The first successful mass-market in-car radio arrived only in the mid-1930s. What were people listening to before then? There may be a lot of wind noise, but the automotive audio landscape has changed drastically since then, with the world’s worth of music now in our pockets. Lamborghini used music streaming in creative ways to curate three Spotify playlists designed to enhance the sound of their engines – V8, V10 and V12.
Lamborghini sound engineers collaborated with music producer Alex Trecarichi on the playlist, which is so much more than just adding a few favorite songs. Trecarichi applied the Fourier transform formula to the three machines. This allows it to fund the base engine frequency at ignition (idle), 4,000 rpm, and maximum power.
40 Photo
Through this procedure, Trecarichi discovered the V12 frequency. It uses the 769-horsepower (574-kilowatt) engine from the Aventador Ultimae, the final iteration of the iconic powertrain. At idle, the engine sings in F-sharp (92.50 Hz). At 4,000 rpm, the pitch changes to G (98 Hz), while a maximum power engine puts out G-Sharp (103.83 Hz). Trecarichi matches each frequency to the key of a particular song, such as a Lorenzo Senni song Canon Infinito (F-sharp), courtesy of Ben Böhmer Escape (G), and Sam Collins’ We Can All Dance (G-sharp).
Mario Mautone, NVH Lamborghini All-Vehicle Coordinator, associates the V12’s sound with the violin. “It’s a raw metallic echo that is then manifested in a psychoacoustic experience, the chemical and emotional response to sound waves that our brain converts into positive emotions and memories,” says Mautone.
A playlist of 24 songs is available on Spotify. Lamborghini had graphic designer Vasjen Katro design the play list art. Other songs in the V12 playlist include In Like a Rose by The Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Looped by Kiasmos, Arrival by SUDO, Just follow by CatzClaw, and several others.
While cars arrived without radios almost 120 years ago, they have become a must-have feature today, with automakers installing powerful multi-speaker sound systems and advanced technology. The availability of music streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music has transformed the in-car audio experience, with automakers not even installing CD players. Listen to the V12 playlist here.
