Listen to the 'unique' sound of BMW Neue Klasse
Brace yourself for HypersonX - an all-new sound concept for BMW's next-generation EVs
What, precisely, an electric car should sound like for its driver remains a hot topic. It hasn’t always been front and centre - more than a few manufacturers simply assumed that owners would appreciate the sound of near silence - but with customers complaining about a palpable lack of emotional connection with battery-powered drivetrains, the importance of the audio experience is now taken very seriously indeed. Case in point: the new HypersonX soundscape that BMW has been developing for the Neue Klasse models.
This comprises 43 sound signals and ’special driving sounds for Personal Mode and Sport Mode’ - although, generally speaking, the ‘multi-dimensional spectrum’ is supposed to adapt what you hear to befit the driving situation at hand (much in the same way the noise of a combustion engine cues you into what’s happening on the road). We’ve been here before, of course, although BMW reckons its approach ‘breaks genuinely new ground’ - not least because it’s being driven by the technological advances in hardware and software introduced in the Neue Klasse.
Specifically, the bandwidth of the dynamic range has been significantly enhanced by a new audio control unit, one capable of delivering a ‘new dimensional level’, which means more ‘colour, depth, and precision’ than has ever been achieved before. “The unique sound spectrum of HypersonX plays a major role in giving a Neue Klasse model its own, highly distinctive character acoustically. Through our focus on precision, warmth, and lightness, we can create a direct emotional connection between the driver and their vehicle,” emphasises Renzo Vitale, BMW’s Creative Director of Sound Design.
As you might expect when you hire a Creative Director of Sound Design, they will require a little rope. And when you read about the inspiration supplied by ‘nature and structures from the worlds of art and science’, you know where that rope has been put to use. Nevertheless, in its pursuit of ‘a cohesive and multi-dimensional acoustic experience’, one aimed at replicating the feeling of speed, most of us would agree that BMW is heading in the right direction. Whether it has actually arrived at the appropriate destination with HypersonX is up to you. But rest assured, it’s worth listening to...
Well, it's a car. Cars make sound. Make it sound like that.
The problem is they're asking "several design colleagues", none of whom look like they're ever wondered if they've flung a BMW too fast into a blind corner on the A272.
If I were to try to push past the pretentiousness (and there is a hell of a lot of it), fundamentally the problem is they are trying to evoke "joy", whereas I want something that evokes "excitement". Joy is happy fluffy everybody happy clouds. I remember Clarkson describing what a supercar was as something that is always whispering, just below the threshold of hearing, "I am going to kill you". So maybe Renzo ought to start with that. Perhaps they could have the sound of someone actually saying that. Tie it to the G-meter, so it says it louder and angrier the greater the lateral G.
Also the simulated dash is awful.
I’ve been driving for 18 months with it on and really like it. Sports mode is a much deeper, bass hitting sound than the other modes.
They should also include a mode for engine and rpm sound, like Hyundai has in the 5N
t. Has this guy actually got a real job making this tosh up? How much is he getting paid? How much is BMW blowing on all the studios, choirs and god know what else?? Who can relate to this st? He belongs in the art world where they can all talk st to each other and therefore understand each other. Not in the car world replacing the magic of ICE.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff