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FT editor Roula Khalaf selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Cars are becoming quieter. Many manufacturers – Maserati, Porsche and Mercedes-Benz among them – are replacing frenetic and often fragile engines with batteries, ushering in a new era of silence. Calm serenity, it seems, is the new luxury.
Last year Rolls Royce Rolls-Royce became the latest brand to embrace electrification with the Spectre (from £330,000). It raised the bar very high: the car glides forward to the muted roars of a soundproof studio. As Torsten Müller-Ötvös, then Rolls-Royce chief executive, said at the car’s launch last year: “Electric propulsion is a perfect fit.” [with] Rolls-Royce because it is silent [and] “Buoyancy aid.”
In addition, Maserati Maserati has achieved the unthinkable by updating the noisy V8 GranCabrio, replacing its roar with a subtle whistle in the GranCabrio Folgore (from £185,610). As Maserati’s first luxury electric convertible, it replaces the model’s long V8 line. As I drove around Italy’s Lake Maggiore with the roof down, I forgot an engine was ever necessary.
Replacing combustion engines remains a delicate balance. Sam Fiorani of US-based AutoForecast Solutions anticipates global trends in the automotive sector and sees challenges in achieving this. “Balancing the sound a high-end car buyer is looking for with silence is difficult when sound is part of the DNA,” he says. “Buyers want the sound and shift points of the gearbox. The sense of movement is why you bought a Maserati instead of a Ferrari – and it will have to have new DNA.”
Fiorani says finding a way to adapt this to an electric motor will be the holy grail for whoever can crack that code. “Once you figure it out, people will flock to the newest thing.” [electric] Maserati or Lamborghini.” As cars no longer need engines, designers can expect to come up with increasingly attractive cars. Fiorani acknowledges that when you go electric, you don’t have to deal with as many regulations, making it easier to develop ultra-high-performance vehicles. Without a combustion engine, engineers aren’t limited by emissions.
Not ready to throw in the towel on combustion engines yet? A hybrid car could offer a middle ground. “Depending on the model, you’ll get between 30 and 50 miles of electric range,” says Wayne Bruce, Bentley’s director of communications. “Ten years ago, hybrids were thought of as a transitional technology, but they’re becoming increasingly popular. [can drive electric] From Monday to Friday, you have a tank of gasoline fuel and a combined range of 400 to 500 miles, meaning you never have to worry about public charging.”
There are environmental benefits, too. According to Bruce, the new Ford’s V8 plug-in hybrid powertrain Continental GT The Bentley V8 (from £236,600) is not only more powerful than the old W12 engine, but the official emissions figure is 90 per cent lower. The V8 still roars with a deep growl – switch to electric mode and it transforms into a stealthy car, cruising around the streets with a gentle hum. The first all-electric Bentley is expected to be released in late 2026.
The fact that conventional electric cars can accelerate faster (and more quietly) than a Porsche Boxster raises safety concerns. According to an analysis of road accidents in Britain, electric and hybrid cars are twice as likely to hit a pedestrian than a petrol or diesel car. One leading theory is that they are less likely to be heard. Some drivers are also unprepared for the instantaneous performance of an electric vehicle: because of their linear acceleration, electric cars do not have the incremental gear changes that act as mental mileage markers while driving a fuel-powered vehicle.
But silence remains a coveted luxury. Could our search for it lead the young runner to the path of Zen?