From a real world experience, I
actually chose sound over performance. I went from a well-tuned 2015 F82 to a 2013 E93 with an aftermarket exhaust. The F82 was much faster, but unless I was at 9/10ths and above, the sound was never provocative enough for me (complete with a full aftermarket exhaust). And, BTW, my F82 was gorgeous to my eye, lowered a bit with Tanzanite Blue paint and CCBs.
Nevertheless, someone offered me a ton of money and I sold it. And instead of replacing it with another,
newer F82 (which I considered, a 2018 Competition model), I went back and got a much slower convertible V8, my E93 (sacrilegious to many).
But the smiles/mile of my E93 have been
far greater than in my former F82, though I'm slower on my favorite back roads, and my auto-X times are higher. And certainly the one time I had my E93 on the track, I was working much harder, though going slower (but fully enjoying myself, even if someone passed me).
So, for me, I'm the anomaly. I'll sacrifice power for sound.
Another case in point: My dream car is a used Ferrari 458, and I'd rather have that than a newer 488 or F8 with much more HP. The 458 with an aftermarket exhaust is all about the drama of the engine coupled with that mechanical (and admittedly, imperfect) transmission. The sound is intoxicating, and the downshifts in Race mode are stuff of legend. You have to hear it. It's spine-tingling glorious.
Last example: I know the new Porsche 911 Turbo is an amazing engineering feat - blindingly quick, a beyond-capable suspension and is an amazing sports car that can be driven daily. But give me the "slower" yet loud, mechanical & melodic GT3.
I love lots of horsepower and high levels of performance too, but in most circumstances, I'd sacrifice some of it for a wondrous sound filling the cabin and the atmosphere, and I'll gladly put in some work to hear it. My E93, the 458 and the GT3, they're all fast
enough.
