Your next electric car may sound like a pod racer

European safety laws requiring mandatory artificial soundtracks for otherwise near-silent electric vehicles may result in cars that sing songs, chirrup like a bird or even make the thumping noise of a pod racer from Star Wars.

Electric cars produce very little sound at speeds under 20mph and there is concern that pedestrians and cyclists will be at risk.

At present there are approximately 1,000 electric cars on British roads, but this number is expected to increase dramatically as manufacturers like Nissan and Renault begin to mass produce them in the next two years.

Nissan has said that it investigating the option of its cars emitting white noise, electronic sounds or ‘Star Wars noise’.

A spokesperson for the Environmental Transport Association (ETA) said: “The ability of electric cars to run silent need not be lost by this legislation as the advantage of artificial soundtracks is that they can be altered to reflect the road conditions or even the mood of the driver.”

At the roundabout, take the Sith exit

If you can’t wait for your car to sound like something from Star Wars, you may be interested to learn that TomTom have this week made available a Darth Vadar voice as a download for their satnavs.

Sounds for electric cars

A charity for the blind has been working with sports car-manufacturer Lotus to develop an artificial petrol engine sound for quiet electric vehicles.

The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association believes that near-silent vehicles will put blind and partially sighted people at risk and has lobbied the European Union for minimum noise requirements for electric cars before they become widespread.

In a study conducted by the University of California, pedestrians heard a petrol-engined vehicle moving at 5 miles per hour three seconds before it reached them – by the time they heard an electric car, it had already passed by.

The technology needed to replicate the noise of an engine consists of a speaker under the bonnet which is wired to the accelerator pedal. The sound is made by analysing the noise of a petrol engine in order to establish the characteristic frequencies at different engine speeds.

Critics argue that most of the noise of cars at speeds over 20mph comes from the tyres and not the engine.