If you fear the switch to all-electric vehicles — including plug-in hybrids that can be driven in an all-electric mode — will take away the great engine sounds associated with driving, Fisker might just have the solution to ease your concerns.
Fisker head Henrik Fisker revealed to Forbes Auto that the company’s upcoming Karma plug-in hybrid will feature speakers — both inside and out — that will simulate a sound “like something between a Formula One car and a jet plane.”
The system is not only designed to give the driver a pleasurable aural experience, but will also help with pedestrian safety. One of the biggest dings against electric cars is that their silent operation doesn’t give much warning to pedestrians — something the Karma’s system will addresses.
No word if the “exhaust note” will be able to be tuned to your favorite engine sound, whether that’d be an eight-cylinder, ten-cylinder, twelve-cylinder or other.
03/13, 4:46 PM
posted by:
Mr. Azza
I want mine to sound like a chainsaw trough a treehugger
03/13, 5:03 PM
posted by:
Astonman12
this is not the solution to losing engine sounds. in fact its just plain stupid.
03/13, 5:14 PM
posted by:
doghis
i kinda like the idea
03/13, 5:20 PM
posted by:
F3INT))AP3X
They have had something like this only better, it’s called a Vroom Box. You mount a mixed set of low, mid, and high speakers in a small box under the car; then the Vroom Box head unit gets mounted inside the car where a deck would go or maybe in your glove box or whatever. It comes loaded with sounds for all kinds of cars and I hear you can download new ones too. Want your car to sound like a Murcialago LP640? Just turn and knob and flip a switch and it’s done. Like I said they come with sounds like Lambos, Ferraris, etc; sometimes I think about buying one they are really cool.
03/13, 5:22 PM
posted by:
F451
Okay…this is where Fisker loss me. He moves ahead on a great idea, and then saddles it with a lame one? Go figure.
03/13, 5:22 PM
posted by:
mg198242
Yeah, bassically when U go to the race track U insert the CD of Apollo 440 – Raw power, then when U go to the restaurant insert Beethoven CD. Pretty damn genius…
03/13, 5:23 PM
posted by:
doublearon21
RETARDED!
03/13, 5:35 PM
posted by:
phiftywon
vrooom vrooom – what a joke – any @$$hole who pays for this crap deserves to get beat
03/13, 5:49 PM
posted by:
carbonsigma
Pretty cool idea – if you get sick of the V8 sound you can always change it. I like it!
03/13, 6:04 PM
posted by:
m6-500attouchofabutton
this is the stupidest idea. its worse than no engine sound from an electric car.
03/13, 6:26 PM
posted by:
jayjc08
Something that it’s not, but I see where the concerns are coming from. I’m a little worried about my local 1.5 Yaris sounding like a 4.5 Mustang though.
03/13, 6:30 PM
posted by:
AxeHead
Like Pine tree smell for fake Christmas trees or new car smell for old beaters … STUPID
03/13, 6:50 PM
posted by:
WEKS
Welcome to the 21st century I guess, sigh.
03/13, 7:17 PM
posted by:
SS4LIFE
it’s ok LP we forgive you…
Vroom box eh F3INT))AP3X? (lol it takes me like a minute to type in you LLN name) Well I mean yeah you’ve heard the tesla and the only thing you can hear is the tires hitting the pavement.
Kinda interesting that you could choose what you want your car to sound like. Haha I wonder what else you can have one sound like? I want one to do that “hmm yeah” porno girl’s voice so every time I sit at a light and rev my engine it’ll do that… j/k I don’t know i think it would be funny as hell to see the reactions of the old people sitting next to you!
03/13, 7:26 PM
posted by:
jonmiles
Thats the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard
03/13, 7:48 PM
posted by:
stang67
Engine that make no sound, that is progress to me. I would like to test drive a car like that. Adding artificial engine sound sounds stupid to me.
03/13, 8:29 PM
posted by:
Blakkarr
Maybe something a bit more advanced… like a jet engine. An F-4 Phantom would sound bad-ass on the ground.
No.. better… an Imperial TIE Fighter.
03/13, 9:06 PM
posted by:
jayjc08
The same company that makes the Vroom box also makes those cool bike mufflers… I remember a kid on my block used to ride around with one of those things, he thought he was the coolest thing in the world.
03/13, 9:25 PM
posted by:
johnnycanuck
Help with pedestrian safety? Are you f*cking kidding me? Just picture some 80 year old lady wanting to cross the street in front of some yahoo blasting the sound of Nico Rosberg’s FW30 out of something that to her looks like it came from the future to begin with. Or better yet imagine the drunk f*ck that pulls up in your neighborhood at 2:00 in the morning to impress his buddies with the sounds of a NASCAR restart. Yeah, this program impresses the sh*t out of me.
03/13, 9:30 PM
posted by:
F451
@johnnycanuck, too funny, but true! LMAO
03/13, 9:55 PM
posted by:
Impulsive
Stupid is an understatement … just as gay as airplane wing spoilers, neon undercarriage lights, and spinners.
Kill yourself for taking this to market.
03/13, 10:08 PM
posted by:
400horseSS
Thats not even the dumbest thing ive heard all week, what about the dumb bitch in Kansas who sat on her boyfriends toilet for 2 years, THATS DUMB!Thjey had to get a pry bar to get the seat off her ass. WOW
03/13, 10:34 PM
posted by:
Mr. Azza
ooohhh brilliant Blakkar I want a TIE fighter one…..i’m not a nerd, honest
03/13, 10:47 PM
posted by:
johnnycanuck
That’s brilliant hateful83. Ringtones for your exhaust. You f*cking nailed it.
03/13, 11:11 PM
posted by:
RicardoHead
400horseSS, I hadn’t heard that about the toilet. You have a link?
03/13, 11:30 PM
posted by:
A4
this is the dumbest idea ever
03/14, 12:28 AM
posted by:
sharpie
That idea sounds funny! Can we add a subwoofer so that the engine note at idle will rattle the cars around the Karma?
03/14, 2:29 AM
posted by:
sunshine1810
This idea sounds idiotic. I hope other companies do not follow.
03/14, 4:30 AM
posted by:
V2
this must be joke…….its just gotta be
03/14, 6:15 AM
posted by:
peter g
I like it and this could be a new business area for iTunes…Engine download of the day! And I’d love the Imperial TIE-fighter
03/14, 6:39 AM
posted by:
CleanGTO
I can’t even begin to say how gimp this idea is. Funny, I heard a few weeks back that there was a “system” coming out that allowed (ricers) to play whatever sound they wanted their car to have through their internal speakers, so that 0.1 Litre Honda might feel like something with a bit more minerals…anyhow, they’ll never kill the internal combustion engine! As far as the concept of an electric sports car, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry for these poor fools who are indulging the idea.
03/14, 6:40 AM
posted by:
DeansterTJ
LOL at LP640. Congratulations on finally making me laugh with your commentary. Well done.
03/14, 7:04 AM
posted by:
connected
I don’t see why this is so dumb? Yeah it might be weird to accept at first, but exhaust sounds are created by sound engineers anyway. This is just an imitation of that.
03/14, 7:19 AM
posted by:
frylock350
@Blakkar,
That would be AWESOME if my car sounded like a TIE fighter. You need to be in charge of developing this feature.
03/14, 7:55 AM
posted by:
gilby7
Our light rail trains have a synthesized / computer / fake ringing-bell sound and it is absolutely the cheesiest fake sound ever. I hope it doesn’t sound so cheap and fakey as that does. I’m guessing it won’t though.
03/14, 8:11 AM
posted by:
1c3d0g
Astonman12/A4: exactly. This is one of the most stupid ideas ever implemented.
03/14, 9:13 AM
posted by:
Z06ified
Sounds kindda ricey to me.
03/14, 9:48 AM
posted by:
jdasch1
Great idea!! Make it an option that can be updated with new sounds. Hope this car really makes it…..but it probably won’t…just PR to raise money.
03/14, 11:47 AM
posted by:
400horseSS
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,337232,00.html there you go Ricardo
03/14, 12:01 PM
posted by:
SwerveEarly
Next the seats will tilt back to simulate the feeling of acceleration.
03/14, 1:33 PM
posted by:
sharpie
Noise pollution.
03/15, 4:00 PM
posted by:
1c3d0g
SwerveEarly: ROFL! Hahaha! Indeed.
03/16, 5:52 PM
posted by:
jjayc08
You know what REALLY sounds like a tie fighter?
TVR Cerberus 12. And that doesn’t need speakers to sound like it.
03/17, 7:53 AM
posted by:
JohnnyBlazE
Hmm… Download custom sounds would be good – A loop of “This car is NOT electric, I have many CO2 Emissions – Oh look I just farted” would go down well…
Ideally? Sounds of a tie fighter would rock…
Anyway, in our iPod generation which pedestrian is really listening for sounds of cars?
Little dickhead schoolkids cross without thought and don’t hear my scorpion backbox burbling along let alone the sounds of some piddly speakers playing vroom noises…