Cornering's the thing, but I am an absolute horn dog for automotive aural sex. Yes, I bought an E39 M5 for the stealth style, comfort and continent-crushing high speed stability. But it was the car's low-speed V8 burble that captured my heart. I held off from Boxsterhood until Porsche finally put some genuine aggression in its exhaust note. (I could easily understand why a pistonhead would prefer a Corvette over a Porsche based on relative exhaust notes.) Folks, I've got 47 of my favorite engine sounds on my iPod. SL55 AMG. Ford GT. Lamborghini Murcielago. And the rest. And I still think the Ferrari F355's flat-plane crank eight-cylinder engine is the world's best sounding powerplant. It's nuts, then crazy, then insane, then maniacal, then the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse leaving hoof-prints on your temporal lobe. You? [NB: Wait until the end of this video.]
65 Comments on “Question of the Day: Is This the World’s Best Sounding Passenger Car Engine?...”
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I like the high-pitched wail of the RB26 engine from the Nissan Skyline.
I also like the frenzied buzz of a Honda B-series engine—wait, did I just show my ricer side again?
Passenger car? Dang, I was going to vote for a nitromethane burning hemi. Had the pleasure once of standing beside a real Cobra with a 427 sideoiler and side pipes (of course). Yow.
Listen to the Bill Hickman piloted 68 charger R/T in “Bullitt”. I often go to You Tube and search the Bullitt chase scene. Heck,I even have that sequence for my ringtone. The unsilenced air cleaner over the carter avs carbed 440 sounds so righteous. My 2.8 colorado 4 banger just doesnt compare. Sigh…
The Audi RS4’s V8 gets my vote.
Let’s hear it for the rotaries!
The flat-plane V8 of the Ferrari F430 is utterly magnificent. You can almost see the harmonics ricochet off surrounding buildings, and it makes the hair stand on end.
2009 ZR1 Hands down.
Laden with testosterone.
Lexus IS-F….seriously…what a great growl.
Listen to the sound of Jay Leno’s Cobra Clone (it doesn’t have the side oiler, but I can’t remember what it does have, possibly a 429?). I watched that video followed by the video of him driving an Audi R8. It makes the Audi sound anemic. I also like the rumble from my wife’s ‘68 Mustang; you can hear it inside the house from at least a block away when you give it some gas.
I can also appreciate the shriek from the Ferrari engine, though I prefer a deep muscular rumble.
Sorry to point out that the Emperor has no clothes, but that Ferrari doesn’t sound that good at all, at least compared to say a Jaguar XK engine in an E-type, or a Ferrari Daytona V12.
monkeyboy, you saw that burnout video from Jalopnik, did you? Yes, it was awesome.
A slightly muffled Jaguar XK engine has the loveliest exhaust note on earth. Over-muffled (like in a saloon) they are too quiet. Un-corked (like in a D-type) they are too much. But as they were on the E-type, with minimal mufflers and resonators at the rear of the exhaust… pure music. Sir William’s Sixth Symphony!
It is not the bass of a V-8, not the soprano of a bike, nor the tenor of a V-12. It is a baritone. Big-bore, long-stroke, tri-power, hemi-headed baritone. I tell ya… you do not need a radio in an E-type, as everything you would ever want to hear comes directly from your right foot.
–chuck
http://chuck.goolsbee.org
I don’t know.. this is a tough one. I do enjoy the sound of a Subaru WRX STi. But I’m hardly qualified to make that call since I think the over-worked Taurus engine in my Ranger sounds pretty cool at full-throttle. Go figure.
I’m not sure if it’s the best, but the Aston Martin V8 Vantage does sound oh so heavenly:
O
M
G
And it looks great too!
Not specifically an engine sound but my favorite has to be a NASCAR yellow flag pitstop. Love the mash of screeching tires, air guns, big horsepower engines and crowd noise.
Lexus IS-F is really friggin’ good.
As is the RS4… only you can’t hear the RS4’s growl from inside the cabin.
Carajo, se le paran los pelos a uno. DIOS!!!!!
Te la comiste Farago.
Man check the Corsa exhaust site for ultimate orgasmo in this.
American V8 FTMFW, in Corvette wrapper.
I have to agree with you, I just hear one 348 here and is WOW!!!
S52 with an AA Gen 3 exhaust, whose sweet music I hear every day.
Otherwise I love me the sound of high revving V12 a la Lamborghini Murcielago. I can’t say I’ve heard too many Ferrari’s wind out their engines up close but I’m sure they would be awesome.
Or may I offer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49cEkkzXml4
I think an uncorked EJ25 from an STi sounds pretty bitchin’…almost like an H-D, and quite different from the Porsche boxer motors.
Personally haven’t taken notice of any stock cars with a nice sounding exhaust note.
This skyline is wicked:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lB2qsj4Tzm0
Wicked turbo sound nearer the end:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqKDV9gHWTg
1953 BRM V16
Go to Bill Sherwood’s Engine Page and download the 3 lap mp3 version. Sounds 980x better then it does on YT. Incredible.
Youtube Version for the terrible mono version.
RF: Where could I find some of those recordings? I have a nice pair of headphones I could listen to them through. In my opinion, it sounds closer to a race car than it’s more powerful descendants.
There’s a lot of great sounding cars. I don’t even know where I’d begin trying to line up which ones I like best. Lately, my flavor of the week has been any high performance European V8. R8/RS4, Aston, AMGs, etc. Anything with sidedraught carbs…
There’s a youtube user, optionsauto I believe, who does nothing but record the exhaust sounds of different cars. Sometimes they sound a bit strange because of microphone placement.
Aston Martin v8 or anything Euro with a V8. Borderline illegal exhaust by-pass butterflys rule.
Check out the top gear video where they test a vantage v8 on a coast road and can hear it (and see it) two miles away.
you tube is your friend!
It’s not a car, but I’m rather partial to this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7MWa5MnJBo
None of that smeary, muffled mess you get from a V8.
Pagani Zonda during a flyby, then rudely interrupted, but still a great sound at high speed at the beginning of this vid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WrGWq_3qZU
Or this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foDcLUhUKqI&feature=related
I know the title says “passenger car”, and my wife noted the hair on my leg stands up when in traffic beside a Ferrari, but the ultimate thrill for me was during a lucky visit to the Honda Collection Hall In Motegi, Japan a couple of years ago when they had pulled a Honda RC166 motorcycle outside and fired it up to show a visiting Euro Honda racer who was also visiting. Six cylinder, 250 CC, megaphone exhaust. Pure joy.
I don’t think I’ve ever gotten the chance to thoroughly listen to an exotic at full blast in real life. Out of all the cars I’ve heard, I would say some version of the Mustang (Bullit or GT500 perhaps?). I love the way V8 ‘Stangs sound
I’ll leave picking the best sound to the rest of you, but without question, the best place to evaluate the sound of any engine is on the front stretch of Road America, right by the pedestrian tunnel at the S/F line. There is nothing, absolutely nothing, like a big block CanAm car at full honk going up the front stretch hill at RA…
My late, lamented, heavily modded MkIII Supra Turbo. The wastegate popping was the most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard. And you gotta respect the straight 6
I don’t know what the best is, but the absolute worst I’ve ever heard was an IMSA GTU Mazda RX-7 revving up in the pits back in the mid 80’s. The most gawd awfull ear splitting racket ever, and it sounded like it was being amplified through a 55 gallon drum.
I’ve seen a few vintage F1 cars at Watkins Glen and hearing those things go past at full shreik was like standing next to a radial arm saw without hearing protection.
Captain Tungsten:
Sorry, but a better location for CanAm is before the braking zone for Turn One at Donnybrooke (Brainerd).
I still prefer F1 engines though. And V12s always sound better than V8s.
The best engine sound to me doesn’t come from a car. It comes from a Honda CBR 600 RR…
I got to experience one of these sport bikes on the dynamometer at my local Honda dealer. Holy Sh*t!!!
It sounds even better than the Ferrari above!
But I will admit the Mustang from Bullet holds a special place in my heart.
There are so many good ones, it would be easier to pick the worst. My choice: the 2.3 liter kompressor 4 cylinder from the previous C Class and SLK. How anyone could listen to that cacaphony, and then buy it, is beyond me. And they probably even think they are driving something special.
Put a Rolls-Royce Merlin twelve cylinder in a passenger automobile and you’d have your best sounding passenger car.
While I don’t doubt any of the opinions of the best and brightest, out of all the cars I have driven in my life I remember back when I started driving I drove a 1994 Audi 90S with a nice little V6 that had the neatest sound to it. My dad had an auto body shop and it was a car he bought and fixed and kept around. The sound it made was a unique whirling that I never forgot. I wanted the car sooooo bad but he wouldn’t let me have it. He gave me a (i was kinda spoiled) 96 Avalon, a 95 525i, and a 99 Deville, but it was always the Audi that intrigued me. The Northstar in the Deville was pretty tough sounding too… and it had the bite that matched the bark 8-)
It’s so hard to pick 1 since there’s so many great one’s, but if I had to, I’ve seen this video on streetfire of a FERRARI FXX being driven hard around a track. This car has the most insane sound. Check it out and wait for him to really get on it.
http://videos.streetfire.net/video/Ferrari-FXX-driven-hard_147869.htm
Aside from a Jag E-Type, I do fancy the sweet music an Alfa Romeo 6 cylinder makes.
I’m only going to speak for cars I’ve actually driven (sadly I don’t think a Ferrari will ever be among them) So my vote is for the current generation Mustang GT. Though there is a special place in my heart for the low chug of a John Deere 3020 diesel.
The low rumble of a G55 AMG and the high-pitched, Formula One wawawawa sound (as Jeremy Clarkson so expressively put it) of a Carrera GT.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIvOu_Vmsjk
That is an absolutely wicked engine note. Edmunds posted a set of Youtube video compilations of exhaust sounds a few months ago that would be worth your while. It was fantastic, but I can’t seem to find it for the life of me.
The Alfa Romeo V6 designed by Guiseppe Busso and used in various displacements from 1979 to 2005.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfa_Romeo_V6_engine
The Alfa Romeo V6 designed by Guiseppe Busso and used in various guises from 1979 to 2005.
I think my favorite might be the “tin can being kicked around a warehouse” Toyota four-banger, or the frumpy Chrysler minivan engine that makes that special noise every time it comes to a stop. You know what I’m talking about.
Sh*t I am going to have to agree with Robert, that was awesome, I am going to find a way to make that my ringtone. It made tha hair on the back of my neck stand up then it jumped the the Ferrari shreek. Should be no surprise my looking at my name. The only thing that could be better than that would be a classic Ferrari V12, almost makes me want to cry.
I have to agree with some of the above posters….
I love the high revving sound of the 600cc sportbikes.
The only thing better, IMHO is the F-1 22,000 rpm V8’s as they get towards the top of their rev range.
It just screams “speed” at you.
If any of you guys have not ever watched F1, try to catch the actual race on a sat/sunday. Occasionally they show a real-time graph of both the g forces, and the tach needle floating around. Holy cow does that tach needle move fast!
I was walking down a two lane road a while ago when someone in a new Masseratti Quatropore went by with his foot a little in it. Wow! Seats 4 and sounds like that? Who gives a crap if it isn’t reliable or economical, has any resale value, or any other mundane problems like that. If I had the cash I would have to buy one. Think 427 Cobra with a college education.
I have very fond memories of an exotic used car dealership near my home when I was a kid. There was an older 308gts (carb model)with an aftermarket Monza Exhaust that the owner used to start-up and rev the engine for us kiddies, WOW what a sound! Nothing sounds like a flat-crank Ferrari v8 spinning at 7000+ RPMs.
I also have fond memories of a short ride in the backseat of a Mondial Conv. What a wicked feeling! You feel the shriek of the engine down to your bones! It really does give you goose-bumps.
Ferrari v8 IMO have the same type of shriek to them as a nice sportbike engine the difference is that the larger v8 engines have more base in their sound as oppoosed to the higher treble pitch of the bike engines.
Ya that Ferrari is pretty sweet. My old highly tuned H22 running at 9000rpms was simply beautiful. I went to the St.Thomas drag strip one weekend and a guy had a race prepped rotary the noise coming out that thing was simply mind blowing. I haven’t heard anything before or since that was that great.
Slightly off topic but in the James Bond movie Casino Royale when he jumps in the Astin Martin and starts accelerating away, I think that is one of the best car sounds caught on film. I was in the theatre and when that sound filled the room my girlfriend just start giggling with joy. I guess that sound tickled her in ways I can’t.