Like it or not, your EV needs to make noises—that’s something mandated by the NHTSA, so there’s no debating it. But most of us expect that noise to be something out of The Jetsons or cooked up by Hans Zimmer, not like what Dodge debuted last month which ushered some, uh, mixed opinions by just about anyone with functional ears.
It turns out that OEMs aren’t alone in pushing fake “engine” noises out of their EVs (but we already knew that). Aftermarket companies are already gearing up to bring some noise to EVs, one of which is Borla with its Active Performance Sound system that was demoed at SEMA this week.
Borla shows on its website just how customizable the sound can be. Its iOS app has a plethora of options to change the tone, pitch, and a myriad of different options to tweak the exact sound made by the vehicle. The sound is mapped to the vehicle’s speed, “RPM,” torque, and load—all reportedly without latency. That seems kind of impressive, but how does it sound in practice?
The TikTok clip above is just a quick video showing a Mustang Mach-E equipped with Borla’s system that is meant to mirror the Mustang Shelby GT500 equipped with a Borla exhaust. The person behind the wheel “revs” the electric crossover and some sweet artificial exhaust noise is spewed from the back, albeit without fumes. A second clip can be seen on Borla’s own website and features a quick driveby. It also shows how the noise is being emitted: bottom-mounted speakers which appear to pack quite a loud punch.
So, folks, it’s come to this: throwing a boombox under your brand new EV and queuing up an MP3 file to make sure everyone out there knows that you’re a big V8-driving Chad instead of a tiny EV piloting nerd. One thing is certain, though, and it’s that there are fake exhaust notes coming to future EVs. Borla in particular says that its system is being released first for the Ford Mustang Mach-E, and then soon after for the F-150 Lightning. Pricing has yet to be announced, but a company spokesperson noted that it should cost “about the price of an exhaust system.”
What say you, dear reader? We already know how you feel about fake engine noise pumped into the cabin, but are these next-gen “exhausts” something you expect enthusiasts to adopt during the transition towards electrification, or is it just a fad waiting to flop?
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