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Video: How the sound of Formula E is changing

27th November 2018
Ben Miles

Before you all jump straight into the comments to bemoan the end of the thundering V8 in a racing car, hold on for one second. We realise that electric power doesn't produce quite the same array of listening pleasure, but just because it is different doesn't mean it's going to bring the art of the racing engine to a halt – there's no reason electric and ICE motorsport can't live alongside each other.

With that in mind, here's a handy guide our friends at Formula E have put together to the ever-evolving world of motorsport noise. While some would claim that all electric noise is the same electric noise, and that the tell-tale whine of an electric motor is just an identical peircing scream, once you've watched this clip you should agree that not all EV noise is equal. As development has progressed the noise has changed, just as it has through the years of ICE-based motorsport. With the whine becoming deeper, or in some cases altogether less prominent.

We have no doubt that won't stop some ignoring all this, the video and anything here to plough straight through the Facebook comment section on an anti-EV tirade. But hopefully some will see this and understand that there is always nuance to everything. Whether or not electric racing is your thing it's here to stay, and there's no real reason it can't co-exist with our beloved vees.

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