It is good to know that there are still cars out there where the sound of an internal combustion engine is an integral part of its DNA.
It is good to know that there are still cars out there where the sound of an internal combustion engine is an integral part of its DNA.
Pretoria: While the world is moving progressively quicker to silent EVs, it’s good to know that there are still cars out there where the sound of an internal combustion engine is an integral part of its DNA.
Such a car is the new Ford Ranger Raptor.
It starts with the petrol 3.0-litre V6 twin turbo that’s good for 292kW and 583Nm, fitted with a new active valve twin-exhaust system and four drive modes. The valves open to change the sound of the car according to the setting and the driver’s mood.
The system can be controlled by the driver’s preference, using the ‘Exhaust Mode’ button or automatically according to the drive mode they’ve selected: Quiet, Normal, Sport or Bajai. Crank up the volume and listen to it in the video below:
“For the next Ranger Raptor, we wanted to really make the character of the car come alive, to emphasise the power and define the presence of the vehicle, but not make the car tiring when it didn’t need to be. We spent hundreds of hours tuning and developing the sound of the vehicle and really think we have something that sounds right for the bakkie,” said Justin Capicchiano, the Ford Performance and special vehicle engineering manager.
A powerful exhaust note for petrol heads is always a head-turner but sometimes not in a good way.
Like its Mustang stable mate, there’s a quiet mode which is more appropriate for pushing the start button when your neighbour inside the estate is grumpy because of the kids playing in the pool the night before.
The Raptor also allows you to schedule a quiet start. It can be set to always start in that mode, or a quiet time with scheduled start and end times, to prevent a fracas with the neighbours.
The exhaust note is changed by pressing a button on the steering wheel adorned with… well an exhaust.
Quiet is obviously the softest setting, Normal, the default setting which includes Slippery, Mud/Ruts and Rock Crawl modes, Sport for slightly louder and spirited driving and Baja, the loudest setting, for off-road use.
“There’s a lot involved in the science of sound, and we wanted the Raptor to sound the way it looks and drives. The team had to consider and model everything from the whistle produced by the turbochargers to filtering out prolonged tones when driving at a constant speed,” said Capicchiano.
“From computer modelling to physical prototypes, the intention was to create a distinctive and emotionally exciting engine note. We wanted people to know it’s a Ranger Raptor driving down the road before they see it.”
You can also download the distinctive Baja exhaust note as a ringtone. It can be downloaded from the Ford South Africa website.
IOL Motoring
