When we first saw the extremely exciting Toyota FT-Se concept back in October, chief engineer Fumihiko Hazama told Top Gear that it would use an all-wheel-drive EV powertrain, but with a rear bias as “many customers want to drift.”
Sounds great, but it would seem Toyota is also testing some tech that could allow you to completely change the way your electric sports car drives.
“Every [Gazoo Racing] product has to stimulate all the senses. It can’t just be fun to go in a straight line,” said Simon Humphries, Toyota’s chief branding officer. “It needs to make you smile in the corners, too. And it should reward people who are prepared to hone their skills and take more control. Mastering quick manual shifting with a smooth clutch action always used to feel good, so why shouldn’t it be the case with an EV?
“How about downloading your favorite engine sound and driving dynamics, and you could truly create your own unique experiences, all the while emitting only smiles.”
Okay, ignore the cringe-inducing final remark for a second and let’s actually focus on the content of that statement. Imagine being able to download different engine sounds for your car each day. One morning it could sound like an old V12 Formula 1 car, the next it could be a big, burbling V8. And downloadable driving dynamics to have something four-wheel-drive in winter and rear-wheel-drive in the summer? That could be very interesting indeed.
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But could it actually happen? We put Humphries’ wishes to Gazoo Racing manager Masahito Watanabe. “We’ve been making a lot of prototypes of battery EVs and we have found that sound has a huge impact on that fun to drive feeling,” he responded. “This is something that we tangibly felt in our development.
“We’re still working on and developing a sound that gives you that uplifting feeling that matches with the dynamics of the car.”
No mention of different sounds being available to download just yet, then, but there’s clearly a demand for fake engine noise in an all-electric future. Plus, we’ve already seen some cars like the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N get it right, while others haven’t been so successful.
We’re still expecting to see something like the FT-Se in production form in 2027, though, so would you like to see it come with different downloadable features?
More photos of the Toyota FT-Se concept:
NOTE: This article first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
