The Sound Of One Electric Car Driving

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A debate over how electric and hydrogen fuel cars should sound in the future is beginning to brew.

The answer could determine how different cities could sound in 10 or 20 years. The rise of the electric car presents a rare opportunity to tackle the persistent roar of traffic that many city dwellers are used to.

Electric and hydrogen fuel vehicles are inherently quiet. The sound of the tires on the road is noisier than the engine and this could prove lethal at slow speeds for pedestrians and cyclists.

Motor manufacturers acknowledge there is a problem. Some, like Nissan, are already fitting speakers under the bonnets of these vehicles to emit sounds for the safety of other road users. Others are planning on doing the same.

Sound engineers say there is a pressing need to come up with some ground rules as to what sounds to pick. So why not just stick with the current sound of a conventional combustion engine?

"That would be losing a huge opportunity," says Professor Paul Jennings from Warwick University, UK, who leads a project looking into alternative vehicle noises. "We all know traffic noise can be annoying, and the levels are significantly high. We do not want to lose the benefit we could get from using new reduced sounds."

He says, "The challenge is to create sounds that are as safe as possible, but also ones that are much more pleasing for the urban environment."

As part of the engineering project, an electric vehicle called Elvin (Electric Vehicle with Interactive Noise), is being driven around the university campus demonstrating a small sample of made-up sounds.

"It's important that the sound is associated with transport, and a lot of how people interpret sound is based on their experiences," says Professor Jennings.

There are certain noises that people associate with transport, and they alert us that a vehicle is heading in our direction. But balancing the needs for safety ,and improving the environment, are not the only requirements. Clearly the manufacturers will have a big say in what happens. If, for example, Ferrari were to ever make an electric car they would want it to sound like a Ferrari does now.