Breathe Life Into Your Electric Car's Quiet Motor With XLR8

If you follow him on Twitter, which you totally should, you'll know that Eli Hodapp's been having what amounts to a full-blown love affair with a 2011 Prius for the past six months or so. However, one thing the Touch Arcade columnist isn't too keen on is his new car's noises, or lack thereof. Because the battery-powered whip doesn't make a whole lot of satisfying, muffler-defying grunts and groans when you stomp down on the gas electricity, Hodapp's missing out on a big part of the traditional driving experience. Luckily, there's an app for that. XLR8, by 2XL Games, is a $0.99 solution to the problem, offering accurately-timed, accelerometer-based engine sounds for any puny car out there. Just link your iPhone's audio jack to your car's AUX input, launch the app, and hit the road. Here's what it sounds like: Says Hodapp:

I imagine XLR8 would work better if you had an actual mount for your phone, as getting jostled around in the cup holder sometimes confuses it. Regardless, driving around in your non-sportscar with some fairly realistic engine noises of an Italian super car? Totally worth it.

Of course, if our wacky lawmakers have their way, you might actually need an external mount for this bad boy... Or at least a good pair of external speakers.

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