The world is intense right now and I think we could all use a mental break for a few minutes. There isn’t a better way to take a mental break then to listen to the glorious sounds of vintage Fomula 1 cars. More specifically, the sounds of a 2003 Williams-BMW F1 car with a howling V-10.
In 2003, BMW supplied the engine for Williams’ F1 car. Formula 1 from 2000-2005 was arguably the greatest era of F1 engines, with naturally aspirated V-10s from companies like BMW, Ferrari, Honda, Mercedes, and Cosworth. BMW’s 3.0-liter V-10 was among the best of an incredible lineup, and it helped propel Williams to one of its best seasons of that era. With four wins, four poles, and four fastest laps, the Williams-BMW team scored 144 points that season, good for second place behind only the Michael Schumacher-led Ferrari. Williams-BMW driver Juan Pablo Montoya took third in the driver’s championship.
But what matters most is the noise. The full array of noises that comes from the V-10’s entire rev range is nothing short of magical. It’s guttural and aggressive lower in the rev range, while it’s slowing through a corner. But the pitch rapidly increases as the revs quickly skyrocket to an astonishing 19,000 rpm. At that rpm, it almost sounds like something from another planet. That V-10’s shriek is like nothing else in motorsport, before or since, and there won’t ever be anything like it again.
With ever-stricter emissions regulations and electrification, the days of high cylinder count, naturally aspirated engines in motorsport are over. That doesn’t mean racing isn’t as good, it just doesn’t sound as good. Those old V-10 F1 cars made Sundays so much better. So why don’t you take a few minutes to watch this onboard video from several different drivers, on several different tracks, and let them make your day better once again.
