by Stephen Rivers
- Scout is creating over 40 unique sounds sourced from real environments.
- Engineers recorded a vintage Scout and grain silo for authentic audio.
- Terra truck and Traveler SUV production begins in South Carolina in 2027.
Scout Motors is getting closer to production every day, and it’s planning to launch with a curated soundscape. Forget generic beeps, the revived American off-road brand is sending sound engineers across the country on what sounds like an audio-archeology road trip.
More: Scout Motors Says Over 80% Of Buyers Picked A Surprising Powertrain
If everything goes according to plan, the Traveler SUV and Terra pickup won’t just be made in the United States, they’ll sound like it, too.
What Does America Sound Like?
Scout Chief Design Officer, Chris Benjamin, says the brand’s UX team has been collecting natural mechanical noises and atmospheric tones to create more than 40 bespoke sounds for locks, turn signals, warning chimes, and startup sequences.
“All of the sounds inside the vehicle, we want them to feel authentic to us and unique,” Benjamin told Autonews at the L.A. Auto Show, adding that Scout isn’t aiming for an utterly quiet, library-like cabin.
Obviously, recorded sounds are quite different from the real thing, but it’s clear that the Scout team wants to do the best it can with the modern technology on hand.
The team even brought a vintage International Harvester Scout, complete with a V8, into an anechoic chamber and recorded sounds in isolation.
The same raw mechanical noises found on that model, from the door latches to the locks to the V8 itself, will make it into the new offerings from Scout.
In a nod to the brand’s agricultural heritage, the team also visited Adairville, Kentucky. There, they found a farm and recorded industrial farming equipment inside a grain silo. Other audio layers in the car come from an acoustic guitar.
“You have a little bit of industry, a little bit of agriculture, a little bit of the original Scout in each one of the sounds,” Benjamin said.
Scout says its EVs won’t chase sterile, ultra-minimalist, sci-fi EV interior cues. Yes, there’s a digital gauge cluster and a large center screen, but there will also be real knobs, real switches, and real buttons.
The tactile nature of the cabin connects to the brand’s rugged DNA, and the carefully curated sounds will reinforce it.
“We’re not creating spaceships,” Benjamin said. “We’re creating hearty, wholesome vehicles that people will love, and we want the sounds to reflect that.”
Production of the Terra and Traveler begins in South Carolina in late 2027, after a run of pilot builds in 2026.
