The virtual motor- music to the ears!

The Virtual Motor audio system offers the sound — but not the fury — of a high-performance engine for your everyday car or truck. A German company named in.pro is now selling its Virtual Motor system, which taps into the RPM sensor of a vehicle and then plays a choice of four different engine sounds through the vehicle's stereo.

If it wasn't early February, we'd have thought this was some sort of automotive-themed April Fools joke. Apparently, the Virtual Motor is very much for real — or at least as real as a gadget that makes fake engine noise can get.

According to in.pro's press release, the system's easy installation "does not represent any problems that cannot be overcome by anybody." We'll take their word for it. Following in.pro's instructions, the first step is to remove the car's current radio from its slot in the dash.

Then "insert the sound module of the Virtual-Motor into the ISO plug and run the supplied cables to the engine compartment to pick up the rpm-signal. Done!" Our guess is that, if you really must have a Virtual Motor, your best bet is to find a skilled mechanic — preferably one with a very good sense of humor.

So what will the roughly $140 needed for the Virtual Motor actually get you? The system's repertoire of engine sounds includes four distinct choices: an "Italian V8" (think Ferrari, not Fiat), a six-cylinder boxer engine as well as the sound of "rally" and "formula cars." In.pro appears to have been extra careful and awfully ambiguous when it came time to naming the engine notes.

Frankly, it all sounds more than a little ridiculous to our ears. Then again, the idea of mating the sound of a screaming Formula One engine to something like a beat-up old Geo Metro does have a strange and very twisted appeal.

What this means to you: As automotive gags go, they don't get much better (and worse) than the Virtual Motor. — Nick Kurczewski, Correspondent