It’s been a few years since the German automaker has released that pulse-pounding video teaser, but its latest series of commercials sure hit the spot. Now as a partner to the Emmy awards, Audi wanted to promote its lineup of performance vehicles with a TV tie-in. What it came up with is synchronized engine music that mimics classic television theme songs.
While automotive enthusiasts regularly consider exhaust noise to be music (not all exhaust noise, mind you, just the good stuff), the rest of the world might just consider revving to be annoying. To help everyone see the range of an engine note, Audi recreated three tunes with three of its models: the R8, TT RS, and SQ5. Each vehicle is mounted to its own dyno (so hitting the throttle won’t launch the vehicle into the camera – though that might be a fun ad, too), while an unseen driver modulates the gas pedal to match background instruments.
The first video plays out the original Star Trek series, the second is from Cheers, and the final re-creates the The Mary Tyler Moore Show intro. Some spots are definitely better than others. For example, the Star Trek theme feels pretty muddled, and is only brought across by the instruments. The Mary Tyler Moore Show isn’t bad, but we can tell there was a lot of digital assistance to make that one work. Cheers (shown above) is probably the best take, with the most earnest engine music and least amount of perceptible editing (that is admitted to in a tiny disclaimer in each of the videos).
Ten points for Gryffind – er, Audi – for the creative concept, and for tailoring engine music to appeal to more than just automotive enthusiasts. Though we’d be happy just listening to that R8 V10 Plus rip through the gears, we can get down with a performance car squad effort. Oh, and if you’re thinking of trying this at home …pl ease don’t.
