LONDON: Lotus has teamed up with a leading British music producer to create a range of unique sounds for its upcoming Evija electric hypercar.
Patrick Patrikios has written and produced for artists such as Olly Murs, Sia, Britney Spears and Pixie Lott and has now turned his attention to sounds for the Evija.
“We wanted to create a soundscape for the Evija that was recognisably and distinctively Lotus,” said Patrikios. “I sat with the development team at Hethel and discussed what that should be. We wanted something intrinsically connected to Lotus so we could set an audio blueprint for its future electric cars.”
Patrikios kicked off the process by using the Lotus Type 49 as a starting point. As one of the firm’s most famous racing cars, the Type 49’s V8 created a raucous noise which provided a great place to move off from for the sound of the Evija.
Patrikios then took a recording of the Type 49’s exhaust note and slowed it down, finding out in the process that the engine note created a similar frequency to the natural driving sound of the Evija.
“I adjusted the replay speeds and digital filtering of the Type 49 to generate a soundscape for the Evija – it was a very organic process,” said Patrikios. “We all wanted something to spark an emotional connection between car and driver. Sound is hugely influential when it comes to creating and forming emotions, to enrich that bond that’s such a critical part of the Lotus experience.”
Not only was the producer able to create an external sound for the Lotus as it accelerates, but also developed chimes and tones for certain aspects of the car, such as the indicators and seatbelt warning.
The Evija looks set to become one of the most powerful series-production cars ever built and is limited to just 130 units. Each car comes with a price tag of £1.7 million (RM9.7mil) .
