The Lotus Evija’s electric motor noise will be based on a V8 F1 car

By topgear, 15 March 2021

Considering a Lotus Evija in your life, but worried that it’s not going to be noisy enough for you? Concerned that the absence of a revving internal combustion engine isn’t going to provide enough kicks and giggles? Good news: Lotus has announced it is working on a new soundtrack inspired by its Type 49 Formula One car.

The Norfolk-based manufacturer has teamed up with British music producer Patrick Patrikios to help develop the score, using the V8 engine noise of the Type 49’s Cosworth-Ford DFV as the starting point. Think of it as a retro remix, basically.

To develop the new soundtrack, which will be played externally to prevent distracted pedestrians accidentally walking out in front of a brand-new hypercar, Patrikios took a digital recording of the 49’s engine noise and slowed it down, creating a similar frequency to the natural driving sound produced by the Evija’s all-electric powertrain. Not quite a thundering V8 bellow every time your foot hits the floor, then, but better than deathly silence and whatever they’re playing on Capital FM.

Patrikios has also been tasked with developing the pops, bells and whistles for everything from the activation of the indicators to the seatbelt warning (safety first, chaps). Expect Lotus to drop the Greatest Hits album in the not too distant future.

The Type 49, should you have forgotten, was the first F1 car to use the Cosworth-Ford DFV engine. It won on its debut at the 1967 Dutch Grand Prix, driven by Jim Clark, and was on pole position at every race for the rest of the season. The following year Graham Hill won the F1 Drivers’ Championship in a Type 49. No pressure on the Evija’s autotuned shoulders, then…

The first electric car to be launched by Lotus, the 1,972bhp Evija is reportedly capable of 0-300kph in under nine seconds and is due to be launched later this year.