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Now, For Your Fuel-Efficient Little Green Car, V-8 Sound!

 
12,223 views Mar 11, 2010
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SoundRacer V-10

SoundRacer V-10

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If you drive a small car or, heaven forfend, a hybrid or a clean-diesel, you may have heard the jokes. And the jibes. "Hey, Mister, how many rubber bands that thing have?" And so on.

But we've got a foolproof way for you to grin all the way past the gas pumps. Suppose your fuel-efficient green car actually sounded like a snarling V-8 or V-10 performance car?

Angular Front Exterior View - 2008 Kia Sportage 2WD 4-door V6 Auto EX

Angular Front Exterior View - 2008 Kia Sportage 2WD 4-door V6 Auto EX

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Well, courtesy of the clever engineers at Soundracer, now it can. All you need in your car is a cigarette lighter (ahem, sorry, an "auxiliary low-voltage power outlet") and an FM radio.

SoundRacer's system pumps sound through the radio that's matched to your car's engine speed. Outside the car, you're proceeding quietly as always; inside, you're at the wheel of a brawny V-8 or V-10 supercar.

We're curious to see what happens when a hybrid goes into electric-only mode; we suspect the answer is, not very much. But we'll let you know once we get our hands on one.

Meanwhile, a weeks ago the folks over at Gizmag put together a little video demonstrating the SoundRacer experience from inside a distinctly plebian Kia Sportage. Great stuff, huh?

[Motor Authority, Gizmag]





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Comments (4)

  1. By bill Posted: 3/13/2010 9:29am PST

    For safty reasons this could save some lives, with sudden axcelleration being in the forfront of the news it would be nice to have some warning before you got ran over by your own car.
     
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  2. By Andrew Posted: 3/16/2010 10:18am PDT

    If this does work on a hybrid, I could use one - it might help me stop sneaking up on and scaring pedestrians in parking garages (and other places) with my Escape hybrid!
     
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  3. By Joey Posted: 3/18/2010 9:16pm PDT

    this is too funny. V8 sound in a hybrid? you're not going to fool anyone.
    Although I do agree with this being a potential life saver so people can hear you. Hybrids are just too quiet! (good and bad). I just wonder how high you'd have to turn your speakers up. lol.
     
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  4. By Jon Posted: 8/23/2010 9:39pm PDT

    You guys posting need to read the article again. SoundRacer's system pumps sound through the radio that's matched to your car's engine speed. Outside the car, you're proceeding quietly as always; inside, you're at the wheel of a brawny V-8 or V-10 supercar. Meaning it only makes the noise inside the car, you would have to have all the windows down and the stereo turned way up for people outside to hear it.
     
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