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Project Sound: The Super-Smooth Suspension That Nobody Wanted to Pay For

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CNet Bose Suspension Screenshot

Photo: CNet

Sometimes, it seems like some of the best ideas fall by the wayside. One of these forgotten wonders was made by Bose (the brainchild of company founder Amar Bose) and code-named Project Sound.

Basically, Project Sound provided the answer to one question: “What if car suspensions were truly smooth?” In other words, Bose took a car and created an electromagnetic suspension system that would allow the car to remain at the same level going over bumps, stay flat during turns, and not rock around while braking, all by anticipating and rising above bumps and such.

Eleven years after it began, Project Sound finally came to fruition, producing a suspension that ignored bumps like they weren’t even there. However, there was a problem. While many luxury brands were delighted by the new suspension (Jaguar, Mercedes, Honda, and Ferrari were all interested), after calculating the cost to build and implement it, each backed away from the deal, saying the system was too heavy and too expensive to use without a radical vehicle redesign.

So, ultimately, the suspension was a commercial failure. However, we are still left with the Bose Ride, a special car seat for truckers, and the following rare demonstration of the working prototype that Bose did for CNet.

News Source: CNet