Tesla Model S Plaid making Dodge Hellcat engine noises will upset purists

With the proliferation of performance electric vehicles, supercar fans have been complaining these go-faster EVs have no soul because they lack the sound of a large-displacement combustion engine. Truth be told, we will miss the noise made by an inline-five or a straight-six, let alone bigger units such as a V8, V10, V12, or Bugatti’s all-mighty W16 once the sun will set on the ICE.

With the Boombox feature introduced late last year, Tesla is trying to mimic the glory days of gasoline engines in fast cars by allowing owners to pump sound through the vehicle’s external speaker. Brooks Weisblat, the man behind the successful YouTube channel DragTimes, recently took delivery of a shiny new Model S Plaid and thought about doing quite controversial.

He decided to go all out by picking one of the loudest engines ever fitted to street-legal production cars. We’re talking about the massive Hellcat powertrain, which Stellantis installs in everything from the 702-horsepower Ram 1500 TRX pickup truck to the 840-horsepower Dodge Challenger SRT Demon. These cars couldn’t be any more different than the all-electric sedan, and yet Brooks thought it would be a good match.

Of course, it was all done just for fun (and clicks). It’s a far cry from the supercharger whine of an actual Hellcat engine noise and we have to admit it sounds pretty hilarious while the Model S Plaid drives off. We would personally go with the sweet music the Lexus LF-A makes from its naturally aspirated V10 engine, although on second thought, it’s best to leave electric vehicles as they are – completely silent.

Tesla’s Boombox feature is only available for cars manufactured after September 1, 2019 that come with a built-in speaker that emits noise to alert pedestrians. Owners can plug in their USB devices and save up to five custom sounds, and yes, that includes fart noises as demonstrated by some owners in recent months.

What a time to be alive…

Source: DragTimes / YouTube