You climb in, fire it up and hit the gas, listening for that deep, rumbling exhaust note that always sends a shiver up your spine. But no, that isn't right. It's too high today, too tight. You thumb the button, and the sound deepens to a throatier growl. There. That's what a Porsche should sound like.
Yes, for buyers of six-figure sports cars, these things apparently matter. Autoblog comments, "Premium sportscar buyers expect their exotic machinery to sound as good as it looks and goes. Few automakers recognize this as well as Porsche." So the German automaker has developed a new system for its high-end sports cars that allows the driver to alter the exhaust note from inside the car, with the push of a button.
Edmunds Inside Line explains, "The stainless steel system uses an electronic control activated from the dashboard to tune the exhaust note for a more aggressive and sporty sound. Activating the sport mode opens flaps in the exhaust silencers to shift the note."
Automobile Magazine says the exhaust "can go from a more sedate sound when cruising around town to a more emotional and sporting tone when the driver wants a truly dynamic style of motoring."
The cost of such a luxury? Just $2,500 as an option on a new 911 Carrera or Targa, available in April of this year. If you own an older 911 and have exhaust envy, Porsche will offer the system as a dealer-installed option that can be retrofitted to older versions of the car -- but there was no word at press time on whether they'd put it on an '87 Plymouth Sundance with a hole rusted through the floorboards. You know, theoretically...
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