Here’s what the electric Dodge Charger’s “Fratzonic exhaust” sounds like
Enlarge / Dodge doesn't want to be accused of building a boring EV. (credit: Dodge)
Electric motors have many advantages over internal combustion engines, including the fact that they don't waste a lot of their power as sound energy. So quiet are electric vehicles, in fact, that federal vehicle safety regulations require EVs (and hybrids) to make a certain amount of noise at lower speeds to warn vulnerable road users like blind or visually impaired pedestrians of their presence.
Almost all of those cars end up sounding like a choir of depressed angels, a phrase memorably coined by either Richard Porter or Jonny Smith on the Smith and Sniff podcast. That's not the case with the forthcoming electric Dodge Charger, however. When it first broke cover in March, we learned that the electric Charger would feature something called a "Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust" to give it some aural character. Now, thanks to the video from Dodge embedded here, we can all hear what that sounds like in practice:
The Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust—the name refers to a Dodge logo—combines various chambers underneath the Charger's body with some woofers and mid-range speakers, all driven by a dedicated 600 W amplifier. The system is also designed to transmit vibrations into the chassis through elastomeric bushings, mimicking an internal combustion engine and its motor mounts.