Audi has filed a German patent application for EVs that can be revved at a standstill, generate sparks and release scents, a document published by the country’s patent office showed, as premium carmakers look for ways to give battery models more character.
The application, published by the German Patent and Trade Mark Office, goes beyond the synthesized sounds already offered by rivals.
It proposes carrying the electric motor’s real noise and vibration into the cabin and onto the street, in part by removing the insulation carmakers fit to keep it out.
The filing is an unexamined application, not a granted patent, and names no model or launch date.
“Electric vehicles also lose emotion and character, which can limit the driving experience,” Audi said in the document, which was filed on February 27, 2025.
The Volkswagen Group brand said quieter EVs can also be harder to notice in traffic, and gave making them more perceptible as the purpose of the invention.
Motor Noise Without Insulation
Audi describes a rigid motor mount, such as a hollow steel section, that would carry structure-borne sound from the motor toward the cabin or the outside of the car.
That section could pass through the sound insulation of the motor bay, the filing says.
“The vehicle can be provided without sound insulation for the electric motor,” it adds.
A clutch would disconnect the motor from the driveshaft or the wheels, letting it spin while the car is stationary.
Audi said that would produce vibrations and noises “reminiscent of a combustion engine” and compared the effect to revving a sports car.
The application also covers a control unit that simulates gear ratios, with paddle shifters, a simulated turbo lag and a short burst of extra power released by a button or by artificial intelligence.
Audi said the simulated gearbox would help drivers adjust when switching from a combustion car.
Sparks, Arcs and Scents
A second group of claims covers devices that produce visual effects tied to how the car is being driven.
One is a spark generator, which Audi said could use electrical discharge, metal friction or a flint.
“A sacrificial metal component could be pressed onto the road, creating a shower of sparks,” the filing says.
Another is an arc generator that would create an electric arc between two electrodes behind protective glass, mounted on the outside of the car or in the center console.
The claims also extend to headlights that wink, exterior light strips that pulse with speed and a display at the windshield edges that blurs as the car accelerates.
A scent dispenser would release calming fragrances in traffic jams and stimulating ones in sporty driving.
Audi’s example of the latter is “a smell of electrosmog, analogous to a toy train”.
The description also mentions paint that turns reddish in sporty driving and a front screen showing an animated face, though neither is among the 10 claims.
Rivals Pursue Similar Features
The filing itself points to competitors working in the same area. It cites a 2023 application by Mercedes-Benz Group on simulating the vibrations and noises of a combustion car, and one filed the same year by Hyundai and Kia on virtual engine effects.
Executives at Audi’s German rivals have publicly backed simulated feedback in electric performance cars.
“We are going to have something like emulated gearshifts and sounds, coming from our classic engines,” BMW M Chief Executive Officer Frank van Meel told Australian outlet WhichCar in February.
“We’re not pretending to be a combustion car,” he said.
Van Meel had made the case for such features in 2024, telling Top Gear that “in a pure EV with one gear, no sound and no emotion, you don’t know if you’re doing 125, 150 or whatever”.
Mercedes-Benz Chief Executive Officer Ola Källenius called the electric Mercedes-AMG CLA 45, which simulates a V8 engine, “the best V8 I’d ever driven”, Autocar reported in August.
Mercedes-Benz Chief Technology Officer Markus Schäfer said of the sound and feel of an electric performance car that “it has to touch the emotional side of you”, according to Autocar in 2025.
Mercedes-AMG Chief Executive Officer Michael Schiebe told Top Gear in September 2025 that the simulated gearbox in the brand’s electric four-door “has become so damn good”.
Porsche, Audi’s sister brand, will add simulated gearshifts to the 2027 Taycan, The Drive reported in December 2025, citing an unnamed source.
Porsche did not confirm the report, and a spokesperson told the outlet that the company “continuously tests and evaluates potential new technologies”.
Frank Moser, the Porsche Vice President responsible for the 718 and 911 model lines, said a customer could choose between silence and “the virtual sounds of a flat six and the virtual gear shifts”, Australian outlet Drive reported in November 2025.
Ferrari has rejected simulated gears for its first electric car, the Luce.
“We did not want to create a fake gearbox,” Ferrari Development Test Drivers Manager Raffaele de Simone said, according to Australian outlet Drive.
The Luce instead amplifies real drivetrain vibrations, the outlet reported.
Audi’s Position
Audi CEO Gernot Döllner has said the company is developing a virtual gearbox.
“We found that a virtual gearbox and sound really add something to driving an electric car,” he told Top Gear in an interview published in December 2025.
“We’re developing it, I think we’ll have one,” he said.
The magazine said Audi’s Concept C electric sports car is due to go on sale in 2027. Audi already holds a related US patent, granted on March 10, 2026.
It covers haptic signals generated by the traction motor and a vibration element, including an effect under braking that simulates an anti-lock braking system.
No US counterpart to the 2025 German filing was found.
Separately, production of Audi’s electric A4 has slipped to March 2029 at the earliest, Handelsblatt reported in September.
