Bentley’s Virtual Sound, Even Mobilizing an Orchestra

Bentley has even mobilized an orchestra in the process of creating virtual sounds to add emotion to its EVs. Thanks to this, they say they have faithfully recreated the sound of their historic V8 engine.

Many people still hesitate to purchase electric vehicles because they lack emotion. In particular, those who pursue the joy of driving tend to postpone buying an EV. There are various factors that make up the emotion they talk about, but surprisingly, the part that exerts the greatest influence is sound.

Manufacturers are well aware of this fact. That is why many manufacturers have tried to compensate for the lack of emotion by incorporating virtual sounds almost as soon as they introduced EVs. For example, BMW commissioned Hans Zimmer for sound design. The most advanced company in this field is Hyundai Motor.

They have meticulously refined Active Sound Design with the introduction of the Ioniq 5 N and 6 N, and not only that, they have recreated sound changes linked to RPM and fuel cut sounds, but also created virtual shift shocks with the motor. Their results are quite impressive and have been particularly well-received overseas.

The virtual sound of the Genesis Magma introduced recently was even more astonishing. It was basic to bring over the engine sound in its entirety, and it restored the emotion that was considered lacking in electric vehicles. Various manufacturers are working on adding emotion to EVs in this way, and Bentley has now joined that ranks.

Bentley has stated that they are designing an engine sound imbued with their identity for their first electric SUV, which will be released soon. One interesting point is that this work is being carried out in a fairly classical way rather than a digital one. To be more specific, they are using sounds from instruments played by real people, not synthesizers, as the source for the virtual sound.

The reason they adopted this approach is precisely the irregularity that is possible because it is human. First, Bentley recorded what charm their past V8 engine sounds had and analyzed them in the studio. In this process, they realized that emotional connection occurs mainly in the rhythm, not in the repetition of mechanical sounds.

So they looked for a way to create the most human-like sense of rhythm, and therefore formed an orchestra centered around drums to record the source. In particular, what they focused on was the irregularity inherent in the sound of internal combustion engines. In reality, the engine sound we hear varies slightly depending on various conditions such as RPM, but also the engine type and structure, fuel mixture amount, and air density.

Therefore, it does not always create waves of constant tone and pitch, but rather produces irregular pitch and waves according to the situation at hand. This aligns with the irregularity inherent in humans, and for this reason, people sensitive to emotion sometimes feel a sense of life in this irregular rhythm. A representative example is the sound of a vintage Harley-Davidson OHV engine. In fact, it cannot be said to be mechanically perfect, but from that imperfection comes a unique beat and rhythm, and one often feels a sense of identity in it.

Having analyzed where the emotional experience through sound originates in this way, Bentley recreated the irregular pulsation unique to internal combustion engines with drums. Of course, they did not use only drums. They meticulously built up the sound using the entire orchestra, including bass guitar and viola.

According to Bentley, the goal of this sound design was to recreate classic V8 engines, such as their own 6 3/4-liter V8 engine and the supercharged V8 engine of the 1930s, while being original. In addition, they wanted to reflect the driver’s acceleration response and driving patterns to bring out the warm sensation unique to classic machinery that moved together with a real person.

Since we have not yet been able to hear it in detail, we cannot know how human and warm this sound will express emotion, but at least it is a better approach than obsessing over sci-fi interpretations just because it is an EV, and so we look forward to and support their challenge.

However, unfortunately, there will surely be parts that are ultimately lacking in order to fully enjoy their results. Of course, that is not their problem. To 100% understand what emotion their sound displays when combined with a car, one ultimately has to experience the sum total of what they have created. In other words, you can only know by buying Bentley’s upcoming electric SUV. Yes, in the end, what was lacking was not understanding but financial means.