BMW Partners With Hans Zimmer to Craft Electric Vehicle Sounds
Legendary film composer Hans Zimmer teams up with BMW to design unique acoustic signatures for the automaker's upcoming electric vehicles. The partnership aims to deliver an emotional driving experience as BMW accelerates its EV rollout to 2023.
Legendary film composer Hans Zimmer collaborates with BMW acoustic engineer Renzo Vitale to design the sound for BMW's next generation of electric vehicles. The duo works together in Zimmer's London and Los Angeles studios to create unique drive sounds for the BMW Vision M NEXT concept as part of the automaker's new "BMW IconicSounds Electric" sound brand. BMW executives state that this initiative aims to provide an emotional driving experience that engages all the senses.
The Vision M NEXT serves as a concept vehicle to showcase BMW's future direction in design, electric vehicle technology, and advanced driver-assistance systems like adaptive cruise control that stops at red lights. While this specific concept car is not heading to dealerships, its acoustic developments directly influence future production models. The artificially generated sounds match the power and speed of the electric vehicle rather than simply mimicking the noise of a traditional internal combustion engine.
BMW's exploration of artificial vehicle sound dates back to at least 2009 when engineers sought to increase awareness of quiet electric test fleets. As legislation now mandates acoustic pedestrian protection for quiet cars, BMW is taking this requirement a step further by turning it into a premium feature. The automaker also announces that it is moving ahead of schedule, planning to offer 25 electrified vehicles by 2023 instead of the original 2025 target.