Video: listen to the the fully electric Abarth 500e ‘revving’

Abarth says that it took more than 6,000 hours of work to replicate the sound of its old Record Monza exhaust system for its noisy take on the all-electric Fiat 500. But was that time well spent? Well, have a watch (and crucially a listen) of the video from Speed Week 2023 above and let us know what you think.

The Sound Generator feature on Abarth’s little EV hot hatch is essentially a giant waterproof speaker that’s mounted underneath the rear of the car and aims to create a little bit of aural drama to match the big wheels, lurid paint colours and chunky bodykit.

And it certainly does that. The fake engine noise is pumped out at the legal volume limit for a petrol car and revs as you’d expect a previous gen Abarth to. It is a little… sluggish though – we can’t understand why Abarth wouldn’t want the revs to rise and fall with a little more urgency. A couple of simulated gearshifts would be nice too so that you don’t get that rubber band style noise of a CVT-equipped hybrid.

Of course, if fake engine noise isn’t your thing, you can turn off the Sound Generator altogether. Be warned though, this will require a proper delve into the submenus of the dial display. Best to have a mate with a computer science degree on hand if you’re planning to try that.

Thoughts in the comments below, as always.