Settle a DriveTribe Office debate: What's the best sounding car ever?
Which car takes the acoustic crown?
Another debate has erupted in the DriveTribe Office, with this one channeling one of the great areas of the automotive ether - sound.
Sir William Lyons (the founder of Jaguar) once said: "The car is the closest thing we will ever create to something that is alive", and I couldn't agree more.
The looks of certain cars combined with the noise and vibration they create allows for a similar emotional response to when we see animals, especially our very own pets. And this week we decided to tap into one of our five senses and battle it out as to what is the best sounding car of all time.
The only rule is that is has to be a production car, so nothing from motorsport or any one-offs that have sold for millions of pounds. Let's get stuck in with my choice first.
I reckon the greatest sounding car ever is the Porsche Carrera GT. The carbon fibre, rear-wheel drive hypercar sat alongside the McLaren Mercedes SLR and Ferrari Enzo in the Holy Trinity of the Noughties and in my opinion it takes the crown as the greatest piece of automotive acoustic pleasantry.
The key is its naturally aspirated 5.7-litre V10 that revs all the way to 8,400rpm. The engine was initially designed for the Footworks F1 team who subsequently bailed on the plans, leaving Porsche with a fully designed V10 to then slot into its next Le Mans racer, the LMP2000. That endurance racing prospect then got the can too, paving the way for the engine to finally have its use in the Carrera GT road car.
Have a listen:
In reply to the lightly-flywheeled Porsche came another V10 from my colleague Ben Hodges.
"The BMW M5 E60 is the greatest sounding car I have ever driven for one single reason – that screaming 5.0-litre V10 engine," he said.
"At around 5000rpm upwards, the wailing noise emitted from the quad exhausts becomes a shrill scream all the way to the factory set 8250rpm limit. The fact that the V10 motor had all of its peak power at high RPMs gave you the perfect excuse to make it wail all of the time."
To mix things up a bit on the engine front, intern Jack came out with a corker that will certainly be a fan favourite: "It has to be the Lamborghini Murcielago SV. The ultimate version of the ultimate supercar. If Bob Marley were still alive, he'd drive an SV. Because it's a wailer."
If you can get over that horrific cheese mentioned above, here's a clip:
James King - our resident mundane car obsessive - definitely opted for some form of sympathy vote and seems to be accumulating an array of content that concerns his own car, a vehicle that he's predictably trying to sell in the very near future...
"The Fiat Panda 100HP circa 2008 is the best sounding car of all time.
"When you hit that sweet spot between 4000 and 5000rpm, it paints a wider smile on your face than the most powerful V8 out there."
As with our other debates, it's down to you guys to pick a winner. Will a V10 take a deserved victory or will the Italians bring it back with their V12 or inline-four goodness?
Let battle commence:
Or maybe we're all wrong, in which case tell us in the comments what car YOU think is the greatest sounding of all time!
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Comments (119)
Has to be the Lexus LFA
ZONDA, LFA, Disco Volante
A 7.3l Zonda is the best sounding car ever made.
Unanimous decision: Not any EV on the planet.
True, electric cars make very little noise from way out in front.
Ye but if they fit them with a good radio you could play all the sounds and thus be the best sounding one.
Aston Martin V12 for me.