The New ‘Sound’ of Formula E?
Can the high-pitched whine of these Formula E spaceships really replace the fire-breathing exhausts of other open-wheel motorsports?
As a new season of motorsport beings for Formula E, new changes come with the years. For this 2019/2020 season, there are more manufactures involved in the sport than ever before. The fully-electric motorsport series is quickly gaining traction with fans and drivers alike and has become more appealing to teams as the years go by. Although a relatively new sport, it is based on modern technology, thus it is a sign of the times. Formula E could have never existed in the 1990s for example.
However, now manufactures like Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Nissan, Porsche and Jaguar are all members of the race series. Mercedes even pulled the plug on its iconic run in DTM GT racing to allocate increasing funds to their Formula E efforts. It seems that the sport is the big talk of the town as they come into preliminary season testing in Valencia, Spain. With that we will come to talk about one of the most controversial aspects of the Formula E: the sound (or lack there of). Everybody can understand the appeal of hearing a raw and visceral V8 engine screaming down the front straight of a race track. However, these cars simply don’t do that. They do produce a noise, but does it bare the same emotion as their gas-powered rivals? Thanks to ABB Formula E on YouTube, we get to check out exactly what the new cars sound like.
Now about the noise. We have to say that the cars without a doubt do make a very distinctive whine, which is far from what we would call quiet. It is a sound hilariously reminiscent of The Jetson’s cartoon cars from 1960’s. The sound is without a doubt more futuristic spaceship than automobile. There are without a doubt nuisance differences between different manufactures’ race cars, but they are subtle to say the least. Without a doubt the high-pitch whine has a certain character of its own.
However, we aren’t entirely sure whether or not the sound is a result of the motor itself or the gearbox. We think it is a healthy combination of both without a doubt. The straight-cut gears in a conventional gearbox have a undeniable rpm-dependent whine which is quite characteristic. These cars sound like that with a certain level of amplification. Do we like it? We aren’t really sure yet. However, the racing is good and city tracks like the ones Formula E features are without a doubt unique and a cool change of pace.
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