The area of subjective noise is HUGE. Most sporty noises you hear from a car are either intake or exhaust or a combination of the two. Assuming this is what you mean...
Sporty sounds tend to have an order balance that comprises the fundamental, plus a good contribution from the first few harmonics. For a 6-cylinder engine, this would be 3rd, 6th, 9th, 12th, etc. Half orders (a term used to describe orders that aren't harmonics of the fundamental, but are harmonics of the 1/2 order) tend to give a rougher sound.
Many many dollars, euros & yen are spent in refining the sound quality, usually through modifications to the order balance.
Sometimes roughness needs to be added to a vehicle's sound to match the rough, tough image required. Sometimes smoothness is required. Sometimes downright aggressive power is required. These can usually be obtained from the same base engine, by modifications to the exhaust and intake system geometries.