Best sounding cars: great cars with soundtracks to give you goosebumps
Listen up! These are the best sounding cars of all time, according to our experts
It seems that we’re at a crossroads when it comes to the sorts of noises coming out from our favourite new performance cars. On the one hand, changing EU legislation and new technologies like hybridisation means cars are getting quieter, and the noises they do make are digitally generated.
On the other, manufacturers have never focused so much on the theatrics of combustion, with valved exhausts, cold-start rev-flares, and lift-off crackles still being added on cars across the motoring spectrum.
Underneath this, of course, some cars are more aurally pleasing than others, so our expert road testing team has assembled ten of their favourite models that entertain the ears in a way no ordinary car, nor digitally-enhanced EV, can get close to.
Alfa Romeo 156 GTA
- Price new: £26,900
- Price now: £10,000+
- Engine: 3.2-litre V6
- Gearbox: Six-speed manual, front-wheel drive
- Power/torque: 250bhp/300Nm
- 0-62mph: 6.3 seconds
- Top Speed: 155mph
A few of the cars in this best sounding list are, understandably, pure unobtanium. I thought of taking that route myself; based on what I’ve driven, my pick would be a tie between the tuned Aston Martin 6.0-litre V12 aboard the reimagined Callum Vanquish, and the howling flat six of the Porsche 911 S/T. Twist my arm and make me choose one, and I’d go for the Porsche.
But instead of those six-figure superstars, I’ve gone for something that many of us can still very realistically afford: the Alfa Romeo 156 - in particular, one powered by the famous Busso V6. The Busso has been in a variety of Alfas over the years; from the stunning Alfa SZ to the 147 GTA hot hatch, but I've chosen the Alfa Romeo 156 because I owned one.
It’s a glorious engine even before it starts up; the chrome inlet pipes and beautifully finished cam covers make this one of the prettiest engines to reside in a series production car - but things get even better on the move. In all of its various sizes, the Busso makes a rich, complex growl which becomes ever more crisp and metallic as you venture towards the red line.
With a choice modification or two, it can sound even more exotic. Look up clips of Alfa V6 engines fitted with Unicorse exhausts on YouTube for a bunch of 156 V6s doing a rather convincing impression of a Ferrari V12.
If you're looking for the beauty - of noise and looks - per pound then the 156 must rank among the biggest bargains in the automotive world. Exotic styling and that soundtrack starting from less than three grand? Even the hotter GTA model we’ve pictured is still available from around £10,000.
Aston Martin V12 Vantage
- Price new: £130,000
- Price now: £50,000+
- Engine: 6-litre naturally aspirated V12
- Gearbox: six speed manual or automatic
- Power/torque: 510bhp/570Nm
- 0-62mph: 4.2 seconds
- Top Speed: 190mph
The Aston Martin V12 Vantage was a rare case of a brand letting its engineers off the leash. When they decided in the early 2010s to fit the 6.0-litre naturally aspirated V12 from the DB9 into the smaller, lighter V8 Vantage body, they produced one of the most uncompromising and character-rich road cars of the era. With 510bhp sent to the rear wheels, the shorter wheelbase and stiffer suspension gave it a more involving feel than the grand tourers that dominated Aston’s lineup at the time.
The soundtrack was unforgettable. A deep mechanical growl rose into a rich howl as the revs climbed. It was not flawless. The ride could be firm and the gearbox occasionally awkward, but these traits added to its character rather than detracting from it. This was not a car for crossing continents in comfort. It was the Aston for drivers who wanted every journey to feel significant, and it remains a modern classic.
Aston didn’t just drop the V12 into the Vantage and call it a day. The body was widened by 40mm, while carbon-fibre panels and a full-width splitter reduced weight and improved aerodynamics. To manage the extra performance, Aston Martin fitted carbon ceramic brakes, lightweight forged wheels, stiffer suspension and adaptive dampers.
The result was a car capable of 0-62mph in 4.2 seconds and a top speed of 190mph, yet still compact enough to thread down a narrow B-road without feeling oversized. It was the product of brilliant British engineering rather than a marketing spin, and it showed every time you turned the key and heard that V12 came to life.
Audi RS 3
By Tom Jervis
- Price new: £61,525
- Engine: 2.5-litre five-cylinder turbocharged petrol
- Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic, four-wheel drive
- Power/torque: 394bhp/500Nm
- 0-62mph: 3.8 seconds
- Top Speed: 174mph
Typically it’s the most expensive cars that are the most euphonic, yet while the Audi RS 3 can’t exactly be called ‘cheap’ with its £60k+ price tag, it manages to sound just as exotic as something costing more than twice the price.
This is all down to its unique five-cylinder powertrain – the only one on-sale today – which emits the husky rasp of a new age jazz singer that smokes more than a packet per day. Such a burble feels befitting of the RS 3’s 394bhp output, although it’s a shame that a rev limiter stifles your ability to get an idea of what it’s capable of when standing still.
It’s once you get going and surpass 5,000 rpm that you really get a glimpse of the RS 3’s impressive vocal range; listening to the brassy bellow emitted from the twin rear pipes feels a bit like tuning into a superb cover band of Audi’s recently-deceased halo car, the V10-powered R8.
That’s not to say the RS 3 doesn’t have its own material to work with; its diminutive size, quick steering and complex four-wheel drive system make it the ideal B-road belter to the R8’s Silverstone shrieker. Then, once you let off the throttle, a scatting of crackles and pops come as the perfect encore to a superb performance.
Dodge Challenger SRT Demon
- Price new: $84,995 (roughly £63,000)
- Price now: $100,000+ (roughly £73,000)
- Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8
- Gearbox: eight-speed automatic
- Power/torque: 828bhp/1,047Nm
- 0-62mph: 2.3 seconds
- Top Speed: 168mph
Even for the United States the Dodge Challenger Demon is a ridiculous car but it has a couple of redeeming qualities – one of which is noise. Sharing the already mad Challenger Hellcat’s 6.2-litre V8, the additional 2.7-litre supercharger (yes, the supercharger was bigger than the entire ecoboost Ford Mustang engine), the Demon put out a whopping 828bhp and 1,047Nm of torque.
The whine of a supercharger mixed with a grumbly V8 is an entertaining thing - but the Demon’s sound was something akin to a nuclear-powered washing machine full of nails running at its maximum spin rate. The V8 rumble and supercharger are actually very distinct from one another in the Demon – or perhaps more appropriately, outside of it. As the car approaches all you can hear is that high-pitched supercharger with the echoing V8 taking over once it’s gone past (which usually doesn’t take much time at all).
It’s perhaps no surprise that following the Demon, the all-electric two-door Charger has struggled to capture hearts and minds over in the US.
Jaguar F-Type SVR
- Price new: £110,880
- Price now: £45,000+
- Engine: 5.0-litre V8 supercharged petrol
- Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic, four-wheel drive
- Power/torque: 567bhp/700Nm
- 0-62mph: 3.5 seconds
- Top Speed: 200mph
I’ll never forget my first time driving a Jaguar F-Type SVR. It was just before Christmas 2017, and I’d been lent the keys by my editor at the time. It just so happened to coincide with a long weekend celebrating a good mate’s big birthday – 100 miles up the M4, in the snow.
But while some might dwell on the car’s dicey dynamics in such inclement weather, almost a decade later it’s the growl from the titanium and Inconel exhaust that’s running on repeat in my head. Indeed, whenever I see an F-Type – or a previous-generation Range Rover Sport SVR, for that matter – rolling between traffic lights, I make sure to lower the window and listen out for that visceral V8. While a few revs help, you needn’t be travelling at warp speed to appreciate the F-Type’s theatrical powertrain, which pops and pings as any proper party piece should.
Fine, so the SVR can’t hold a candle to a contemporary Porsche 911 Turbo – nevermind a GT3 – when it comes to deft, sports-car handling, this rundown is about the best sounding cars ever built. As good as they are to drive and own, you’ll note not one of my colleagues picked a Porsche as their top choice on this emotion-led list.
Lamborghini Huracan STO
By Steve Walker
- Price new: £260,000
- Price now: £250,000+
- Engine: 5.2-litre V10
- Gearbox: 7-speed dual-clutch auto
- Power/torque: 631bhp/565Nm
- 0-62mph: 3.0s
- Top Speed: 193mph
The new Lamborghini Temerario might max out at 10,000rpm but with ‘only’ eight cylinders it will still trigger pangs of regret in car fans smitten with the sound of Lamborghini’s V10. It fell upon the Lamborghini Huracan to usher out the brand’s V10 era and the car deserves a place on this list not only for the baleful howl that only ten-cylinder cars seem capable of producing, but also the volume at which the sound emerges.
Huracans weren’t always quite as loud as the STOs, Technicas and Sterratos that rounded out the car’s time on sale, but you’ve always been able to hear them approach from further away than the equivalent Audi R8 with its mechanically similar V10.
That’s only right and proper for an Italian supercar, of course, though it does mean you need to pick your moments to exploit the Huracan’s razor-sharp throttle response and 8,000rpm peak - even if there’s very little you can do about its Rottweiler bark on start-up.
Like the Gallardo that came before it, the Huracan played the role of Lamborghini’s entry-level supercar but there was nothing ‘junior’ about the experience behind the wheel. With the naturally-aspirated V10 inches behind your ear drums and exhaust valves primed to amplify the noise at the merest tickle of the throttle, it’s all very intense. More so in the stripped-out STO with its exposed carbon and composite interior serving as the V10’s echo chamber.
Lexus LFA
By Ellis Hyde
- Price new: £340,000
- Price now: £750,000+
- Engine: 4.8-litre V10
- Gearbox: Six-speed single-clutch automatic, rear-wheel drive
- Power/torque: 552bhp/480Nm
- 0-62mph: 3.7 seconds
- Top Speed: 203mph
The Lexus LFA is a true engineering marvel and rightfully worshipped as one of the greatest cars ever made. But rather than its looks or speed, this awe-inspiring machine will go down in the history books because of its howling, naturally-aspirated V10 engine which could rev from idle to its 9,000rpm redline in an unbelievable six-tenths of a second – so quick in fact that an analogue revcounter couldn’t keep up.
The sensational 1LR‑GUE engine was developed with the help of Yamaha, with its expertise in creating exquisite musical instruments used to fine-tune the 4.8-litre V10’s haunting F1-inspired soundtrack. To allow the driver to bathe in the unmistakable, utterly mechanical symphony of the LFA, induction and exhaust sound is actually directed into the cabin through physical channels built into the car, rather than speakers.
Lexus was so obsessed with making the LFA sound perfect that the V10’s air intake is made from a porous duct material that generates the right bass to mid-range tones. The development team called this acoustic effect “Resonated Complex Harmony”.
Unfortunately, despite all the manhours and money that went into crafting the Lexus LFA during its decade-long development, the Japanese brand actually failed to sell all 500 examples by the time production came to an end, and even several years later models were still sitting in dealerships unsold. Although that’s less surprising when you remember this was a Lexus that cost more than the Ferrari 599 GTO did at the time.
Pagani Zonda F
- Price new: £470,000
- Price now: £5.8m
- Engine: 7.3-litre V12
- Gearbox: six-speed manual
- Power/torque: 594bhp/759Nm
- 0-62mph: 3.6 second
- Top Speed: 214mph+
Sometimes there are cars that just stick with you. Time moves on, tastes change – I now like eating tomatoes for instance – but for me there will always be one constant. The sound of a Pagani Zonda F wailing through the Italian countryside will always be the defining sound experience of any car.
Pagani’s meteoric rise to fame was on the back of its scintillating Zonda. It came from a simpler time in motoring; hybrids were still a fad and EVs were nothing more than a successful smear campaign by American oil and gas. So to make a supercar, all one needed was a great big engine. For Horatio Pagani, that engine took the form of an AMG V12.
There’s something otherworldly about this engine, and specifically when hooked up to a free-breathing exhaust attains a sort of three-dimensional sound that’s almost organic in nature. You can almost feel layer upon layer of different resonances at different frequencies that make it feel like the sound is spiralling around, and sometimes within you.
From a distance, you might not hear its gutteral, low-registers and only the whip-like high pitched scream, but as it approaches the sense of twelve cylinders exploding in unison grows as the noise does along side.
It’s not like it’s unpleasantly loud, but when a Pagani Zonda F drives past you can see the soundwaves interacting with the atmosphere around it. It can quite literally put you into a trance, although that might have something to do with all the exhaust fumes you’ve just inhaled.
Subaru Impreza Turbo
By Paul Barker
- Price new: £18,000 (1999)
- Price now: £18,000
- Engine: 2.0-litre turbo four-cylinder
- Gearbox: Five-speed manual
- Power/torque: 215bhp/290Nm
- 0-62mph: 6.3 seconds
- Top Speed: 144mph
I’m interpreting ‘best sounding’ as a car that’s distinctive, makes you turn your head and, like a much-loved song, has the ability to take you back to a happy place and time. It’s no supercar, but the Subaru Impreza’s Boxer engine has a unique four-cylinder burble that reminds me of the fun that could be had on road with these four-door saloons, and then the joy of watching Colin McRae, or Richard Burns make them dance down narrow forest tracks.
The late 1990s into the early part of this decade was the heyday for the World Rally Championship in many eyes, and these rally-bred rockets that could double up as everyday drivers still hold a place in the heart of people of a certain age as much as any supercar could. The iconic yet uncouth soundtrack is an important part of that. Even if it’s not the roar of a V12.
And there are still enough Imprezas around to hear that burble fairly frequently; I’m not sure there’s anything else that combines unique soundtrack with volume sold and therefore likelihood to hear it on the high street.
TVR T350
By Ryan Birch
- Price new: £38,500
- Price now: £35,000+
- Engine: 3.6-litre straight six
- Gearbox: Five-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
- Power/torque: 350bhp/290Nm
- 0-62mph: 4.4 seconds
- Top Speed: 175mph
The TVR T350 is one of those automotive marvels that is a real antidote to the sports car mainstream. With its alien-like looks and cocooned interior, the distinct bark from the TVR Speed Six straight six-engine under the bonnet gives this car a soundtrack signature which is simply unmistakable.
From the moment the 350bhp 3.6-litre Speed Six engine sparks into life, the aural symphony begins. The engine note is raw and unfiltered, ranging from a raspy warble low down in the rev range, all the way up to a lingering growl at the limit and when you take your foot off the throttle. Every single cackle and burble can be felt through the entire car.
The handling is pin-sharp and the gearbox is a real treat, too. Both create a feedback loop where you want to experience all those sensations over again, so you’ll simply drive the long way home and row through the gears for fun. With no electronic aids and glorious soundtrack, the T350 is the raw essence of what driving is about, but it drinks petrol like it’s going out of fashion.
The TVR T350 is far from the most powerful sports car ever made. Even by TVR standards, the Sagaris is even more hardcore. But 350bhp and 290Nm of torque in a car with no anti-lock brakes, no traction control or air bags of any description, as well as weighing less than than a mosquito, you don’t really need any more power. If you’re not careful the T350 will chew you up and spit you out in the blink of an eye.
Of course, the T350 isn’t perfect. TVR wasn’t exactly known for its reliability or build quality. So when the T350 breaks down, which it will do at some point because the Speed Six engine can have issues with head gaskets; and the electronics weren’t TVR’s forte, the T350 turns into a great static-art piece.
If you’re ever lucky enough to see a TVR T350 in person, savour the moment, even more so if the car is running. Approximately 460 cars were made over its four year production run, so you’re probably more likely to see a Ferrari F40 than a T350. Arguably, it sounds better than an F40, too.
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