The best part about driving a megabuck supercar, sports car, or hypercar may have something to do with how it looks, how fast it goes from zero to 100, or the sheer exotic nature of the machine.
But for real drivers, the defining characteristic of a sports car is how it sounds, and we’re talking about the whole package: That intoxicating intake howl, that burbling exhaust, and the rising crescendo as you bury the throttle.
You may not know this, but making a car sound good is more than just force-fitting a cat-back exhaust and calling it a day. Top-tier automakers spend countless resources and employ a dedicated team of sound engineers to develop and fine-tune an engine’s sound. It takes months or years of exhaustive testing to produce a characteristic engine and exhaust note in most cases.
Why do some cars sound so good? Unsurprisingly, V10 or V12 engines tend to be louder than a puny four-cylinder due to size and volume. The more cylinders, the better.
You see, sound-generating vibrations from each combustion cycle inside the cylinder generate pressure waves in the intake and exhaust system. It’s a sound engineer’s job to tame or adjust the pressure waves as the exhaust gasses leave the cylinders, producing that characteristic exhaust sound that enthusiasts love.
Now it’s time for you to decide what the best-sounding motors of all time are. Listen to the most popular engine roars below and, if you disagree, place your votes to move your favorites up the list.
Editor’s note: You can listen to all of the engines noted at the end of this article.
Image Credit: Ferrari.
Methodology
We combined a selection of best-sounding car lists from reputable car websites and isolated the 100 most commonly occurring overall by brand and engine type.
Then we searched for “[car model] + sound” on YouTube and scraped the view count of the top 12 videos. We then combined average views and ranked the cars by view to give us the ‘most popular engine sounds.’
Data was collected in February 2021.
Image Credit: depositphotos.com.
40. 600 Pullman
- Manufactuer: Mercedes-Benz
- Engine: V8
Image Credit: Mercedes Benz Press Archive.
39. RS200
- Manufacturer: Ford
- Engine: 4-CYL
Image Credit: CC BY-SA 3.0 / Wiki Commons.
38. 911 GT2 RS Weissach
- Manufacturer: Porsche
- Engine: 6-CYL
Image Credit: Porsche.
37. RS6
- Manufacturer: Audi
- Engine: V10
Image Credit: Audi USA.
36.Urus
- Manufacturer: Lamborghini
- Engine: V8
Image Credit: Lamborghini Urus by Alexander Migl (CC BY).
35. Reventon
- Manufacturer: Lamborghini
- Engine: V12
Image Credit: Taco Ekkel / Wiki Commons.
34. Supra Mk IV
- Manufacturer: Toyota
- Engine: 6-CYL
Image Credit: Gold Pony / Wiki Commons.
33. 911 GT3 RS (2019)
- Manufacturer: Porsche
- Engine: 6-CYL
Image Credit: Porsche.
32. S8 V10
- Manufacturer: Audi
- Engine: V10
Image Credit: Loadbeta / Wiki Commons.
31. Huracan
- Manufacturer: Lamborghini
- Engine: V10
Image Credit: Lamborghini.
30. Veneno
- Manufacturer: Lamborghini
- Engine: V12
Image Credit: Clément Bucco-Lechat / Wiki Commons.
29. M3 (E30)
- Manufacturer: BMW
- Engine: 4-CYL
Image Credit: iStock.
28. P1
- Manufacturer: McLaren
- Engine: V8
Image Credit: McLaren P1 LM by junaidrao (CC BY).
27. Superbird
- Manufacturer: Plymouth
- Engine: V8
Image Credit: ckirkman / Wiki Commons.
26. 911 GT3 RS
- Manufacturer: Porsche
- Engine: 6-CYL
Image Credit: 2008 Porsche 911 GT3 by AVIA BavARia (CC BY).
25. Corvette ZR1
- Manufacturer: Chevrolet
- Engine: V8
Image Credit: Corvette ZR1 by Lazzo1 (CC BY).
24. C63 AMG
- Manufacturer: Mercedes-Benz
- Engine: V8
Image Credit: Mercedes-Benz.
23. GT
- Manufacturer: Ford
- Engine: 6-CYL
Image Credit: 2019 Ford Mustang GT 5.0 facelift Taken in Leamington Spa by Vauxford (CC BY-SA).
22. R8 V10
- Manufacturer: Audi
- Engine: V10
Image Credit: DarthArt /iStock.
21. Challenger SRT Demon
- Manufacturer: Dodge
- Engine: V8
Image Credit: FCA US LLC.
20. Sesto Elemento
- Manufacturer: Lamborghini
- Engine: V10
Image Credit: Wiki Commons.
19. Disco Volante
- Manufacturer: Alfa Romeo
- Engine: V8
Image Credit: Alfa Romeo Giulia QV (2015) by Vauxford (CC BY-SA).
18. Golf VR6 R32
- Manufacturer: Volkswagen
- Engine: 6-CYL
Image Credit: VOLKSWAGEN E GOLF by SAUD AL-OLAYAN (CC BY).
17. Giulia Quadrifoglio
- Manufacturer: Alfa Romeo
- Engine: 6-CYL
Image Credit: Alfa Romeo Giulia QV (2015) by Vauxford (CC BY-SA).
16. Gran Turismo
- Manufacturer: Maserati
- Engine: V8
Image Credit: Maserati.
15. M5 (E60)
- Manufacturer: BMW
- Engine: V10
Image Credit: BMW E39 M5 by Terabass (CC BY-SA).
14. 430 Scuderia
- Manufacturer: Ferrari
- Engine: V8
Image Credit: Rudolf Stricker / Wiki Commons.
13. Skyline GT-R R34
- Manufacturer: Nissan
- Engine: 6-CYL
Image Credit: Nissan.
12. Islero
- Manufacturer: Lamborghini
- Engine: V12
Image Credit: Craig Howell / Wiki Commons.
11. Viper ACR
Manufacturer: Dodge
Engine: V10
Image Credit: Dodge Viper ACR by Chad Horwedel (CC BY-NC-ND).
10. Zonda Revolucion
- Manufacturer: Pagani
- Engine: V12
Image Credit: Pagani.
9. Vulcan
- Manufacturer: Aston Martin
- Engine: V12
Image Credit: ClassicCars.com.
8. GT40
- Manufacturer: Ford
- Engine: V8
Image Credit: Courtesy of rmsothebys.com.
7. LFA
- Manufacturer: Lexus
- Engine: V10
Image Credit: ewg3D/istockphoto.
6. Zonda R
- Manufacturer: Pagani
- Engine: V12
Image Credit: The Car Spy / Wiki Commons.
5. 458 Italia
- Manufacturer: Ferrari
- Engine: V8
Image Credit: Sjo/istockphoto.
4. FXX K
- Manufacturer: Ferrari
- Engine: V12
Image Credit: Ferrari.
3. LaFerrari
- Manufacturer: Ferrari
- Engine: V12
Image Credit: Ferrari.
2. F12 Berlinetta
- Manufacturer: Ferrari
- Engine: V12
Image Credit: 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO Berlinetta by Sicnag (CC BY).
1. Enzo
- Manufacturer: Ferrari
- Engine: V12
Ready to listen to them all? You can check them out here.
Related:
This article originally appeared on BudgetDirect.com and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org.
Image Credit: Heritage Images/Contributor/Hulton Archive/Getty Images.
