2009 Audi S5: Speakers are No Substitute for a Real V8

"the concept also features an audio system that can pipe in driver-selectable sounds in an attempt to mimic the exhaust wail of a real V6, V8 or even V12."

What a bizarre idea - and total BS IMO.

I am jealous of your weekend S5 experience. I have driven some of those canyon roads in a 5.0 Mustang convertible - loved the soundtrack. The V8 has the best exhaust note of the different possible configs, it actually crossed my mind this weekend how anyone who enjoys it is alive at the right time. There was a before and there will likely be a time after the existence of the V8. I have the feeling that this is the lone slice of time in history where the V8 exists and we can enjoy them.

I just remembered why I was thinking this, I had just watched this video.....again - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vidUKUB3zJU - my favorite V8 Vantage video (with the Edmunds one coming in a close second :-)). The guy does a perfect launch and IMO you cannot beat the sound while accelerating away, up through the gears. The sound of the launch always raises the hair on my arms - ear candy of the highest level. There is also a great edit/transition right after that from the car driving by to the view from the cockpit.

THis is just something the eco-weenies with their stupid hybrids and EV's will never understand. The IC engine has a soul. No electronic motor will ever feel alive....

Nothing stirs the soul like pushing a V8 or larger to red line and literally shaking the whole truck (in my case) with the raw power its punching out.

In a EV you get a loud whine then a dead silence as the motors have overheated and have automatically shutdown.

There was actually an article that Audi is working on simulating V8 sounds out of the exhaust engine so that even if you had a 2.0 TFSI it would sound like a V8. I could see that could make it in a production model but people who don't care about V8 to begin with probably don't care about having a fake sound either.

Having the stereo system make it so you can pretend you're driving a V8? May as well put playing cards in the spokes.

Maybe Audi should target grown ups.

This says it all:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9XAC-BvUyo

Some of these comment are laugh out loud ridiculous. "The IC engine has a soul" & " pushing a V8 or larger engine". I guess this is where the hacks at Car & Driver get their start.

Audi is in the process of eliminating this V8 from anything under seventy thousand bucks so if you have one enjoy it (and the 13 mpg is delivers).

This post is worthless without a video :)

I think I would be fine with an high performance electric car. Since it's quieter, you should be able to hear exactly what the tires are doing on the hard turns, fast launches and heavy braking. Plus, with most of the torque available at 0mph, you can abuse tires more efficiently.

Plus if you're able to drive the car with just 1 pedal most of the time (ala Mini-E), there is less driver fatigue.

Once the infrastructure has been developed, each plugged-in electric car is like a electricity water tower to standardize the power load over the day.

Heck, even an old, slightly crummy V8 is just a pleasure to listen to. The Olds 350 in my old 1970 Cutlass wasn't exactly the best muscle out there, but it just had a nice raw honest burbling note. When I got it, it only had an AM radio with a single speaker center-top of the dash, and for the longest time I put off putting anything else in, because who needed a stereo when you had that engine?

Also sorta related to the Lotus hybrid speaker thing, I saw an ad recently for Acura's active sound canceling, and it stated that it used speakers to cancel out any unwanted engine noise with opposing frequencies. Now imagine if those "unwanted engine noises" were real warning signs that all was not right with your engine. Beige bites back once again. Making cars for people who would rather treat them like a dishwasher or vacuum cleaner is asking for trouble down the road.

^^There will always be "beige" cars, but I think aesthetic performance cars with great natural soundtracks will also never die. But, seriously, if you're Gen X or slightly older, you need to know that the younger generation prefers the noise of a turbo wastegate, and they outnumber you!

@stovt001 - I am prettu sure that the Honda/Acura system exists to cancel odd or unwanted noise created by on reduced cylinders - via the deactivation system.

@Jederino - I'm Gen Y, and I love a wide range of engine noises. I do pine for the rumble of my Olds, but a good turbo wastegate does it for me as well. I say bring on engines of all types, and whatever they are make them sound good. On the flip side, I was watching WRC on Discovery HD theater for a few evenings last week, and eventually my wife got pretty fed up with the engine whine. I suppose she would prefer the NA SWRC engines.

@charlesb
Ok so you may have a point but that just means that the V8 crowd will either buy used or move over to the next best sounding thing... Diesel (IMHO).