Abarth continues to amaze and stir up the emotions of all the Abarthists around the world with its New Abarth 500e and its unique Sound Generator feature which makes it one of a kind in the electric Hot Hatch segment. The new full-electric addition to the Scorpion range integrates an exclusive Sound System developed by a dedicated sound design team in collaboration with Sound Design Studios. The sound design, its development and integration were carried out at the Stellantis' Italian NVH (Noise Vibration and Harshness) Department. the same entity that validated the sound of the historic Abarth exhaust system, the Record Monza.
The project lasted about two years, with approximately 6 months of continuous work. More than 6,000 hours were spent analyzing and creating the perfect sound for each phase of the driving experience with a team of several people involved in the project. The Technical Manager took care of the car area and focused on coordinating the various stakeholders. Additionally, NVH Specialists dealt with sound enhancement, concentrating on both the creative and technological part of the sound creation process. They worked on the sound and demo development and as well as on the different steps of sound looping, from software development to the creation of the sound itself. Part of the sound tests and studies were carried out in a semi-anechoic chamber – a room specifically designed to have extremely low noise levels inside, and a high degree of acoustic insulation from the exterior - in order to make accurate and reliable noise measurements. Thanks to the reflecting floor, it is possible to recreate an acoustically reflecting surface, just like a road. Specific features make the semi-anechoic chamber perfectly quiet, thus allowing the sound specialists to discriminate the noise from the whole surroundings.