They can do that now, they can make it sound like a spaceship too. They are still figuring out how to market it. Perhaps people will have the option to pick there own sound affects like they do ringtones. Thing is you would only hear it in your car. No impressing girls with it on the street or intimidating dudes in other cars.
The vast majority of people don’t care about that anyway. Getting from A to B safely and cheaply is what many people care about. Plus electric vehicle can out perform other types if cars.
I live around the corner from AMG, Porsche, Aston Martin, Maserati and Lotus dealerships so I hear lots of exotic cars. But today I heard an Audi R8 at full chat and man, I think I have new favorite sounding car. I have no idea if it was the V8 or the V10.
There are a lot of factors that go into how an engine sounds. The exhaust system is one thing, but the basic piston count and RPM range are probably the bigger factors. If you have more pistons and operate at a higher RPM range, you’re going to get a higher-pitched sound out of it. Formula One engines from 1995-2005 are probably the most extreme example of this, with as many as twelve cylinders and spinning up to 20,000 RPM. The pitch is further exaggerated by the Doppler effect when the car is coming toward you at 150+ MPH.
In addition to that, the layout of the engine matters. An inline 6-cylinder engine sounds different from a V6 engine, and a V6 engine sounds different from a V8 engine, even if they’re being operated at the same firing frequency (i.e. the V8 spinning 3/4 as fast as the V6). To my ear, V10 engines have a very unique sound, something you don’t hear on the road every day; very few mass-produced cars are fitted with a V10 engine. More pistons generally means smaller pistons, which generally means a higher RPM range. The V10 engine in the LFA redlines at 9,000 RPM, so compared to a family econobox with an I4 that redlines at 7,000 RPM, yes, the LFA is going to be ear-catchingly different. Just being different/exotic probably accounts for a good portion of the appeal of the LFA and other cars like it (Dodge Viper, Audi R8, etc.).
Strangely, there is an analogous conversation amongst cyclists. Back in the 1980s the Shimano corporation engineered a freewheel mechanism (the thing which allows you to coast without pedalling) to be virtually silent. This was considered ‘cool’ for a while but there has inevitably been a backlash and some now judge rear hubs by how pleasant the freewheel ‘buzz’ is.
I went to the 24 Hour of Le Mans every year from 2000-2009. The GT1 and GT2 cars had the most interesting sounds with v8’s v10’s and v12’s. For me the best sounding was a tossup between the Corvette v8 and Aston Martinv12. Once the LMP1 cars went to diesel you could hardly hear them at all.
I was at the Goodwood Festival of Speed one year before the F1 hybrid era. There was a Renault F1 plugged into it’s computer that could play the French national anthem just by varying the revs.
This is of course something that’s highly subjective. YouTube commenters (I know) seem to hate anything that doesn’t sound like a rumbely American V8. But I personally love the sound of an inline-6 like a lot of European and Japanese sports cars used, particularly the Jaguar E-Type. And a few weeks ago I heard a classic Datsun 240Z that had a pretty similar sound (not sure if it was completely stock).
I live in an area that used to be pretty rural but is increasingly “gentrified” by people with tons of money. I see and hear all kinds of vintage American muscle and Asian and European exotica lettin’ 'er rip on the road by my house.
And motorcycles!
Music to my ears.