This Dissertation "Direct Instantaneous Force Control - Key to Low-Noise Switched Reluctance Traction Drives" takes on the well-known noise issue of switched reluctance machines (SRMs) intended for automotive traction. The main vibration and noise source of this machine type, the breathing mode 0, is eliminated by means of control software. The key to the success of the proposed control approach Direct Instantaneous Force Control (DIFC) is to keep the mathematical sum of all radial phase forces constant upon time. This thesis introduces two different approaches which suffice the DIFC law. First, the effectiveness of the two strategies is proven by simulations. Second, these findings are confirmed by test-bench measurements. Moreover, it is demonstrated that DIFC can generally compete with the standard control approach of SRMs regarding factors such as driving-cycle efficiency or torque ripple. The outlook sets out that the fundamental concept of DIFC is not restricted to SRMs. The approach is generally transferable to permanent magnet synchronous machines, for instance. Therefore, the proposed concept has the potential to essentially change the noise characteristics of future automotive traction drives.