Variable Exhaust Systems Edit
Porsche Lets You Customize Your Engine's Sound From the Driver's Seat

One of the many pluses about driving an exotic sports car is that nothing else sounds like it on the road; a new variable exhaust system for the Porsche 911 will let drivers customize the way their car sounds—while they’re driving.

Anyone who’s ever heard the high-pitched warble of a ‘Fast and the Furious’-esque import tool along down the highway knows what peril awaits when automakers let individual drivers select aftermarket exhaust systems unaided. That’s why Porsche has done the hard work for its 911 drivers by adding the variable exhaust system for the Porsche 911 as an option.

For the gearheads: According to Porsche, stainless-steel main silencers are each outfitted with an exhaust flap that’s connected to the engine’s electronic control system. When the driver pushes a cabin button, the sound mode is engaged, the variable exhaust system is activated and the exhaust sound varies as a function of engine load, road speed and engine speed.

It all adds up to a whole lot of (customizable) badass to me. The first image in the gallery shows what the new variable exhaust system will look like; the remainder of the images are for the fleet of 2009 Porsche 911s for which the variable exhaust system will be available as of February.