by Scout Motors is getting closer to the start of production every day and plans to launch its models with a thoughtful soundscape. Forget standard beeps — the revived American off-road brand is sending sound engineers on a cross-country journey akin to an audio-archaeological expedition.
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If all goes according to plan, the Traveler off-roader and Terra pickup will not only be made in the USA but will also sound American.
What does America sound like?
Scout’s Chief Designer Chris Benjamin explains that the brand’s user experience (UX) team is collecting natural mechanical noises and atmospheric tones to create over 40 unique sounds for locks, turn signals, warning alerts, and startup sequences.
“We want all the sounds inside the car to feel authentic and unique to us,” Benjamin told Autonews at the Los Angeles Auto Show, adding that Scout is not aiming for a completely silent, library-like quiet inside the cabin.
Obviously, the recorded sounds are quite different from the real ones, but it’s clear that the Scout team wants to do everything possible with modern technology.
The team even brought a vintage International Harvester Scout with a V8 engine into an anechoic chamber and recorded its sounds in isolation.
The same raw mechanical sounds of that model — from door latches and locks to the V8 engine itself — will find their place in the new Scout vehicles.
Paying homage to the brand’s agricultural heritage, the team also visited Adairville, Kentucky. There, they found a farm and recorded the sounds of industrial agricultural equipment inside a grain silo. Other audio layers in the car come from an acoustic guitar.
“There’s a bit of industry, a bit of agriculture, and a bit of the original Scout in each of the sounds,” said Benjamin.
Scout states that its electric vehicles will not chase the sterile, ultra-minimalist, sci-fi trends in interior design. Yes, there will be a digital instrument panel and a large central screen, but there will also be real knobs, real switches, and real buttons.
The tactile nature of the interior is tied to the brand’s rugged DNA, and the carefully curated sounds will reinforce this.
“We are not building spaceships,” said Benjamin. “We are building rugged, reliable vehicles that people will love, and we want the sounds to reflect that.”
Production of the Terra and Traveler will begin in South Carolina in late 2027, following a series of pilot assemblies in 2026.
