The way a car sounds is very important to most car enthusiasts, and most petrolheads can easily recall when they first heard a car that blew them away. To improve sound, some owners resort to aftermarket exhaust for the better or worse.. For this post, I would like to get a collective sense of the top 5 best sounding cars. A few rules:
1) If possible, include cars you’ve actually heard before and post a link that comes closest to the original sound so that those who may not have heard it before can appreciate it. When I looked for videos of my top 5 on the web there was a wide range of sound quality and some cases one or two cars didn’t quite sound like what I heard before
2) Include only regular production cars..no F1 cars or modified exhausts
3) Absolutely do “not” include cars that sound very good, but those that sound amazing. For example, the Nissan 350Z and the Audi R8 sound good, but I didn’t include them because we’re talking about only those that sound unbelievable (think Nuclear weapons versus holiday fireworks)
4) List your top 5 and number 1 must be your absolute best. One way to think of this, if an alien popped landed on earth and what to know what a great earth car sounded like, and you had one car to show as an example what car would it be?
5) Please listen before posting and commenting. I really want to get a collective sense of what people think
Okay here’s my list. Listen and let me know what your top 5 is?
1) Porsche Carrera GT – When you listen to a Carrera GT you wonder what happened to the other Porsche cars. Don’t get me wrong, 911s and Boxters sound good, but the GT is simply awesome. I guess that’s just one of the things the extra cash gets you. Sounds like a hungry 5,000 lb wolf that’s ready to go on a massacre
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muLwmMutDb0&feature=related
(sound off with f430) This comparison is great for those who think the F430 should be on this list
Rev and accelerate
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXXu2P7yiRw&feature=related
Longer video for fun-Tom Schrick Carrera GT sliding the GT on curvy mountain roads
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR2nVOK0WZU
2) Pagani Zonda – I had the Zonda tied initially with the Carrera GT, and it does remind me of the GT but in a somewhat other worldly fashion. Sounds like a pissed of banshee looking to kick someone’s you know what!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RngrdmFdKW8
Longer video - Top gear review
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbG77wlQ0yc
3) Lamborghini Murcielago. This car is just a beast, and I love it just for that. Its sounds and accelerates ferociously and Click on this link of the old (580hp) model and watch this chap take his Lambo from 0 to 200mph.. Nothing more needs to be said, except imagine how the LP640 would have eaten up the same highway
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Cw7v8Dka6c&feature=related
LP640
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KKIWEaiCFs&feature=related
4) Ferrari F360 – Some may wonder why the F430 or12 cylinder Ferraris are missing so I’ll explain. The 430 starts to sound ridiculously good at over 5K rpm (especially under full acceleration) when a metallic rasp kicks in. It doesn’t blow you away at Idle or just revving it. The 360 sounds better just cruising at low rpm but also sounds great under full acceleration. Ditto for Enzo.. Also, the first Carrera GT link above is a great comparison of the F430 and the Carrera GT.
F360 being flogged by Vikki from 5th gear.. For the record 5th gear sucks for many reasons, but that’s orthogonal to our discussion today so I’ll stop there.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8B5cOi-Sys
5) Lamborghini Gallardo
While not as beastly as big brother, the LP560 does accelerate at about the same rate and sounds incredible.
Jeremy reviewing on Top Gear. He’s a nutcase, but you can’t help but love his creativity and wits. Pulls together the best car show by a light year
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnLhQqH_GEA