Evija soundtrack going for gold

The impending Lotus supercar’s powertrain is electric – but the noise it generates will evoke memories of a famous past car.

AN electric performance car doesn’t have to sound like, well, a giant Scalextric – one coming soon from Lotus will likely deliver a soundtrack that is very much a blast from a glorious past.

Lotus is working with a renowned British music producer, inspired by the engine note of the iconic Type 49, to develop a range of sounds for the impending Evija, the make’s next hypercar. The one that runs strictly on batteries.

Patrick Patrikios has written and produced for Olly Murs, Sia, Britney Spears, Pixie Lott and numerous other world-famous stars. He was Brit Award-nominated in 2018 for his collaboration with Little Mix, and the tracks he’s worked on have been streamed more than a billion times.

“We wanted to create a soundscape for the Evija that was recognisably and distinctively Lotus,” said Patrikos.

“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.”

Patrikos loved the idea of using a famous Lotus as a starting point, and what better example than the Type 49 – one of the most iconic race cars of all time. He explained: “There’s a purity to that V8, a raw edge and an emotion that stirs something in your soul, just like the best songs.”

The process began with the recording of a Type 49, which Patrick fed into his computer. In digitally manipulating the sound he and the Lotus team realised that slowing the engine note down created a similar frequency to the natural driving sound produced by the Evija’s advanced all-electric drivetrain.

“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 Patrikos.

“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.”

Patrikos concluded: “I love that the sound from one of the most iconic Lotus race cars of all time has been the inspiration for its newest. There’s a symmetry to it which is beautiful.”

The Welshman has been a Lotus fan since childhood thanks to his car-loving father. An Evora driver, he splits his time between Los Angeles and the United Kingdom.

His body of work includes Hollywood movie soundtracks as well as songs from internationally renowned recording artists.

Patrick’s primary task was to craft the Evija’s external noise as it begins to deliver its immense ‘0-300kmh in under nine seconds’ acceleration. However, using the Evija soundscape he created, he has also developed chimes and tones for everything from the activation of the indicators to the seatbelt warning.

Few race cars from any motorsport brand are as celebrated as the Lotus Type 49. It won on its first Formula 1 outing, the 1967 Dutch Grand Prix, with legendary driver Jim Clark at the wheel, and a Type 49 was on pole position at every race for the rest of the season. The following year Graham Hill won the F1 Drivers’ Championship in a Type 49.

Only 12 examples were ever made, and the car will be forever associated with two world debuts.

The Type 49 was the first to use the all-new Lotus-developed Cosworth-Ford DFV engine that would dominate the Formula 1 grid for more than a decade, and it also marked the first appearance of the iconic red, white and gold colours of Lotus sponsor Gold Leaf, one of the most recognisable motorsport liveries of all time.

Science favours Ferrari, study says

Analysis using an ancient formula is used to determine the most beautiful car in the world.

This is the most beautiful car in the world. Apparently.

THAT old saying about beauty being in the eye of the beholder?

 A load of tosh, apparently. In reality, beauty is defined by scientific analysis, using an ancient mathematical calculation.

At least, that’s the argument proposed by a British car buying website, Carwow, when nailing down the most beautiful performance car of the past 70 years. 

The winner? According to science, it’s potentially not the most obvious choice. But, for the record, the 2019 Ferrari Monza SP1 takes this one.

Really? Well, the site says it analysed 197 of the world's most popular performance cars over the last 70 years to discover how close they were to the ‘golden ratio’.

Don’t know it? That’s an ancient (like, dating back 2500 years) algebraic equation that has been observed in nature, and copied in art and design, that is thought to help contribute to the most visually attractive shapes.

Michelangelo was a big fan; he used the ratio when painting The Creation of Adam on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.  Anyway, it uses a literal ratio of 1:1.618 (or Phi). In short this implies that the most pleasing form to the human eye is that of a rectangle. But anyway. 

The research was done by measuring and comparing the distance between different set points on the cars.  

In number two … the 1964 Ford GT40.

“In total, we plotted 14 different points on each front-on view of the cars, for example, the headlights, the wing mirrors and the corners of the windscreen,” says Carwow.  

“Using that data, we then computed and compared the distance ratios between these points, to reveal how closely their design followed the proportions of the golden ratio.”

So, anyway, after the Monza SP1, which achieved a 61.75 percent alignment to the golden ratio, the ratings put the 1964 Ford GT40 in second, (61.64 percent) the 1967 Ferrari 330 GTC Speciale  (61.15 percent) as the bronze winner and the 1974 Lotus Elite as the best of the rest outside the medals table, with a 60.07 percent alignment.

As for the Jaguar E-type, famously called immediately after its launch the most beautiful car in the world by Enzo Ferrari? The man clearly didn’t know a thing. Fifteenth here.

Also lucking out of top trumps status was Aston Martin, which claims all of its cars are “designed to reflect the golden ratio”. The 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO, the 1963 Chevrolet Corvette C2 (Stingray), the 1967 Ferrari 330 P4, the 1974 Alfa Romeo Alfetta, the 1966 Lamborghini Miura and the 1969 Maserati Indy filled out the top 10. The highest-ranked Aston was the 1963 DB5, in 25th.

The top 100 was dominated by Ferrari, with 16 cars. Lamborghini had 10 and Porsche seven for second and third respectively, and the remaining positions were taken by Aston Martin, McLaren, Maserati, Lotus, Alfa Romeo, Jaguar and Ford.

The E-Type? Enzo Ferrari liked this classic Jaguar … the study? Not so much.