Sound is the voice of a car, the soul of its personality. Herbert von Karajan said that “No orchestra will ever be able to reproduce the melody of a twelve-cylinder Ferrari engine”, perfectly defining the concept. But now? With the electric car racing away fast without emitting a rustle? debates on the subject, also for safety reasons, and now BMW seems to have found the definitive key: to use the sounds of the composer Hans Zimmer, two times Oscar winner, created especially for his new flagship, the 7 Series.
“Welcome”: is the sound message of welcome as soon as you enter the car
A revolution in the revolution because if all electric cars have been full of the most varied sounds for years now, BMW has chosen a different path than that of the competition: it does not mimic the noise of an internal combustion engine but offers something never seen before, on the contrary heard… before: a complete sound spectrum to have a particularly intense interaction between driver and vehicle. If we start from the concept that the engine is the sex of the car, and that its sound is very important, then this is the explanation of this enormous search for the “noises” that a car must emit.
“Start”: The sound that the BMW 7 series offers when the engine is started
Without an engine, everything changes, but obviously it doesn’t necessarily mean there can’t be charm. It’s a different thing. Without this awareness there is the risk of making mistakes in defining the personality of a machine, because sound is very important. But it all depends on the cars. The notes of Fellini’s Dolce Vita are perfect on the 500, which would be ridiculous on a Nissan Leaf. And here’s how we get to the “music” of BMWs.
“Expressive sound”: A very lively and dynamic sound characterizes the acoustic experience in Expressive mode
The sounds range from the welcome scenario to the “ready-to-drive” signal and driving sounds for each selected My Mode, to the acoustic soundscapes combined with the BMW Theater Screen, available on this occasion for the first time. They are unique sounds in the automotive sector and aim to accompany every gesture of the driver, every action of the car – from switching on to switching off – by a particular sound.
“Relax sound”: The passenger compartment is surrounded by an extremely relaxing sound background
From a technical point of view, by changing the character of the car (with the classic Personal, Sport and Efficient settings and now Expressive and Relax), the i7 “sings” in a different way. Not only that: the intensity and frequency of the sound are based on the position of the accelerator and the driving situation, generating a customized profile for each My Mode. In practice, we arrive at a close interaction between driver and vehicle with an acoustic background that immediately makes the driver understand what is happening around him.
“Personal sound”: These are the sounds that the composer defines as “spherical” and underline the evolved character of the model
The acoustic feedback of the throttle movements is completely suppressed only in Efficient mode: those who want and seek silence can be satisfied: “Here the resulting silence in this mode is as clear and pure as the intense sound experience in the other modes – they explain to BMW – since our new i7 has optimized soundproofing that effectively isolates the interior from external noise ”. Achieving these levels of silence has resulted in a newly developed noise encapsulation for electric motors, as well as increased stiffness of the chassis at the front and tires with sound-absorbing panels. In addition, aerodynamic noise is significantly reduced thanks to specially designed frame surfaces, flush door handles and aerodynamic exterior mirrors, as well as an almost completely sealed underbody. In this way all the nuances of the unique and emotionally powerful sound worlds of Bmw IconicSounds Electric can be experienced fully, without any interference.
“Sport”: By selecting the sport mode, the car offers a powerful and pronounced acoustic presence.
“Theater”: The acoustic feedback of throttle movements is completely suppressed in Efficient mode only. And with Theater mode, you get the signal that rear passengers are getting ready to watch a movie or listen to high-fidelity music.
“Stop”: The noise you hear when you turn off the machine