Porsche reversed an earlier stance and secretly developed simulated V8 engine noises and mechanical shift sensations for a Cayenne EV prototype. Engineers recorded interior and exterior exhaust sounds to recreate a V8 experience and tuned those sounds for a wide range of driving conditions. The simulation includes modulated rev behavior to account for the EV's larger rev range. Engineers reported that the sound and shift simulations were convincing enough that they could not tell the difference from a conventional V8. Porsche is now weighing implementation of the feature on next-generation electric models.
Last year, Porsche said that adding fake shifting to EVs made the cars "worse." It secretly toyed around with the idea and now has a prototype where engineers "could not tell the difference." The automaker is now considering adding it to their next-gen EVs. Remember last year when Porsche guffawed boisterously at Hyundai for adding fake shifting to its Ioniq 5 N? That was exactly one year ago.
Porsche is a very emotional brand. Sights, sounds and feels are all very important parts of the driving experience. You can't just throw the sounds of a V8 at a car and expect it to give off the same feel-the Cayenne EV's engineers knew this. And this is where Niesen's explanation gives away Porsche's plans: "You need to modulate it because the rev range [on the EV] is much bigger. But in theory, if you
Collection
[
|
...
]