BMW Stromer will soon sound nicer: Hollywood star composes new sounds

Created: 2022-01-16Updated: 2022-01-24 10:19 am

By: Marcus Efler

Emotions from the loudspeaker: With the help of the Hollywood composer Hans Zimmer, BMW now offers euphonious sound for its electric cars.

Munich – One of the most important character traits of a car has been the engine sound, or better: the noise that the exhaust system releases to the outside, but also into the car interior.

In times of ever stricter noise regulations, sound engineers put a lot of effort into making this tone sound full, sonorous and like as many cylinders as possible - and of course "emotional".

It's no wonder that some drivers miss the soundscape of electric cars and that manufacturers are looking for alternative solutions.

For example, Porsche has patented a metal sound box that would enable the natural resonance principle of an exhaust system to also be used in future electric models.

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BMW Stromer will soon sound nicer: Hollywood composer designs new sounds

BMW, on the other hand, like most manufacturers, relies on digitally generated sound from loudspeakers.

On one hand, of course, for the AVAS (Acoustic Vehicle Alert System), which warns pedestrians at low speeds - but also for the soundscape that the driver hears.

In the new Stromers such as the iX and the i4 sports sedan, a dark hum can be switched on that is vaguely reminiscent of a combustion engine.

It even sounds quite present in sport mode, but it also gets annoying quickly because it's artificially generated.

Powerful: A BMW i4 in the BMW sound laboratory.

©BMW

When starting, the "Swoosh" already known among BMW fans sounds, a hissing sound in the spaceship enterprise style created by film music professional Hans Zimmer (64).

The Bavarian carmaker is now intensifying its collaboration with the Frankfurt/Main-born autodidact, who is one of Hollywood's best-known composers with his scores for "Dune" and the "Batman" trilogue, for example.

(Sounds for electric cars: "Sound is the new light")

BMW electric vehicles will soon sound nicer: Emotional “IconicSounds” will soon be available ex works

As a result of the cooperation, "IconicSounds" will be available for the i4 and the iX later this year, as reported by 24auto.de.

They should underline the respective driving mode as well as the driving condition.

The “underlying tonality consists of a violin note,” BMW explains the principle: “As soon as the vehicle reaches a speed of 60 km/h, a first complete chord sounds.

At Tempo 120, a second full chord is heard.

On the other hand, when driving at a constant speed, the pitch remains unchanged while the volume of the sound is greatly reduced.”

Sounds for films and vehicles: Hollywood composer Hans Zimmer © BMW

The respective models also differ in tone.

In the i4, women's voices and the sounds of a glass cylinder are intended to create a "spherical sound image".

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BMW Stromer will soon sound nicer: glass cylinders instead of six cylinders

Can all this replace the sonorous sound of an in-line six?

"Sound is an essential part of the emotional driving experience in a BMW," says head of design Adrian van Hooydonk and hopes: "With the incomparable experience and creativity of Hans Zimmer, we are creating a unique acoustic character for our electric vehicles."

In any case, the self-confessed BMW fan Zimmer sees electromobility as an opportunity for a new age of sound on the road: "For the first time since the industrial revolution, we have the unique opportunity to redesign and redefine the sounds of our cities".

For the composer, this is a clear advantage of electric cars over combustion engines: "We are not restricted by mechanical limits."