Sonic vroom
Rattle, clank, roar, vroom: cars are loud. The noise is bad for our nerves, but pedestrians and cyclists rely on it to know when a car is coming. Because electric cars make little noise, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the US ruled in 2018 that they must produce artificial sound to warn other road users of their presence. As of 2021, similar laws will apply in the EU.
In response to the new laws, automobile manufacturers such as BMW are inventing the future sound of cars. BMW has hired sought-after film-music composer Hans Zimmer to create its electric car “soundtrack.” Zimmer’s exotic sound lab in California has created the soundtrack for films such as Gladiator, Rush, and the new James Bond film, No Time to Die. Saying yes to the job was easy for Zimmer, a German: “I grew up with BMW,” he told The New York Times. “There was an emotional connection there.”
Zimmer says the new electric BMWS will sound “futuristic” and “calming,” adding that it’s very difficult to describe in words. In a report, BMW says the new car sound generates a “throbbing sensation” and describes it as “chameleonic.”
“We are trying to make your life less chaotic, more beautiful,” says Zimmer. That sounds very good indeed.