a bone-stock exhaust. I love the mechanical symphony of a well-tuned gas engine, like the ones that power my motorcycles. But I love the silence of my electric car even more.

We now hear that Ferrari plans to give its future electric vehicle an “authentic roar”, according to this post from an Australian publication. To drive. Emanuele Carando, head of product marketing at Ferrari, said To drive that the as-yet-unnamed Maranello EV will have an “authentic” sound. Whatever that means. For now, Mr. Carando doesn’t seem to know what that means. Asked by the media how Ferrari will solve the sound problem of its electric cars (there will be at least two), Mr. Carando replied: “You will see. You will hear.” When asked specifically if the electric Ferrari would have its “own sound”, he replied: “Yes, it will have sound.” But what sound? And why?

We’ve been here before. First, there were real gas-powered cars that piped an artificial engine soundtrack into the cabin through the OEM stereo because the gas engine was a little too quiet in stock form. Then, as electric vehicles began to mature, the debate opened up about what they should sound like when they’re running on electrons. Hyundai recently went all-in with the Ionic 5N, which makes a fake howl inside and outside the car (go at 3:00 p.m.). They call it “feedback” to the driver, and it apparently includes shift point changes as if you were pedaling three pedals on a two-pedal car that only has one gear. At least the noise can be turned off. Or at least be refused.

I get it: sound is a key part of the excitement of driving (or riding), and adding it to a capable electric vehicle is a fun, if somewhat silly, thing – and something to sell. It’s also a lie that doesn’t need to be told. Elon Musk understands this, which is why Tesla cars can whir like sleek future mobiles or make bathroom noises like a 10-year-old is driving. If you’re going to lie about the sound of your electric vehicle, you might as well have fun with it. Flatulence seems even less objectionable than adding fake engine noises.

All cars make noise at some level, at least when they are in motion, mainly due to tire noise. Most modern gasoline-powered family cars are nearly silent in terms of engine and exhaust noise in stock form, with DOT/EPA/EU noise regulations being what they are. Although Ferrari’s gasoline cars generally emit a more robust soundtrack, even in stock form, we can assume that the “noise” of the upcoming Ferrari EV will be artificial, although Mr. Carando clearly would not confirm this . To drive. But given that Ferraris generally make noise and are even held in high regard for their mechanical racket, uh, symphony, the Ferrari EV will clearly emit more than tire noise, and most likely something computer-generated that some people in a company or focus group said sounded “cool”, “modern” or “compliant with the brand “. To which I say: Why? And plead: No, please, no.

I’ve been lucky enough to be able to spend time behind the wheel of a few Ferraris, including a 458 Italia and more recently, its successor, a 488 GTB Spider. Both are fabulous, beautiful, soulful automobiles that produce a vigorous mechanical soundtrack, especially when you put your foot inside them.

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They also sound great chatting in slow motion while waiting for a light to turn green. I cherish the time spent at the controls of these finely crafted miracles of internal combustion, immersing myself in the timbre of the rise and fall of the tiny explosions that occur in the metal cores mounted behind my ears.

But I also own this little red daily driver electric vehicle, and I love that when idling or stopping, it’s absolutely silent death inside while outside, a small speaker hidden somewhere emits a very low-level electrical whir so people – especially the visually impaired – know it’s there. That suits me.

Luckily, I don’t hear any outside noise coming from inside the car. And apart from the silent artificial roar, my electric vehicle works happily, natively silent. Underway, it’s still very quiet, with the only sound intrusions tire and wind noise, besides the audio system, which doesn’t have to work very hard to overcome the engine noise, as there isn’t any. didn’t. And in my opinion, this is how all electric vehicles should work: Silent, or as quiet as possible. As silent as it is, naturally. No little explosions. No whistling turbos. No crackling exhaust shots on the accelerator. Just… calmTYVM.

In addition to not releasing greenhouse gases and a long list of other pollutants from the incredibly dirty and gross process of burning Fossil fuels extracted from the ground through an incredibly polluting process of extraction, refining, transportation and consumption, the ethereal silence of my little electric vehicle (and most electric vehicles) is just another positive attribute of the evolution of electric vehicles. Why waste all that trying to satisfy the 13-year-old motor enthusiast in every 53-year-old hedge fund manager and real estate speculator who needs the “authentic roar” of their real or imagined dream car when it has no internal mechanism that actually creates such sounds? If she’s quiet, let her be. Ferrari decided to do this with its hybrid SF90 Stradale in electric mode only, why drop the ball with the future EVerrari?

Most weeknights on my busy urban street, I can almost set my watch to the sound of a driver intentionally pulling on his… never mind on my street at 2:14 a.m., exceeding the speed limit of 50 mph. The fact that really bad things will definitely happen if they hit someone or something at that speed seems only slightly worse than the sleep disruption they cause. almost every evening due to their clearly intentionally modified exhaust system and their complete lack of empathy for those awakened by it.

So let’s have loud electric cars that aren’t just loud for the sake of being loud, but also make completely different sounds. made loud sounds? And give drivers the ability to change the sound (and probably volume) via an app or an app that can hack the car’s exterior/interior sound option? We already have this with subwoofer-equipped cars driven by those who are just getting started. must have your attention, no matter the time; should we pile up? Again: Stop the madnessas the host of a late-night commercial once said. Stop, stop. It’s not because you can doing something doesn’t mean you should.

I’ve owned many noisy vehicles, from a throaty 1974 Norton Commando with rather un-muffled pea-shooters to a 318-powered Dodge Dart with glass packs. Today, my Honda sportbike exhales through an aftermarket exhaust that looks sturdy, but is far from setting off car alarms. And at night I’m in shorts and tiptoeing down my street so I don’t be that (expletive) guy.

There’s a reason the EPA/DOT/EU have largely muffled engine and exhaust noise to the point of reducing it to a quiet whisper: people hate noise. Society is better off without it. Not everyone is an enthusiast, able to identify the year, make, and model of a vehicle from the sound it makes. Now we both have a chance to clear things up. And calm our cities even a bit with the new era of speed, fun, cleanliness and calm electric vehicles. New all-electric cars, trucks and motorcycles will continue to improve in every way in the future and will already reward their owners with scintillating performance, gas-free operation and a wonderfully near-silent face at all speeds, not just at idle .

Let’s not ruin this with artificial soundtracks we created when we were 8 years old while pretending to be behind the wheel.

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