Scott Olson/Getty
If you're an EV owner who really misses the sound of an engine, you might be in luck. After all, though Ford's electric truck might have a massive frunk, its motor is far quieter than its gasoline-powered counterparts.
Borla, a company that designs and manufactures exhaust systems, is now selling a $1,600 aftermarket "active performance sound system for EV." It's a speaker set-up that mounts underneath the rear of a vehicle and connects to the vehicle's system to mimic the sounds a gasoline-engine counterpart would make.
In a video posted by vehicle reviewer TFLstudios on TikTok, a company representative gives a demo of the system mounted on a Ford F-150 Lightning electric truck.
For now, the system is available just for the F-150 Lightning and for Ford's Mustang Mach-E. The system comes pre-loaded with a few different sound profiles: a Shelby Mustang GT500, Mustang GT 5.0L, Charger SRT 392 and Corvette C8 — notably, no sound profile from an actual Ford F-150.
To say that viewers were skeptical is an understatement.
"This is for the people who think a truck isn't a truck unless it's loud," one user commented on the video.
"If it's not produced from the engine physically I don't want it," another said.
At least half a dozen comments compared it to putting a playing card or soda can in the spokes of a bicycle. Another user called it a "vegan V8."
"Call me crazy but I want my electric car to sound like an electric car," said another commenter.
Borla did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment ahead of publication.
There are a few other companies producing similar products as well for a range of electric vehicles. Retrofits company Kufatec offers a "sound booster kit" that can be installed on a long list of EVs. Another company called Thor Tuning sells an "electric exhaust system" for EVs. And car companies like Hyundai and Dodge have gotten in on the action too, producing electric cars with built in electric exhaust sound systems.
On its website, Borla says that the lack of motorsound in an EV reduces the input a driver gets that connects them to their vehicle and their ride. Its system, the company says, "restores that connection, along with the thrilling visceral experience of speed with a soundtrack."
There is a more practical reason someone may be interested in giving their EV fake exhaust sounds: electric cars are very quiet, which some worry is dangerous for pedestrians.
And the company plans on offering more than just regular engine sounds, too. Users will be able to access a sound library through an upcoming app that is "ever-expanding with internal-combustion favorites and imagined sounds of the future," according to the company's website. The company says it's working with FX artists to create other more alternative sound options like jet fighters or sci-fi propulsion noises.
