Authenticity often goes out the door when it comes to automotive design, whether it's egregiously fake wood trim, fake EV engine noises, or fake hood scoops on trucks begging for your attention. Another recent trend in automotive fakery is for cars to come with fake exhaust tips. Now, to be clear, we're not talking about putting fake exhaust outlets on EVs, which don't need them in the first place. No, it turns out that there are actually a fair number of automakers using fancy fake outlets that aren't really part of the exhaust system at all.
In some cases, these outlets are nowhere near where the exhaust gases are actually coming out. In other situations, the real exhaust tips are located behind, but not touching, the eye candy. While one reason for this is — as you might expect — purely aesthetic, there is some practical thinking going on with these pretend exhaust outlets.
As with a lot of things in life, one important reason for the fraudulent exhaust tips has to do with money. An actual chrome tip on an exhaust pipe is just more expensive than the shiny plastic used to fake integrated outlets. It also costs more to pay for someone to align the true exhaust pipe so that it flows through the bumper. With fake setups, a minor misalignment won't matter because it's blocked from view by the fake outlet. Similar cost savings can come on the automaker's side of the equation.
Then the company doesn't have to spend time and money having the engineering and design departments coordinate their efforts. Designers can put faux exhaust vents where they look best, and engineers can position the real exhaust pipes for optimum performance, efficiency, and safety.
Remember, exhaust comes from fuel and air burning, and that makes the pipes pretty hot — like 400 to 500 degrees Fahrenheit hot. One method for keeping that hot metal from damaging other parts (or people) is to move it out of reach and away from the bumper. Moving the exhaust pipes can further mean soot and other waste products from the gas are less likely to accumulate where they can be seen and create an ugly mess.
That said, since the fake tips aren't really part of the exhaust system, they have no actual effect on emissions.
The future of fake exhaust tips faces two interesting and conflicting pressures. On the one hand, money matters could make them more popular, or at least more common. After all, automakers are finally starting to recognize that today's high prices are keeping people from buying new vehicles, so they plan to build more cheap cars to meet customer demand.
At the other end of the spectrum — in terms of both price and preferences — sit automakers like Audi. The four-rings brand has been looking to get its act together for a little while now, and it's starting to make some moves to get that done.
For example, Audi shelved plans for its full EV switchover, has started deleting some less-expensive models from its range, and is killing the fake exhaust tips. The 2025 Audi A5 made the move as part of its recent redesign, as will future gas models like the even-more recently introduced A6. Going back to real exhaust tips didn't seem to hamper the brand's esthetics much, either. That 2026 Audi A6 looks better than any of the brand's sedans in years.