Josh Barnett, for Total 911:
While each model has to match its character (a GT3 will be more raucous than a Carrera, for example), it is imperative that “the car has to sound like its output,” according to Pfäfflin. This means there is no synthesized sound in the new Porsche 911, just carefully tuned real world acoustics [emphasis added].
While the chassis and powertrain were still being designed, it was the job of Bernd Müller – responsible for gas exchange acoustics – to begin digitally deciding the sound of the new Carrera, calculating the outputs of various different exhaust combinations.
Hundreds of sound files were eventually whittled down to just three or four before the final decision is made by the board (after much intensive debate). With soundtrack chosen, Müller then set about creating the ideal specification for the exhaust system, from the diameter of the pipes to the size of the silencer.
All automakers engineer—to some degree—the exhaust note of their sportier cars. Porsche is no different in that regard.
But for 991.2, Porsche is at a crossroads: they are about to release the first 911 without a 6-cylinders powerplant (the 912 doesn’t count because it wasn’t a 911).
This is a big deal.
So, as to not give future 991.2 owners anything else to be angry about, Porsche is doing its due diligence to ensure that the exhaust note of the new turbocharged motor is as close as possible to the exhaust note of the normally aspirated motor it replaces.
Porsche’s exhaust note fiddling stands in stark contrast to the cockpit concoctions of another famous German marque, one whose aural additions are ultimately more patronizing than exciting.