As the automotive industry turns towards EVs as the future of personal transportation, many enthusiasts lament the lack of an exhaust note. With GM’s plan to launch 30 EVs by 2025, this mode of (… brace for impact…) silent transportation could arrive sooner rather than later. Currently, GM’s cross-town rival, Dodge, is working to provide a solution to this conundrum that aims to bring an ICE-engine feel to an electric vehicle. Called Fratzonic chambered exhaust, Dodge demonstrated the system at the 2022 SEMA Show this year.
“We can’t share a lot about it but it essentially uses a transducer and takes a ton of inputs from the powertrain from the driver. It uses the transducer to make the air ways make the sound. That’s why we call it an exhaust, because it’s an accessory that we can tune,” explained Kevin Hellman, Dodge muscle car product lead, to GM Authority at SEMA 2022.
As context, a transducer is an electronic device that converts energy from one form to another. The best example of a transducer would be a microphone or a loudspeaker. However, when prompted about this, Hellman insisted it wasn’t a speaker.
With the development of an EV exhaust system, Dodge is trying to give electric muscle cars a little of the sound and feel of an ICE-powered machine. In fact, Hellman told us that Dodge brought the Fratzonic concept to SEMA 2022 to receive consumer feedback to aid its development of the system. Research participants were given an opportunity to evaluate and rank different tunes of the Charger Daytona SRT Concept’s “exhaust note.”
For reference, the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT concept was unveiled at the 2022 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, giving us our first look at the concept beyond its initial reveal. The vehicle represents the company’s first all-electric concept that likely foreshadows an upcoming Dodge Challenger EV.
The exterior of the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept is covered in Tri-coat Stryker Red paint, with a total of nine unique paint hues and nine different wheel combinations planned for display in conjunction with upgradeable power levels. Speaking of those, Dodge announced a tiered power system with nine possible powertrain output levels for the all-electric Dodge Charger muscle car concept, including a 400-volt system with a base-level of 455 horsepower, upgradeable to 495 horsepower, 535 horsepower, 590 horsepower, 630 horsepower, and 670 horsepower. Dodge also teased an 800-volt SRT Banshee powertrain package capable of producing much, much more.
Carbon fiber wheels and drag radial tires complete the performance look.
A GM Authority rendering of a potential Corvette EV sedan
It will be interesting to see where Dodge takes this technology in the future, and how customers will react to the artificial exhaust noise. In fact, something else to watch will be how GM responds to the development of this technology, and if it will create a similar system for its slew of EVs, which is expected to include several high-performance offerings, including as two electric Corvettes – a Corvette EV crossover and a Corvette EV sedan. In fact, GM’s EV lineup currently includes the Hummer EV Pickup, which – in its highest-performing format – is rated at 1,000 horsepower and 15,000 pounds of earth-moving torque.
Comments
Dodge following fords lead in a way, ford pipes the sound of a V8 through the radio speakers on the V6 trucks.
Like a kid that puts playing cards in the spokes of a bicycle wheel to make it sound like a motorcycle !
Pretty sure GM has been adding “augmented” electronic engine noise since at least the launch of the current gen Camaro… Stupid features to satisfy the naive expectations of stupid customers.
If you want it to sound like a v8 then just friggin buy the v8!
Sounds like a caged lion. Should it be followed by an MGM movie?
Corvette sedan and crossover. Probably inevitable.
Even Ferrari has gone down that route.
I will never own an electric muscle car but if I did I would rather be in silence than listen to that noise, It sounds horrible compared to my SS
Sounds Sick, don’t really sound like an internal combustion engine. Sounds more like a lion/tiger at the Zoo growling. No Thank You, I’ll stick to my ICE vehicles, Love the sound of a throaty V8 engine, Thanx…
This has to be the dumbest idea an auto manufacturer has ever imagined. It is an insult to those of us who want to keep our gasoline engines. These marketing geniuses probably think if they could also simulate the exhaust smell of a V8, then even more people would buy their cars.
What a joke ,always trying to push the environmental lies agenda. When the batterys blow l don’t want to be around
Well, I guess a pair of speakers is cheaper than a real exhaust system. Just don’t floor it or you’ll blow a speaker,
Just like lip-syncing singers, phony bulls@@t, a pacifier at best.
What they are failing to tell you is this is a battery car with now a battery-operated exhaust system which in turn will give you fewer miles per charge. The Dem government mandates the auto industry to go all EV by 2035. GM is going to have 30 EVs by 2025. This is why it is so hard for customers to get the ICE vehicles they orders while dealerships are pushing EVs. The US infrastructure is old and the majority is powered by fossil fuels. Biden said, he is closing coal mines, eliminating fracking and stopping all drilling, and going solar and wind. How long is this transition going to take (2035)? The cost of charging a car is going to be higher. People are not going to wait in line, plus 20+ minutes to charge their EV. In addition, no one is looking at the environmental effects of producing or disposing of batteries. It’s worse than fossil fuel. Europe tried it and is going back to fossil fuels. China and India are full speed ahead in mining coal and building coal plants. America is going wind and solar, It’s all about power and money, not one ounce of common sense. 3-5 years from now or maybe sooner the lack of energy to power the US, along with the cost and consumer disgust will headline the news daily. Enjoy the new America led by what Biden called “The New Liberal World Order”.
20+ minutes to charge their EV. That’s if your next in line, what if your 3rd or 4th in line?
We are EXACTLY the same here in Oz. We are being pushed down this path with the Clowns currently running the show here. The Leader Clown here is currently on a 9 day Junket Tour of the world to SPRIUK how good he is and push Climate Change. He is doing this world tour in a NON ELECTRIC AEROPLANE. Please somebody advise me that this Leader Clown is not a HYPOCRIT.
Thank you, i am so glad the dems lost the house in november, that’s what they get.
You pick up your check from the American Petroleum Institute yet?
Sounds terrible. Like a speaker playing a recording run through an auto-tuner.
That said, a lot of salty ICE people here. Guys, electric motors predate ICEs. They are ridiculously efficient and absolute monsters of power. You don’t have to be a tree hugger to appreciate that they have *triple* the power output per unit input than an ICE.
Bunch of luddites yelling that they’ll stick with their horse drawn carriages…
And it takes four or five times longer to recharge than it takes to get a full tank of gas. Even then, EVs do not offer the range that today’s ICE vehicles offer. If electric vehicles predated ICE vehicles, how come it took 120+ years and many false starts from gaining any market penetration?
BEV’s are like the new “muscle cars”, only fast in a straight line. And modern “muscle cars” have evolved into certified sports cars. Yea ok maybe a Tesla can beat a V8 in a straight line, but Teslas don’t even stand a chance against a Camaro on the race track where handling matters. Tesla Model S Plaid can beat almost any car in a straight line, but it ran the Nurburgring 20sec slower than a Camaro ZL1, which is like 100+ car lengths. Electric cars are heavy and have terrible handling. And no electric motors are not that much faster than internal combustion engines. A base Tesla Model 3 does 0-60mph in around 5-6sec, that’s the same performance you can get out of a 4 cylinder turbo engine.
Bill,
A battery is not a prime mover. Internal combustion proponents aren’t doing this as a political statement against “environmentalists.” They see the inherent advantages that a mechanical engine provides which cannot be replicated by batteries.. What you battery electric vehicle guys don’t understand is that there are plenty of people who don’t want their cars to be like a cell phone or a laptop. No matter how you look at it, a lithium battery electric vehicle is a disposable affair. My internal combustion vehicles can run on non-petroleum, environmentally friendly fuels and they can do it for thousands of miles and for decades (or centuries, in the case of daily driven model Ts). An engine can always be rebuilt. A battery will always become obsolete and they are not as easily “serviceable” as an engine. Unlike an engine, a battery is not a prime mover. The mechanical nature of the engine is something that many people consider to be an inherent advantage over the lithium battery electric vehicle. There should be development of environmentally friendly fuels. It is possible and it will happen, because the internal combustion engine is here to stay.
Yea BEVs are way dirtier in their pollution footprint than ICE vehicles. Just manufacturing a BEV creates way more pollution than manufacturing an ICE vehicle. I read a study a while back, and apparently you have to daily drive a BEV for 5-6 years before the use of electricity for fuel balances out the terrible pollution it took to make the car, before you make any savings in pollution footprint compared to an ICE vehicle. Also when an ICE vehicle has been driven into the ground it can be turned back into scrap metal. Those huge battery packs in a BEV can’t be recycled, and new batteries have to be made.
I’ve said this before and I’m sticking to my beliefs. BEVs are only temporary, they are not sustainable. The future of automobiles is in clean fuel internal combustion engines. Whether that’s in hydrogen or some other source of clean burning fuel. Battery electric vehicles are not the future, they are a temporary stepping stone.
That sounds pretty good for not being real. Better than nothing at all.
This is older news and I’ve heard this about a month ago when they were showing all this off at the electronics show in Vegas or somewhere like that.
Personally, I dislike the way this one sounds. Others above have correctly described it like a sick lion in a cage. But what I really don’t get is why? Maybe I’m missing something, but a large part of the allure of an EV is the quiet! Don’t get me wrong, I’m old enough to recall real muscle cars with great sounds before all the restrictions. This sounds nothing like that. Maybe it’s because I’m out here in the very noisy Los Angeles area where we have more than our share of morons blasting their Mopar exhaust noise, motorcycles that are way too noisy as well as the Japanese car guys with their fart-can exhaust sounds. Guess I just prefer an EV that is very quiet.
Wow, we are so resistant to change.
Dustin: Being resistant to change in this case would be the ones who are attempting to make an EV sound more like an ICE. Being open to change would be those of us who are ok with the lack of noise from a vehicle.
Especially change stuffed down our throats from clueless hypocritical politicians.
The majority of people are not resistant to change it’s the process of implementing change. You don’t implement change with mandates, you do it with a strategy, plan, and a reasonable timeline. Every state should evaluate their current electrical grid, project its population growth for the next 50 years, the number of vehicles, etc. Based on their findings, build a plan, and start adding to the grid infrastructure to make it scaleable to accommodate the additional load. Start planning out locations for charging stations i.e. city, suburbs, apartment complexes, rural, etc. then start building. In parallel start building EVs. The bottom line, this administration wants to stop all fossil fuels and said we will be powered by wind and solar. OK, where’s the plan and timeline? By not having a state-by-state plan, inflation is going to continue to rise cause of the lack of fossil fuel, energy costs and blackouts will rise, and people, businesses, and the economy are going to suffer. If you want people to change, plan, and share, don’t mandate! I am sure I will get a lot of negative comments which is fine. Everyone has the right to their own opinion, but if this country continues on its path of destruction, ask to see the overall state-by-state energy plan for the next 25-50 years. I guarantee you there isn’t one.
Watched this with a open mind and wow, that is pretty bad. What’s next, using the battery to simulate the vibration of a v8?
If they can add a dry-ice machine or one or those theatre smoke makers to provide exhaust smoke, then I’ll buy it.
Traxxas has been doing this for years!
the car itself is quite attractive, it does not need Poseur sounds to attract attention, but I can say that for a certain segment of the Challenger crowd they will adore this, the other side will love it because they can blare beats to the world without Trunk buzz.
I have had to evacuate from hurricanes on several occasions. I don’t see that being possible in a plug in car. I drive a Challenger and a F150. As long as I can keep them on the road I will not own an ev.
The World is not ready for EV’s, America hasn’t the infrastructure to handle EV’s, homes and businesses. There has been rolling Blackouts across the Left Coast for years, in CA they are telling people not to plug in their EV’s at certain times of the day/night. I guess they expect “everyone” to either use public transportation, or W-A-L-K to work to pay your mortgage and put food on the table. There is no public transportation where I live, not even close! The powers the be (we all know who that is) are Fruit Loops, we will not be ready for these vehicles in my lifetime, Please STOP forcing EV’s on us. especially 💩-y sounding ones! Just my 2 cents
Sorry, wasn’t meant as a Reply but I’m pretty much with you. I’m going to drive the wheels off my CTS & C8, No EV’s for me.
You are absolutely spot on. Imagine even if 75% of the vehicles were EVs and the order to evacuate came in. It would be a disaster and hundreds of people would be stranded. What most people don’t realize is the amount of time and distance you need to drive to evacuate. It could be a couple of hundred miles and if you are not fully charged good luck finding a supercharging station. Our current infrastructure is not prepared to convert all vehicles to EVs. Wake up America.
Can we upload our own audio for this? I want coconuts clopping together… or myself saying “vrooom….VVRROOOOOMMMM!”
What a joke. Is this a vendor developed item by Mattel or Hasbro?
The sounds made by this concept remind me of the sounds an arcade video game makes when no one is playing it to attract attention to itself. Really not impressive, considering they could have sampled actual V8 exhaust noises instead. And, it sounds tinny – no bass rumble.
Over-compensate much? This is even more embarrassing than the noise pollution for small egos we are used to with obsolete exhausts. Did the first Model T make horsey sounds?
A fart can audio system for exhaust. Neat! Change the sound to the “Ice Cream Man” sound or possibly a “Mewow” to sound like a cat EV is a joke! No thanks! Love the Hellcat roar and the nostalgic Petrol fire breathing power. The naturally aspirated Challenger and Charger will increase in future values. I believe the globalist push for EV will bankrupt the auto industry. Let me guess this EV nightmare will set you back almost $100k. Fools and their money are easily parted.
Once EV bankrupts the auto industry and the ancient over whelmed power grids fail. Which auto makers will be begging for a Government bailout from taz payers first? This is all about Government control and the globalist ploy for revenue. EV is a joke! Biden sought in his “build back America” mega billion dollar plan, all vehicles by 2026 to have electronic kill switches installed. That way big brother can disable all vehicles. Just imagine the shared expense of this EV ploy and our electric utilities. I read that one Travel centers for commercial vehicles will need the same amount of power for the EV semi’s, as the power needed for a small city. Brilliant! No one will be surprised or “Shocked” by the disaster EV will create for American
s. Enjoy! No Worries, Gates and the Oracle want to build nuclear power plants in our back yards to supply the nation electricity at a premium.