Just because a sports car is fun to drive doesn’t mean it also sounds good
for Stephen Rivers
comments comments
3 hours ago
Every time a big shiny sports car, sports sedan, supercar or performance-oriented machine comes out, it often does so with a number of impressive numbers and statistics. What it cannot come with, at least not on paper or on paper, is the noise that will accompany these figures. As such, some of the best sports cars have ended up sounding downright disappointing. But which is the worst?
Note that we’re not just focusing on exhaust noises here. Sometimes a lovely supercharger whine or a turbocharger recirculation valve can really spice up the experience despite a monotonous exhaust note. We wonder which sports car sounds worse.
Our main image may deserve some consideration for two reasons. First, the four-cylinder Porsche 718 is underwhelming in the sound department. Second, it still manages to be an incredibly good driver’s car, which makes it all the more frustrating that the audio track ends up being such a letdown. Another four-cylinder car, the Honda Civic Type R, could also feature prominently on this list.
Read: Ferrari Roma Spider Combines Soft Top Fun With 612 HP Twin-Turbo V8
Most enthusiasts seem to hate fake exhaust noises, but it seems like it’s one thing to make a bit of gratuitous noise when the car is very well insulated and quite another to pipe it in because the real exhaust is so much more silent that people expect. This seems to be what happened to the CTR.
Still, there may be an option that flies a bit under the radar here. The BMW F80 M3 really fell far from the tree that was the E90. Sure, it made more power than the outgoing V8, but the turbocharged inline-six really does sound a little too digital. It lacks the mechanical, brushed nature expected from such a legendary car.
However, there are likely many other options. you tell us What is the worst sounding sports car of all time? Be sure to vote for your favorites, as we might create a follow-up post based on those results.
array(8) [0]=> string(478) "Every time a big new shiny sports car, sports sedan, supercar, or otherwise performance-oriented machine comes out, it often does so with an array of impressive figures and statistics. What it can’t come with, at least not on paper or in print, is the noise that will accompany those figures. As such, some of the best sports cars have ended up sounding just downright disappointing. Which one is the worst though?" [1]=> string(281) "
Keep in mind that we’re not solely focused on exhaust noises here. Sometimes a lovely supercharger whine or a turbocharger recirculation valve can really spice up the experience despite a drab exhaust note. We’re wondering which sports car just sounds the worst." [2]=> string(454) "
Our lead image might deserve some consideration for two reasons. Firstly, the four-cylinder Porsche 718 is underwhelming in the sound department. Secondly, it still manages to be an incredibly good driver’s car so it makes it all the more frustrating that the audio track ends up being such a letdown. Another four-cylinder car, the Honda Civic Type R, might be high on this list too." [3]=> string(218) "
Read: Ferrari Roma Spider Combines Soft Top Fun With A 612 HP Twin-Turbo V8" [4]=> string(2169) "
Most enthusiasts seem to hate fake exhaust noise but it seems to be one thing to pipe in a little complimentary noise when the car is super-well insulated and a whole different thing altogether to pipe it in because the actual exhaust is quite a lot quieter than people expect. That seems to be what happened in the CTR." [5]=> string(389) "
Still, there might be a choice that flies a bit under the radar here. The BMW F80 M3 really fell far from the tree that the E90 was. Sure, it made more power than the outgoing V8 but the turbocharged inline-six really does sound a bit overly digital. It lacks the mechanical and raspy nature one expects from such a legendary car." [6]=> string(235) "
Still, there are likely a host of other options out there. You tell us. What’s the worst-sounding sports car of all time? Be sure to vote for your favorites as we might put together a follow-up post based on those results." [7]=> string(1854) " "
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