LOS ANGELES: Due to the absence of a loud internal combustion engine, a unique exterior sound has been engineered into the new 2020 Revero GT to alert distracted pedestrians that a car is nearby and provide the luxury electric vehicle with a special audible technology unique to the brand that created it.
Sound engineers at Southern California-based luxury electric automaker and high-tech incubator Karma Automotive developed their low-speed exterior audible sound in partnership with ECCO Safety Group, a global leader in safety and warning products based in Boise, Idaho.
Karma’s Director of Infotainment Systems and Connected Car, Joe Durre described the Revero GT’s exterior sound as a low-level, throaty-electric hum, like electronic audio tones heard in many futuristic movies or when an electric guitar is first plugged into an amplifier.
Listen to the sound clip
“It’s a sound that is uniquely Karma that our customers instantly recognize when the car is powered and driven at low speeds,” he explains. “Our sound alerts pedestrians that a car is nearby, something that is especially helpful for those who may be distracted, blind or visually-impaired, and gives our brand something that is very recognizable and satisfies government safety regulations.”
It’s also a tone, he says, that could be customizable in future products, especially vehicles that grow from Karma’s Project e-Klipse, a global all-electric vehicle platform being readied for 2021.
“This technology gives an added dimension to the personalized customization options that allow our electric vehicles to match our customers' individual lifestyles and tastes, and help make our products even more special and unique,” he adds.
The sound satisfies a mandate in the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act of 2010 establishing a new Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) to allow manufacturers of hybrid and electric vehicles to install a number of driver-selectable pedestrian alert sounds.
The FMVSS is setting minimum sound requirements for electric and hybrid vehicles given the relatively silent nature of electrified vehicles – particularly when traveling at low speeds.
