Engine Sound-off: Toyota TS30 Hybrid LMP1 race car

Toyota is a master of greenwashing its car line by touting the hybrid halo models which are capable of generating very impressive fuel economy figures. Motoring enthusiasts generally aren’t drawn to hybrids because the hybrid’s mission is to efficiently transport people and their stuff from point A to point B in the most efficient manner possible. This is not to say that hybrids cannot be fun, I submit this video as evidence.

This is the new Toyota TS30 Hybrid Le Mans racer. Yes, it’s a hybrid. Watch the video and listen to the symphony of straight cut gears, electric motor, and sonorous v8 engine.

I think Toyota is missing an opportunity by not having a hybrid sports car. After all, a hybrid’s electric motor is just a different kind of power adder used in place of a turbocharger or supercharger. What enthusiast wouldn’t love to carve some canyons with gobs of instantaneous electric torque shoving them out of corners? I could waste several gallons of gas with a car like this.

Anyone agree with me?

video credit: RacemediaTV

Engine Sound-off: Saab 96 Two Stroke Triple

This week marked the passing into history of Saab when the CEO filed bankruptcy papers in Sweden. As a Saab fan and owner this saddens me. Recent Saabs have been badge engineered GM products; nice cars, just not as unique as the cars that came prior to GM ownership. The subject of this post is one of the great rally cars of all time, winning the Monte Carlo rally in 1962 and 1963 at the hand of Erik Carlsson.

The raucous, angry howl emitted by this car is much more engaging than that emitted by Davin’s ITBed 4AGE. In fact, I’d place this car in the same aural arena as the 767B.

Take a listen to this video and listen as the monster approaches. If I were on a logging road and heard this sound approaching, I’d wet myself. I might feel a little differently after all 850ccs of its displacement shouted by. These cars are powered by a two stroke, three cylinder engine and feature a free-wheeling transmission.

Engine Sound-off: BRM 1.5 litre V16

Davin threw down the engine sound gauntlet with the Mazda 767B, which was in response to my post on the Ligier Matra. Today I offer 1.5 litres of supercharged fury. This is the sound a mechanical Sabre-tooth Tiger would make.

British Racing Motors (BRM) was born during the twilight of World War 2 as an all British racing consortium meant to compete at the highest levels of racing. BRM’s first racing car was the Type 15 which was first raced in 1950. The Type 15 featured a 1.5 litre supercharged 16 cylinder engine producing over 550 hp. The BRM Type 15 only ran in a handful of races (driven by such notables as Stirling Moss and Juan Manuel Fangio) and was a failure as a racing engine.

Although it was not reliable, I think it sounds incredible. How about you?

The video is a slideshow with audio of a Type 15 running on a track.

Make the jump for bonus footage of a naked BRM Type 15 rendering spectators deaf at the 2010 Goodwood Revival.

Mazda 767B- My rebuttal to Bret’s Ligier Matra. ;)

After listening to Bret’s Liger video that he posted earlier today, I read the tag at the bottom of his post. – ‘I wish my car made these sounds’

It started to get me thinking about what sounds I wished my car made. Then it hit me. 13J rotor + 9000rpm = Sounds I wish my car made.

 

Think you can “+1” this one, Bret? 😉  (Please do! Pretty, please!)

Friday Flying Lap: 1978 Monza F1 practice laps with Jacques Laffitte

I happened upon this video during my lunchtime web-surfing. This is in car on car footage of Jacques Lafitte practicing at Monza in 1978 with his Ligier Matra JS9 F1 car. The Matra V12 makes a glorious sound and powered Jacques to a 4th place finish in the race. I love the amount of dancing the car is doing, look for the quick steering inputs Lafitte is making as he’s powering through turns.