Lotus Engineering planning a silent car

Plans for the development of innovative noise-cancelling and noise-creation systems have been made public by Lotus Engineering. The noise-cancelling system will be utilized to enhance cabin refinement by preventing external noises from filtering in, while the noise-creation systems will be employed to alert pedestrians of the presence of the otherwise almost silent hybrid and electric vehicles.

The carmaker dubs these systems as Road Noise Cancellation, Engine Order Cancellation and Electronic Sound Synthesis and these were developed in tandem with Harman Becker Automotive Systems. Manufacturers will have the ability to largely improve in-cabin refinement with the presence of Road Noise Cancellation and Engine Order Cancellation systems.
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Joe_Limon - 4/18/2009 10:19:09 PM

+1 Boost

So are they working on making the car quieter in general? or just to the people in the cabin? Most of the noise my car makes is just road noise from the tires.

PPower - 4/19/2009 12:39:07 AM

+1 Boost

The noise cancellation technology is supposed to create opposite wavelength sound through the stereo for road, wind, engine, tire noise. This would be similar to what Acura has used in the RL since 05 with ANC Active Noise Cancellation. However on the RL, I never found a way to demonstrate if/how well it was actually working.

Type707 - 4/20/2009 10:24:54 PM

+2 Boost

Shhhhhh....Silence.

upwards - 4/21/2009 9:20:06 AM

+1 Boost

Sounds like a device that will add more weight to the car and raise the price of the car at the same time. Most cars made today are quiet enough for me this just shows how pickey we drivers have became over the years about cars.

racinghart - 4/24/2009 4:35:12 AM

+1 Boost

sir - you may have missed the point about Lotus. It's heritage is based on lightweight cars, and as a result they don't benefit from the huge amounts of heavy sound deadening materials most cars rely on. A compact electronic system that utilises existing car features adds very little weight, but will boost refinement in cars that would otherwise seem very raw comnpared with more traditional competitors. This can be a good thing when you want a purely track focused car that's all about driver involvement (340R - 2-Eleven - Exige etc), but when you are trying to broaden your portfolio and push into new segments, then refinement becomes a greater priority.