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What is the most recognizable engine sound of all time?

By YPB Team

Some engines you identify with your eyes shut: a Merlin overhead, a Ferrari V12 at full stretch, the uneven Harley idle Milwaukee spent six years trying to trademark.

  1. Jet Turbine Spool-Up — ranked #11
    Jet Turbine Spool-Up
    The rising whine of a big turbofan on the gate, the sound of every airport departure.
    1000pts
  2. Harley-Davidson V-Twin — ranked #22
    Harley-Davidson V-Twin
    The uneven potato-potato idle Harley spent six years trying to trademark, and failed.
    946pts
  3. Porsche Flat-Six — ranked #33
    Porsche Flat-Six
    The air-cooled 911 whir that turns into a metallic howl at the top of the rev range.
    819pts
  4. Ferrari V12 — ranked #44
    Ferrari V12
    A naturally aspirated shriek that climbs past 8,000rpm and defines the marque more than any badge.
    819pts
  5. Cummins Diesel Clatter — ranked #55
    Cummins Diesel Clatter
    The unmuffled inline-six knock that says work truck before the truck is in view.
    743pts
  6. Steam Locomotive — ranked #66
    Steam Locomotive
    The chuff of a mainline steam engine pulling away, the sound the industrial age actually made.
    732pts
  7. Rolls-Royce Merlin — ranked #77
    Rolls-Royce Merlin
    The supercharged V12 that powered the Spitfire and still stops airshow crowds mid-sentence.
    655pts
  8. Ducati L-Twin Desmo — ranked #88
    Ducati L-Twin Desmo
    The dry-clutch rattle and off-beat thump that is Bologna's answer to Milwaukee.
    655pts
  9. Formula 1 V10 — ranked #99
    Formula 1 V10
    The 18,000rpm scream of the early-2000s grid, retired and still mourned.
    568pts
  10. Honda VTEC Crossover — ranked #1010
    Honda VTEC Crossover
    The step-change at 5,800rpm that turned a commuter engine into a generation's ringtone.
    568pts
  11. Two-Stroke Dirt Bike — ranked #1111
    Two-Stroke Dirt Bike
    The ring-ding rasp that carries across a motocross valley long before the bike appears.
    468pts
  12. American V8 Muscle — ranked #1212
    American V8 Muscle
    The low, lumpy burble of a big-block Detroit V8 at idle.
    468pts
  13. Lamborghini V10 — ranked #1313
    Lamborghini V10
    A hard, flat blare with none of the Ferrari warmth and all of the volume.
    218pts
  14. Subaru Boxer Rumble — ranked #1414
    Subaru Boxer Rumble
    The unequal-length header burble that made a rally car identifiable from two streets away.
    60pts

#brands205#tech76#all-time311#motorsport77

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