ATS Road Trip: SCS Asks Owners to Lend Cars for Sound Recording
Two weeks after announcing Road Trip, SCS Software has turned to its players for help. The team needs real cars to record, and it has published a list of the vehicles it is looking for.
How the recording works
SCS knows owners are protective of their cars, so it has explained the process in some detail. A few small microphones go on the car, someone from the team takes it for a short drive, and they capture the engine at different RPMs, the gearbox, the exhaust and so on. Only one microphone sits outside, near the exhaust, held on with duct tape that does not harm the paint. The rest go in the engine bay and the cabin.
There is one firm condition: the car has to be unmodified. SCS wants the sound as close as possible to how the car left the factory, so an aftermarket exhaust rules you out.
The wanted list
| Brand | Vehicle | Engine listed |
|---|---|---|
| Ford | 1967 Mustang | 390 Thunderbird Special V8 |
| Ford | 2023 F-150 | 5.0 V8 |
| Ford | 2023 F-150 Raptor | 3.5 V6 |
| Ford | 2023 Bronco | 2.7 V6 |
| Ford | 1998–2012 Crown Victoria | 4.6 V8 |
| Dodge | 1970 Charger | 426 Hemi V8 |
| Dodge | 1996–2002 Viper | 8.0 V10 |
| Dodge | 2023 Challenger | 6.2 V8 |
| Dodge | 2025 RAM 1500 | 3.0 I6 |
| Toyota | 1984–1987 Corolla GT-S | 1.6 I4 |
| Toyota | 1993–2002 Supra | 3.0 I6 |
| Toyota | 2024 4Runner | not given |
| Toyota | 2024 Sequoia | not given |
| Toyota | 2024 Tacoma | not given |
| Toyota | 2024 Tundra | not given |
| Nissan | 1970 Datsun 240Z | 2.4 I6 |
| Nissan | 1998 240SX | 2.4 I4 |
| Nissan | GT-R | not given |
| Nissan | 2024 Frontier | not given |
Owners were asked to get in touch through an e-mail address set up for the project, and SCS said it was open to discussing compensation.
Our take
This is the closest thing to a vehicle list SCS has shared since the announcement, which named no cars at all. Nineteen vehicles from four brands, from late-1960s muscle and 1990s Japanese sports cars to current pickups and SUVs, is a far wider spread than we expected this early.
A recording wish list is not a confirmed line-up, though. SCS has not said which of these cars will make it into the game, or in what form, and collecting sound for a model is not the same as having a licence to sell it. Read it as a sign of how big the studio wants Road Trip to be, not as a shopping list.
Source: SCS Software blog. Images and video: SCS Software.
