Paris – Sports car maker Maserati has teamed up with Bowers & Wilkins in a long-term partnership that will yield limited-edition co-branded audio products, including high-performance speakers and headphones.
The audio company will also develop a new high-performance OEM autosound system in collaboration with Maserati for availability in Maserati cars starting in 2013. Details of the sound system weren’t released, but Bowers & Wilkins executive VP Evert Huizing said his company worked closely with Maserati engineers to design a system “perfectly adapted to the unique challenges of the car environment, and one which will deliver great sound and transform the driving experience.”
As part of the partnership, Maserati and Bowers & Wilkins will engage in multiple activities including a micro site, films and a series of events in cities around the world, the companies said. The marketing effort will be built around the theme of Seven Notes, inspired by the seven notes produced by Maserati engines, the companies said. The engine notes have already been used to create a series of exclusive tracks composed and recorded by musician and producer Howie B at Abbey Road Studios in London. The tracks are available for free in high-definition audio at 7notes.com.
The partnership was announced at the Paris Motorshow by Huizing and Maserati CEO Harald Wester, who said the two brands’ focus on performance and design make the partnership click. “Maserati has always attracted discerning customers who appreciate understated refinement and genuine performance – and the same can be said for Bowers & Wilkins,” he said. Both companies also “have a proud heritage of traditional craftsmanship and engineering excellence,” he added.
Bowers & Wilkins also designs OEM sound systems for one other automaker, Jaguar.
Bowers & Wilkins entered the OEM autosound market in 2008 when it signed a global agreement with Harman appointing Harman as exclusive global representative for future applications of Bowers & Wilkins technologies in the automotive OEM business.
