How the Cadillac LYRIQ-V got its V-Series signature sound
2025-02-06
By Sam McEachern, GM News
In the age of electrification, what should a Cadillac V-Series performance vehicle sound like? Jay Kapadia, GM’s lead sound design engineer, came up with the answer, creating a comprehensive soundscape for the 2026 Cadillac LYRIQ-V — the first electric V-Series.
In his unique role, Kapadia serves as GM’s creative sound director, crafting electric vehicle sounds with an engineer’s brain and a musician’s heart. And while sonic identity is critical in any GM EV, Kapadia knew creating a unique driving sound for the first all-electric V-Series carried additional importance. Jay worked closely with engineers, designers, and Cadillac’s audio supplier, AKG, to craft this unique experience.
“The sound design was very critical for the car’s performance-driven DNA,” Kapadia says. “Firstly, the emotional impact of the driving experience. We wanted to evoke an emotional response, heightening the thrill of the acceleration, the speed, the power.”
Caption: Jay Kapadia, GM’s creative sound director, sits in a Cadillac LYRIQ in the automaker’s sound design studio.
With the all-electric LYRIQ-V, Kapadia started with an auditory blank slate. “In the absence of the engine, the vehicle is very quiet,” he added. “How do we create the propulsion experience, where the driver feels it’s tied to a real-time instrument?”
LYRIQ-V’s sound design is made of five “layers” of sounds that play through the vehicle’s 23-speaker AKG Studio Audio System. First is a base layer that is active under light acceleration, joined by a second layer that plays under heavier acceleration. The third layer is a simulated “rev” sound that kicks in when you blip the accelerator pedal when the car is stationary. The fourth is a low frequency tone that activates between 50 and 70 mph, while the fifth is a higher frequency that comes in above 80 mph.
“A bunch of these layers kick in at different intervals,” Kapadia explains. “It’s basically like a smell of a perfume, which may have three different notes – a low note, a mid-note and a high note. Similarly, we have specially curated this to have five different layers that unfold at different times and intervals, intended to ignite the feeling for our customers.”
LYRIQ-V needed a bespoke sound profile to match its dynamic performance. When engaged in V-Mode, a driver can enter Launch Control, which delivers consistently thrilling acceleration, allowing the LYRIQ-V to blast from zero to 60 mph in just 3.3 seconds with Velocity Max1 – making it the quickest Cadillac ever. In V-Mode, all six sound layers are active, including the acceleration and virtual “rev” layers, to create a performance-focused sonic experience for the driver and passengers.
Caption: Kapadia testing preliminary sound design functions using a simulator in the GM sound design studio.
V-Series fans will be happy to know Kapadia pulled inspiration from past models when giving the LYRIQ-V its performance-inspired voice.
“We studied our [CT5-V] Blackwing and V-Series.R race car,” Kapadia says. “We drove around, we captured some of these sounds, and recreated the experience, applying the Blackwing spirit to an EV sound.”
V-Series customers will be able to hear for themselves what the future of electric Cadillac performance sounds like when the LYRIQ-V hits showrooms later this year.
1On a closed course only. Based on Initial Vehicle Movement (IVM).
By Sam McEachern, GM News
In the age of electrification, what should a Cadillac V-Series performance vehicle sound like? Jay Kapadia, GM’s lead sound design engineer, came up with the answer, creating a comprehensive soundscape for the 2026 Cadillac LYRIQ-V — the first electric V-Series.
In his unique role, Kapadia serves as GM’s creative sound director, crafting electric vehicle sounds with an engineer’s brain and a musician’s heart. And while sonic identity is critical in any GM EV, Kapadia knew creating a unique driving sound for the first all-electric V-Series carried additional importance. Jay worked closely with engineers, designers, and Cadillac’s audio supplier, AKG, to craft this unique experience.
“The sound design was very critical for the car’s performance-driven DNA,” Kapadia says. “Firstly, the emotional impact of the driving experience. We wanted to evoke an emotional response, heightening the thrill of the acceleration, the speed, the power.”
Jay Kapadia, GM’s creative sound director, sits in a Cadillac LYRIQ in the automaker’s sound design studio.
With the all-electric LYRIQ-V, Kapadia started with an auditory blank slate. “In the absence of the engine, the vehicle is very quiet,” he added. “How do we create the propulsion experience, where the driver feels it’s tied to a real-time instrument?”
LYRIQ-V’s sound design is made of five “layers” of sounds that play through the vehicle’s 23-speaker AKG Studio Audio System. First is a base layer that is active under light acceleration, joined by a second layer that plays under heavier acceleration. The third layer is a simulated “rev” sound that kicks in when you blip the accelerator pedal when the car is stationary. The fourth is a low frequency tone that activates between 50 and 70 mph, while the fifth is a higher frequency that comes in above 80 mph.
“A bunch of these layers kick in at different intervals,” Kapadia explains. “It’s basically like a smell of a perfume, which may have three different notes – a low note, a mid-note and a high note. Similarly, we have specially curated this to have five different layers that unfold at different times and intervals, intended to ignite the feeling for our customers.”
LYRIQ-V needed a bespoke sound profile to match its dynamic performance. When engaged in V-Mode, a driver can enter Launch Control, which delivers consistently thrilling acceleration, allowing the LYRIQ-V to blast from zero to 60 mph in just 3.3 seconds with Velocity Max1 – making it the quickest Cadillac ever. In V-Mode, all six sound layers are active, including the acceleration and virtual “rev” layers, to create a performance-focused sonic experience for the driver and passengers.
Kapadia testing preliminary sound design functions using a simulator in the GM sound design studio.
V-Series fans will be happy to know Kapadia pulled inspiration from past models when giving the LYRIQ-V its performance-inspired voice.
“We studied our [CT5-V] Blackwing and V-Series.R race car,” Kapadia says. “We drove around, we captured some of these sounds, and recreated the experience, applying the Blackwing spirit to an EV sound.”
V-Series customers will be able to hear for themselves what the future of electric Cadillac performance sounds like when the LYRIQ-V hits showrooms later this year.
1On a closed course only. Based on Initial Vehicle Movement (IVM).
