The sound is having its debut performance on the i4 Concept Gran Coupe and will feature on the production version of that new electric car when it arrives in 2021, a year after the first new-gen battery-powered model, the iX3 SUV, makes its debut later this year. Lots of other all-electric and plug-in hybrid BMWs are coming as well and they will all feature the electric soundscape as a standard feature.
As far as we understand it, the sound will play automatically whenever the car starts or stops “to imbue extra emotional depth by connecting the driver with the vehicle’s character”. There’s an acoustic accompaniment to opening a door as well, and the sound will change depending on which mode is chosen; BMW is promising more intense tones when “Sport” is selected.
“The ability to design the sound in our vehicles makes it possible for us to spark positive emotions,” Renzo Vitale tells us. “The new start/stop sound is intended to instil a sense of excitement at the prospect of electric driving.”