The 10 best‑sounding cars on The Crew: Motorfest

1. Audi R8 Spyder

We open with the Audi R8 Spyder. Roofless versions of cars are welcome additions to any open world racer, given they make so little sense on circuit-based games. On The Crew: Motorfest, it also happens to be one of the best-sounding cars available. That 5.2-litre V10 has been captured in such great detail, with the nuances of part-throttle, the rev figure at which the valves open and more perfectly played back. In the game, as in real life, it’s absolutely symphonic.

2. Aston Martin V8 Vantage

The part-throttle sounds will become a theme throughout this list, as that’s where the attention to detail really is noted. And few other cars depend on throttle position quite like the 2000s V8 Vantage, with its famous valve-happy exhaust. You can go all the way to red line, albeit slowly, and the valves won’t open. But plant your ‘foot’ to the ‘floor’ and a familiar and lovable rasp greets you. It’s a simply fantastic and unmistakable soundtrack, that anyone will be able to tell what it is. Go on, tell a car nut mate to close their eyes as you give it a rev. They’ll know exactly what it is.

3. Lamborghini Countach LPI-800-4

Here’s a weird one for our list but one that shows Ivory Tower haven’t phoned in the sounds on this game. The V12 found in the LPI-800-4 Countach is also in the Aventador, Sian, Essenza, Veneno and, loosely speaking, the cover-starring Revuelto. Do any of them sound like this? Not a bit of it. For some reason, the Countach sounds like an Aventador SVJ with a Gintani exhaust. That’s to say, like a ‘90s F1 car on the road. Inaccurate compared to stock? Yes. Better? Also yes. It’s properly awesome.

4. Toyota Supra A80

It would be rude for such an iconic car – and one of the game’s cover cars no less – to not sound great. Thankfully, a good 90 percent of the 2JZ’s aural charms have made it through the microphones and on to this game, from the howl of the buldup, to the whoosh of the blowoff as you let go. All throughout the revs, all through the throttle travel, there’s nuance and depth to the sound of the Supra. A narrow win too, given that on the Beta, it didn’t quite have the magic. That magic is kind of similar to the Countach, in that it doesn’t sound like a ‘standard’ A80 Supra, which of course was relatively muted and made only 325PS. It sounds like one that’s been fiddled with, like it has a better exhaust and more power. And really, that’s what we want, isn’t it?

5. Porsche Cayman GT4

We’ll go ahead and say that this all-round is the best car on the game so far, in terms of being fun to drive. It’s got the right amount of power for the map size, the right amount of grip for the roads and of course, a manual gearbox, which makes it more fun on the wheel. It also sounds absolutely superb and is a dead-ringer for the real thing, even though any number of other Porsche flat six sounds could have been subbed in. Even the slightly newer 718 Spyder (also on the game) sounds different because of its newer (and worse-sounding, IMO) 4.0-litre flat-six. The Cayman is a proper vocalist as you dance between the gears and through the revs.

6. Mitsubishi Evolution VI

A bit of a left turn from all the exotics (minus the Supra) but The Crew: Motorfest does feature a great range of JDM legends, including the original NSX, the R34 Skyline and the FD3 Mazda RX7. The likes of the 300ZX and both Mazda RX-7s (great idles on the latter), have really good sounds and as above, the Supra is fantastic. Coming out on top though, of even the RX7s and the Skyline, is the Evo, which somehow, some way, gets the distinctive 4G63T ‘Evo’ sound across. It’s broad, big-chested, with a big laggy turbo roar as it climbs up through the revs. It’s hard to explain, but it just sounds right.

7. Jaguar F-Type SVR

Sounds don’t get a lot more distinctive than those of the Jaguar F-Type V8. That 5.0-litre supercharged V8 is unmistakable in real life and, as we’ve discussed with other cars on this list, that sound is perfectly recreated on The Crew: Motorfest, even down to the interior supercharger sound. We don’t think that sound has been as faithfully reproduced on any game to date, so if you love the V8 F-Type, seen in hot SVR form on Motorfest, you’ve got to listen to this.

8. Audi TT RS

The drawl and howl of a good five-cylinder is an almost mythical noise in the motoring world. Rarified and often in cars you might not expect, or don’t remember, it’s normally the preserve of old Volvos and Fords. Audi soldiers on with a 2.5-litre turbo five in its RS3 and TT RS (the latter now off the new car market) and that epic noise can be enjoyed on the latest instalment of The Crew. While the RS3 joins the game’s roster in a few months, the TT RS is ready to go now, joining that warbling five-pot Focus RS too. Such cool things.

9. Porsche 911 1964 

We’ve already included the Cayman of course but the original 911 is here to illustrate that there’s a range to the flat-six noises you’ll get on this game. Not all of them are great but this one is. The original 911 makes all the growls and crackles you’d expect of its 2.0-litre air-cooled carbureted engine, with your friends able to enjoy plenty of gargling on the overrun during overtakes.

10. Ferrari 812 Superfast

A sub-200PS 911 not quite enough for you on the latest Crew instalment? Fear not, there has to be a great-sounding Ferrari, right? Right, the 6.5-litre 812 Superfast is that Ferrari, with the developer’s attention to detail evident in the sound as your viewing angle changes. From the back, the shriek of that V12 out of its exhausts is overwhelming. Move round to the front, and the delectable sound of that monster mill opening its throttle bodies to suck that air in dominates. What a special thing.

Special mentions and cars that need to be improved

Accurate sounds are all over this game  – the new BMW M4 sounds just like the real thing, even if the real thing doesn’t exactly sound the best. Merc’s turbocharged V8s sound amazing in the AMG GT and C63. 

We have to mention, though, that there are a few missed opportunities. Why don’t the Pagani Zonda F, McLaren F1, Lamborghini Murcielago LP640 and Ferrari Enzo sound anything like their incredible real-life counterparts? Why don’t the 911 Speedster and GT3 RS shriek like they should? A real shame that even with the great sounds, we could have had so many more. We wonder what happened…

Either way, the game is an absolute win for car sounds, if not a complete one. So go get stuck in…