Electric Nissans set to ‘sing’ their own tune
Japanese brand reveals future sound of electric cars in Tokyo.
Motor shows normally involve car companies unveiling their latest look.
But Nissan broke with tradition at the 2017 Tokyo motor show, revealing a sound that will follow its future electric cars.
Dubbed Canto – Latin for “I Sing” the sound is will be broadcast from cars in urban environments so people can hear electric cars approaching.
The digital effect varies in tone and pitch according to whether the car is accelerating, braking or reversing.
Nissan says its new sound will be “clearly audible without being overly disturbing to pedestrians”.
The sound may be used on cars such as the electric Nissan Leaf in years to come. The brand's IMx concept car is a good candidate for the technology, arriving in Tokyo as a vision for an electric and autonomous future.
Propelled by a pair of rear-mounted electric motors that produce 320kW of power, the IMxoffers more than 600 kilometres of range as well as fully autonomous driving.
A low centre of gravity and responsive chassis promise to "redefine the crossover segment".
Nissan envisions the car as a vehicle that could drop you off at the airport before docking itself at a pulic parking station and returning surplus energy to the local power grid.