Silent running

RESEARCHERS at the Motor Industry Research Association have developed a quiet car that they say produces only 61 decibels (roughly about the same noise level as a busy office). The rating falls well within the current legal maximum allowance of 77 decibels as well as the European Union's 1995 maximum specification of 74 decibels.

Anti-noise techniques developed by the association were applied in this case to a production-line Rover 416 SLi, but they would be applicable to a wide cross-section of vehicles that are subject to the impending EU legislation.

Data for the development were collected by measuring the contribution of different parts of the car to its noise level.