Hollywood composer Hans Zimmer is known for the countless soundtracks he’s worked on for films including Pirates of the Caribbean, The Lion King, Inception, The Dark Knight, Pearl Harbor and more.
Now, he’s taking his musical skills to another forum — cars. The award-winning record producer teamed up with Renzo Vitale, acoustic engineer and sound designer at the BMW Group, to compose the sound for the BMW Vision M NEXT Sports Car.
“I have always been a BMW enthusiast. As a kid I used to recognise my mother coming home by the sound of her BMW. I am thrilled to get the chance to design the sound of future electric BMW’s and create emotion for the future electric driving experience,” he said in a press release.
BMW Vision M NEXT drivers can expect to use all of their senses while getting around from place to place.
“When the driver interacts with the accelerator pedal it is not only a mechanical touchpoint, but also a performative element. Accelerating becomes an experience during which the driver moves through a series of gradually morphing sound textures,” Zimmer added.
The composer and Vitale created these unique sounds for the BMW Vision M NEXT in Zimmer’s studios in London and L.A. with the intention of bringing a new way to engage drivers.
“We envision sounds that celebrate the beauty and complexity of our vehicles and that are able to move people. I see designing people’s future acoustic environment both as a privilege and as a responsibility,” Vitale said.
“The development and composition for the sound of the Vision M NEXT was mainly inspired by light installations from James Turrell and Ólafur Elíasson. In particular, Turrell realized works known for the illusion of an infinite space, which creates a magical experience for the spectator. The idea behind the Vision M NEXT is to recreate this sense of wonder through sound,” Vitale continued.
The partnership was curated by the experiential agency Mirrored Media. The BMW Vision M NEXT car debuted at BMW’s tech conference, the BMW Group #NEXTGen, in Munich on June 25, 2019 and the company plans to offer at least 25 electrified vehicles by 2023.
