OT: Best sounding car ever?

[verticaldoug]

For me the best sound in the old super cars was anticipation turning on the ignition to let the fuel pump go glupglupglup as you heard gas going to the carb, then once it stopped, starting the thing up and hearing the engine roar to life.

I have an old 1981 Aston Martin V8 Vantage with loud sport exhaust.

A friend had an old Countach. The countach was so hard to start. You had a couple tries before the battery went dead trying to turn over the engine.

D

[Dave B]

Would never knock the exotics your cats have listed, but growing up in the midwest in the late 80's early 90's with Mellencamp as the local town hero, it was muscle cars and at the time it was the 5.0 liter V8 mustangs and that throaty burble of that underpowered engine. Then it was the SS camaros and the WS6 trans am.

Now it is my Bee with 6.1L Hemi. I just love that V8 rumble at idle and then all hell breaking lose as I mash the pedal to the floor. Just makes me weak in the knees. I do not have a sound clip, but will try to get one soon and up load it.

I took a 2011 Shelby GT500 for a test drive last year and the carmax lady who went with me knows me very well, so she let me drive it how I wanted. The car was inside the showroom and the manager and I are pals and he told me to rev it up inside. The entire staff and customers stood up from their "dealings" to see what was going on, but that sound. ohhhhh lord that sound.

I went full child at that moment and was grinning from ear to ear. The test drive was also out of this world.

[Gern]

For me it has to be the old Ferrari 333 SP. I remember sitting in the shade of a tree at the corkscrew at Laguna back in the IMSA days. That was a treat.

[verticaldoug]

Originally Posted by Mr.President

Would never knock the exotics your cats have listed, but growing up in the midwest in the late 80's early 90's with Mellencamp as the local town hero, it was muscle cars and at the time it was the 5.0 liter V8 mustangs and that throaty burble of that underpowered engine. Then it was the SS camaros and the WS6 trans am.

Now it is my Bee with 6.1L Hemi. I just love that V8 rumble at idle and then all hell breaking lose as I mash the pedal to the floor. Just makes me weak in the knees. I do not have a sound clip, but will try to get one soon and up load it.

I took a 2011 Shelby GT500 for a test drive last year and the carmax lady who went with me knows me very well, so she let me drive it how I wanted. The car was inside the showroom and the manager and I are pals and he told me to rev it up inside. The entire staff and customers stood up from their "dealings" to see what was going on, but that sound. ohhhhh lord that sound.

I went full child at that moment and was grinning from ear to ear. The test drive was also out of this world.

when I was a teenager in the early 80's , the old big block 396 cu.in camaro from the 70/71 was the dream, most settled for the late 70's 350 cu.in z28.

Goat, Mach1, Nova, Chevelle, Charger, the list goes on and on in the midwest. All killed and made classic by the oil embargo....

[Dave B]

Originally Posted by verticaldoug

when I was a teenager in the early 80's , the old big block 396 cu.in camaro from the 70/71 was the dream, most settled for the late 70's 350 cu.in z28.

Goat, Mach1, Nova, Chevelle, Charger, the list goes on and on in the midwest. All killed and made classic by the oil embargo....

I do not disagree, but you have to admit, while today's "muscle" cars are way more refined, it is still great to see the big three in a pissing contest for who has the best version.

There are some older muscle cars that have the most beautiful lines. Late 60's camaro, Mach1 mustangs or boss 302. Sweet! Would love to have a Goat or MOPAR's GTX. Love those looks. I will say whatever gen charger I have is still a looker to me. The newest ones including the Hellcat look lame, like a stretched out dart. Now the challenger SRT and Hellcat look fantastic.

But as I digress they were not as purpose built like back in the day.

I can fit my entire family in the Bee and get to 60 faster than a Ferrari Testarosa! Now that is groovy.

[BobO]

The European exotics have a very refined, musical sound, which I love. Ferrari 599

Buuuuuut,...
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBrMRIb0PWk
Nothing has come close to the schwing factor of an FE motor with side pipes full song shredding a set of steamrollers.

[parris]

I haven't read the whole thread so if I'm covering the same ground I apologize.

I like the way many well built engines sound but to this day there's one that for whatever reason just sticks with me big time. I was helping out a buddy at a small local car show about 25 years ago and there was a big block Challenger that came idling by. The thing that hit me was the sound of a very aggressive cam combined with what can best be described as a very high compression crackle. The car wasn't loud but what I could hear spoke volumes about a very serious build. The kicker was that race gas smell that hit like a brick wall as he drove past. I've seen and been around cars on and off most of my life but that one stood out. After he'd parked the thing I took a closer look and remember seeing the tach with a 7500 rpm redline.

[parris]

After my reply I scanned the thread and saw the McQueen reference. The Mustang that he drove had a built 390 FE engine. It also had some pretty heavy suspension mods for the time.

The Charger had a stock 440 RB engine. It had suspension bits from the Mopar Nascar program due to the pounding the car would take. If I remember correctly both cars were inspected every night after filming including Magnaflux inspection of many suspension bits.

[Peter B]

Something special about this effort and the man behind it. 2300#, 400hp and one-of-a-kind. The music begins about 2:45. Not the most symphonic but the overall story makes it worth the time to watch.

[PaMtbRider]

This always gets my heart racing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZB6WXDuM1g
I'm also fond of the new Shelby GT350R.

[donevwil]

Originally Posted by parris

After my reply I scanned the thread and saw the McQueen reference. The Mustang that he drove had a built 390 FE engine. It also had some pretty heavy suspension mods for the time.

The Charger had a stock 440 RB engine. It had suspension bits from the Mopar Nascar program due to the pounding the car would take. If I remember correctly both cars were inspected every night after filming including Magnaflux inspection of many suspension bits.

Apparently the Charger repeatedly ran away from the Mustang and they had a heck of a time evening the field. The first change was Steve McQueen taking over driving duties of the Mustang, but that wasn't enough so they put smaller wheels and tires on the Charger to slow it down. Go Mopar !

The best sounding car I've ever witnessed was a buddy's brother's '65 El Camino bracket racer with radical 396, tunnel ram, etc. My buddy's car died the same week mine was in the shop so the only option was to borrow his brother's El Camino for our commute from Newport Beach to Pomona. No way to appropriately share the experience of a 40 mile rush-hour, stop and go commute in a super-stout 396 powered, Muncie rock crusher shifted and ladder bar suspended beast. The next day we both called in sick awaiting the completion of the work on my car.

[wallymann]

for me, any V12.

[bikinchris]

Originally Posted by jischr

Whatever they put in the Mustang that McQueen drove in Bullet. 351 Cleveland??

The 351 Cleveland wouldn't be available for several years. the Bullitt car used an FE family engine. Probably a 390 or maybe a 428.

My older brother built a Boss 302 using a Shelby 289 solid lifter cam and he worked over the Holley like a maestro. The sounds that engine made we frightening. When he revved it up hard, it sounded like a pro stock engine. Instant revs. No vroom vroom, more like brap brap 8,000 revs in a blink of an eye.

But thumbs up to those who posted the GT350R voodoo engine sounds, great sound.

[Seramount]

Originally Posted by bikinchris

Probably a 390 or maybe a 428.

there were two Mustangs used in the filming.

both had 390 ci engines.

[SPOKE]

The best sounding muscle car for me was a 1970 Mustang Mach I that a guy had here in Raleigh when I was still in high school. The car came with a factory 351 Cleveland engine with a shaker hood scoop. In stock form it sounded mildly wicked with an aftermarket custom exhaust system. In the summer of 79' the owner decided to pump up the beast with a complete rebuild that turned the motor into a fire breathing stallion pushing nearly 600hp when running aviation fuel. During strong accelerations it sounded like a slightly muted NASCAR storming off pit road!!! All I can say is that I wish that I could have purchased that car from the guy but I was just a broke high school kid and just couldn't swing it😢😢.
In the motorcycle world I'll have to say that the 2008 Ducati 1098R with the factory race kit installed is the best sounding bike ever accelerating up to full song👍. Some days I wish I still had this bike.