Lotus is digging deep into its heritage in order to help find a voice for its all-electric hypercar, the Evija. It’s teaming up with London-based pop music producer Patrick Patrikios to create a sound for the car, based on the howling V8 of none other than the Type 49 F1 racer.
Lotus Evija will have an F1‑based sound | FOS Future Lab
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“We wanted to create a soundscape for the Evija that was recognisably and distinctively Lotus,” Patrick said. “Something intrinsically connected to Lotus so we could set an audio blueprint for its future electric cars.
“I adjusted the replay speeds and digital filtering of the Type 49 to generate a soundscape for the Evija – it was a very organic process. There’s a purity to that V8, a raw edge and an emotion that stirs something in your soul, just like the best songs.”
Lotus claims that the slowed-down sound of the 49’s DFV actually had similar frequencies to the ambient sounds of the Evija’s electric powertrain. Colour us sceptical but curious...
Patrikios in addition to crafting the ambient driving sound of the Evija – we can’t say engine sound, can we – also designed pretty well every bong and tune the Evija is to make, from the seat belt alarm, to the door opening sound.
The 49 is perhaps the definitive Lotus racing car, debuting the iconic Cosworth-Ford DFV V8 engine and winning first time out with Jim Clark at the wheel at Zandvoort in 1967. The next year with a perfected car, the championship was there for the taking. Following the tragic death of Jim Clark, Graham Hill drove the Type 49 to championship victory in 1968.
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The 49 has 12 wins, 23 podiums, 19 pole positions and 13 fastest laps to its name. Meanwhile, the incredible DFV engine it debuted, won races for various F1 teams all the way until 1982, with derivations of the engine continuing even after then.
So yes, production Evijas will burble around emitting a sound containing ghostly echoes of one of the all-time great Formula 1 cars. The through-line is there, if you look hard enough. Lotus will for sure be hoping and expecting the Evija to revolutionise hypercars and revitalise the company, the way the 49 revolutionised F1 in 1967.
Welcome to FOS Future Lab where we report on the latest visions of future technology. We'll be boldly covering flying cars, hoverboards, jetpacks and spaceships with plenty of down to earth topics in between.
Lotus 49 image courtesy of Motorsport Images.
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