Silent electric cars get a Clarkson growl

The Sunday Times
May 10, 2009
Chris Gourlay

ELECTRIC cars may be the transport of the future, but their engines will reverberate to the sound of the past.
The European Union is set to follow America’s lead in forcing manufacturers to fit the vehicles with a simulator to make the same noise as the throaty revs of a petrol engine.
The whirr of the electric motors is so quiet that cyclists and pedestrians - especially blind people - are in danger because they may not notice the cars approaching until it is too late.
Prototypes of the simulators, which mimic the sound of a family saloon but can also be adjusted to the growl of a sports car, are already being tested in Britain.
Trials are being conducted by Lotus, the sports car maker, in conjunction with Guide Dogs for the Blind. The device consists of a speaker under the bonnet and wired to the accelerator pedal, which simulates the revving sound of a petrol engine and becomes louder as the vehicle accelerates.
Supporters want the devices introduced before the increasing number of electric vehicles cause serious injuries.
The government has set aside £250m to subsidise the take-up of low-carbon vehicles nationwide.
Jeremy Clarkson, the Top Gear presenter and Sunday Times columnist, said: “The EU hasn’t done its sums. Something like 80% of the noise of cars comes from the tyres, not the engine or exhaust.
“When they call in the car industry to tell them, I expect the motor manufacturers will roll their eyes and say, ‘You hopeless money-grabbing bastards, you do realise you are talking nonsense?’ ”