BMW's Active Sound Design is like putting your head under the hood of the new M5

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We know EVs of the future will lose their ability to silently kill, but how about replicating engine noise for the enjoyment of bonafide petrolheads? Eagle-eyed readers will note that's a promised feature of the upcoming (but ever-delayed) Fisker Karma, but here beating it to market is BMW's upcoming M5 -- sort of. München's implementation coined "Active Sound Design," won't blast engine machinations on the outside, but instead internally overlays the harmonic soundtrack of the twin turbo V8 over internal speakers as you drive. That audial racket is based on throttle position, engine revs and speed, and gets even louder when the car is set in Sport or Sport+ modes. No word on if you'll be able to customize with other soundtracks (a la Karma), but there's nothing a little enthusiast hackery can't fix...

BMW's Active Sound Design is like putting your head under the hood of the new M5 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Sep 2011 06:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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