Sound Check

A soloist extraordinaire enters the stage. A hush of silence fills the air, as the audience hardly dares to breathe. Suddenly the voice is heard, its virtuoso quality immediately evident with one coloratura, then another, while a layer of tension builds in the quiet bass tones. A crescendo sets in a few bars later as the voice accelerates through nearly every musical pitch, from bass and tenor to soprano. The finale erupts in an unbridled furioso, and all who hear it are left with goose bumps. Then the recording stops, and Dr. Bernhard Pfäfflin smiles. “Marvelous, isn’t it?”

That short soundtrack of a 911 solo displays a number of qualities that every #porsche has to have. First of all, the sound is not one-dimensional, but instead covers a broad range of frequencies. This attribute distinguishes a #porsche from a humming American or a high-strung Italian. Second, both the sound and the volume vary with the load—that is, with the throttle. “This gives the driver an additional point of orientation,” explains Pfäfflin, 49, who is the head of development for vibrational technology and acoustics. In other words, he is in charge of the #porsche sound.

A GT3 has to rock

Each model should have a sound that matches its character. A GT3 has to rock, that’s for sure. Another important criterion, according to Pfäfflin, is that “the car has to sound like its output.” No synthetic pop music, therefore, but real tones from genuine instruments. Nevertheless, the sound bodies are mixed in such a way that a harmonious pattern emerges for every style of driving. In order to achieve this, Pfäfflin doesn’t wait until the automotive engineers and engine developers build the first prototypes. The quest for good sound begins much earlier.

While both the powertrain and the car are still in the digital creation process, acoustics specialist Bernd Müller is already calculating countless variants of exhaust systems and mufflers—or, to be precise, the effects of different combinations on the sound of the car. Müller is responsible for the gas exchange acoustics at #porsche, and he generates hundreds of sound files. “This lets you hear a car before it actually exists as a physical prototype,” he says, describing the wonders of digitization. Working together with other experienced colleagues, he distills three or four variants from the multitude of possibilities.

Parameters for the perfect sound

These variants are presented to the board—where, as Müller can attest, they are debated with an intensity usually reserved for the car’s design. Once the decision is made, Müller starts working on the specifications for the exhaust system. From the diameter of the pipes to the dimensions of the muffler, he lays out crucial parameters that will ultimately ensure the perfect sound.

- Photogallery (6)

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4052898 porsche 911 carrera s sound level illustration 2016 porsche ag

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- Documents (1)

Press release

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