Auto-First|Liu Jiran

For one thousand readers, there are a thousand Hamlets. If you ask about the most charming sound of a car, you will probably get thousands of answers.

In the F1 arena, the ever-increasing roar of machinery is like a real-time live broadcast of the engine speed. Just the sound and the special smell produced by the nylon tires gripping the road are enough to make the audience excited.

In the muddy mountain rally, the only sound at the hairpin bend is the friction between the tires and the ground as the car drifts. While the viewers are still marveling at the extreme driving track, the car suddenly makes a loud noise. Declare an all-out charge towards the next corner.

There is also the muscle car that became a blockbuster the moment it was ignited. The roar of the V8 engine exploded with harmonics like a "subwoofer". Although it was invisible, the sight of the crankshaft rotating rapidly, and The thick exhaust pipe with its low and low vibration seems to be in front of you just by hearing.

Human beings have been fascinated by the sound of car engines for a long time, so manufacturers have spared no effort to explore and promote the charm of car sounds.

V6, V8, W12, the number of cylinders continues to increase, making the engine roar more and more magical, and the ultimate roar created by W16 is like the complex chords on a piano keyboard. Who can resist that powerful sound? Aggressive tone? And those who are accustomed to naturally aspirated direct power supply, and equipped with a release valve for the turbocharger, also make many modified car enthusiasts feel that it has a unique flavor.

Of course, it is not just technical means that are used. Automobile manufacturers also put great thought into the channels for spreading noise. There are also many cases of using exhaust bypass valves to control the volume of real sounds, installing microphones in the engine compartment, or even directly creating simulated sounds and playing them through car speakers.

The representative of the "valve faction" is LaFerrari. There is a variable valve in its exhaust pipe. When the vehicle is at a lower speed, the valve is closed, and the exhaust sound is brewing. Once the vehicle The speed climbs up, the valve opens, and the sound becomes louder.

Volkswagen's high-performance models are "amplifiers". Based on the Soundaktor system and speakers installed near the engine throttle, the sound effect of the engine is further enhanced, so on the Golf R, Golf GTI, and Sagitar GLI models The sound you hear is actually the result of amplification and processing.

For example, the Active Sound Design system on BMW, the "sound master", M3, M5 and other models can analyze the actual engine speed through the driving computer and play back the pre-recorded engine sound. Lexus even signed a contract with Yamaha to design better engine sound effects, and installed sound generators that imitate engine sounds on RC?F, LFA and other models.

Another example is the "Zhenpai" Ford and Porsche. The Ford Sound Symposer system connects a special sound duct to the intake manifold, and uses a paddle made of mixed materials to vibrate together with the air sucked into the engine to enhance the auditory shock. Focus ST, Carnival ST, Mustang and other models are equipped with this vibration system, and Porsche's technology is similar to it. In short, the "Zhenpai" method does sound more advanced than using speakers to play simulated sound waves.

However, now F1 has been limited to 6 cylinders, V8 muscle cars are also dying in the wave of electrification, and the brief history of car sound is about to enter the next era.

Because electric vehicles are extremely quiet during driving, although the noise reduction effect is obvious, they also bring safety risks to pedestrians. To this end, the European Union has taken the lead in introducing regulations requiring all new electric and hybrid vehicles to be equipped with an audible vehicle warning system (AVAS) from July 1, 2019, and it will automatically activate when the speed is below 20 kilometers per hour. So far, many electric models have warning sounds.

Of course, it is not the female voice that became popular across China in the 1980s saying "Reverse! Please pay attention!" Nowadays, electric vehicles have no engine sound, but they have made ever-changing and diverse warning sounds. After Qishi Auto-First’s summary, it can be roughly divided into three groups.

British exhaust system manufacturer Miltek Sport is considered a representative of the "engine school". The Tesla Model 3 modified by Miltek Sport can select the type of warning sound through the APP. When the "switch" is pressed, the roar of the V10 or V12 engine can be emitted through the external speaker of the Model 3 itself. . The feeling of driving a tram out of a fuel-powered supercar must be a very wonderful experience.

The "musical school" camp is relatively large. For example, Citro?n has enabled organic music warning sounds with a mix of male and female voices on the two-seater electric concept car Ami? One. For example, the Mercedes-Benz EQ brand has worked with an American rock band to develop artificial sounds for electric vehicles. Another example is the Renault Zoe small electric hatchback. The warning sound was created by contemporary composer Andrea Cera and was inspired by the original soundtracks of science fiction movies such as "Gattaca".

Although pedestrians may not be able to immediately react to the presence of an electric car, the "sound effect system" can definitely warn pedestrians to pay attention to the movement around them. A NIO car owner told Auto-First that the warning sound of the ES6 model is somewhere between a diabolo and a flock of pigeons. It automatically activates when the speed is below 20 kilometers per hour to remind pedestrians beside the car that "I'm coming." Toyota Uruguay's idea of ??manufacturing Ayax is even crazier: "Since the promotion of electric vehicles itself is to make the earth cleaner, why not do it more thoroughly and create a sound solution that saves the earth", so a kind of Ayax that can stimulate plants to absorb nutrients and grow The sound was put on Toyota models.

Who said the fun of car sounds will eventually fade away? It’s just that the aesthetics are different - in the fuel era, what you heard was the roar of the engine, but in the electric era, what you heard was the ingenuity of artistic creation.

The picture comes from the Internet

This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.