Which of these cars sounds the best to you ?

Which of these cars sounds the best to you ?


  • Total voters
    63
I hate to give a noise award to a Japanese car, but LFA it is. That sound is unreal.
 
^What he said, and I'm a sucker for V10 engines.
 
I knew what my response was going to be before I watched the videos. The SLS. For a start I absolutely love V8s. And while the other 3 sound fine and all that; I'm not a fan of the 'scream'. It'll make your ears bleed but won't move your bowel, which is exactly what I would want from a noise.

I think this thread needs some more noises; the Ferrari, Lexus and Lambo all sound too similar I'd say.
 
I knew what my response was going to be before I watched the videos. The SLS. For a start I absolutely love V8s. And while the other 3 sound fine and all that; I'm not a fan of the 'scream'. It'll make your ears bleed but won't move your bowel, which is exactly what I would want from a noise.

I think this thread needs some more noises; the Ferrari, Lexus and Lambo all sound too similar I'd say.
I'm with you on this one. I love the growly low notes of that V8 the rest sound too LOOK AT ME I'M A SUPERCAR. It's like Darth Vader (James Earl Jones) vs Luke (Mark Hamil), they can both get the job done and even if in the end the shouty kid wins the villain does what he does with style and you can't help but admire that.
 
The induction roar of that Lexus V10 is the stuff gravity is made of.


 
Interesting to see people going for the SLS since I really dislike the sound it makes.
I cannot decide between LFA and 458, obviously. :mrgreen:
 
For me it's the SLS, no contest. Although my personal favorite supercar noise is the AM V8 Vantage, at least in N24 trim.

And Lambo LM002s, which are just ridiculous.
 
I have a theory. Piston engines of multiples of three sound the best.

Triumph Speed Triple:

911 GT3 RS:

Murcielago:

Firing order also has a big deal with it. For example, a Honda V6 sounds magnificent, while a Nissan V6 sounds generic and aritificial.
There is a certain...'texture' that is absent from 4, 5, 8, and 10 cylinder engines that you get in spades with 3, 6, and 12 cylinder engines. It's difficult to describe. It's almost like an imperfection.

Now...if somebody made a 9 cylinder engine...
 
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Was between the SLS and LFA for me. Both completely on opposite ends. One sounds raw with a more muscular exhaust note, other is more rev happy F1 sounding.

I chose the LFA.
 
if you want to get technical the 20B has 9 combustion chambers

Well that slots in nicely...I personally think the 20B is the best sounding engine ever created. I keep praying Mazda will send off the RX8 in grand style with a beastly 20B with 350-400whp n/a.
 
I have a theory. Piston engines of multiples of three sound the best.

You know, I have to agree with you.

[/flame suit ON]
I always prefer 6 or 12 cilinder engines instead of V8?s
[/flame suit OFF]
 
I know I'm dating myself here, but to me the best sounding car is none of the above. I'm not sure what it is exactly, (Maybe playing too many video games) but all of those cars sound artificial to me. Like the exhaust notes were designed in a laboratory rather than the raw "voice" of the engine. Plus, it's impossible to replicate the induction sound you get from carburetors.
Exhibit 1, the Ferrari 365 GTB-4 Daytona:
And for the V8 lovers, I give you the 426 Hemi:
One more - an Aston Martin DB4 Lightweight at the Historic GT Car Championship race at Spa:
Don't get me wrong; modern cars perform much, much better than classics. But I don't think they sound any better.
 
I have a theory. Piston engines of multiples of three sound the best.

Firing order also has a big deal with it. For example, a Honda V6 sounds magnificent, while a Nissan V6 sounds generic and aritificial.
There is a certain...'texture' that is absent from 4, 5, 8, and 10 cylinder engines that you get in spades with 3, 6, and 12 cylinder engines. It's difficult to describe. It's almost like an imperfection.

Now...if somebody made a 9 cylinder engine...

I've never thought about that, but I like your theory. I do prefer straight and flat six and V12 over a (crossplane) V8s and even V10s. And like you said, V6s can sound awesome as well (NSX, Alfas for example). Sadly I don't have any experiences from 3-cyl engines, I don't count Smarts, because clearly epic sound was not the first priority of that engine.

V8s make a lot of angry noise and I understand why people love the sound of the SLS, but it just doesn't have that kind of howl and tone you get from flat and straight sixes and especially V12s.

But from that list, my pick is LFA. F355 is just incredible, but F430 and 458 have some artificial sound in them, maybe they're trying too hard? SLS is awesome, but just don't do it for me, and while Gallardo is superb, its V10 just can't compete against the LFA for pure induction noise. Sadly, LFA is the only one I haven't been able to hear live.
 
For me, this takes it.

 
I know I'm dating myself here, but to me the best sounding car is none of the above. I'm not sure what it is exactly, (Maybe playing too many video games) but all of those cars sound artificial to me. Like the exhaust notes were designed in a laboratory rather than the raw "voice" of the engine. Plus, it's impossible to replicate the induction sound you get from carburetors.

It sounds fake because they lack punch, presence. The SLS is quiet as a Honda (S2000). The LFA isn't much louder or substantial at all. The Ferrari I don't know about, but none of the ones at the track I've seen have ever been very attention-grabbing. I do know the Lambo carries fairly well, but again that one is full of valves and things that just distort it to what some engineer thinks is nice. Granted the Lambo V10 does not translate very well on video, but I've heard them in person and they are not my favorite. All those cars try hard to sound like *something*.

I will always, always, always point people to the Audi 4.2 liter V8 as an example of an engine that is wholly unique in it's note, is not loud, but it has such a substantial presence and is wholly committed to being what it is. It doesn't sound like there are any tricks.* Just a muffler to make it road legal.

*I realize that every car has valves and things. That's not the point. The point is what *sounds* like is making the note, not how it's actually made. Personally I think most race engines (especially Japanese 4 cylinders) sound awful, and that's just raw sound.
 
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