Italian sports car maker Maserati and British audio specialist Bowers & Wilkins have formed a new brand partnership.
The long-term partnership will produce a new high-performance car sound system, created by Bowers & Wilkins in collaboration with Maserati, and available exclusively in Maserati cars from 2013.
The partnership was announced at the Paris Motorshow by Maserati CEO Harald Wester and Bowers & Wilkins executive vice president Evert Huizing.
“If you look at the values the companies have in common, the partnership makes perfect sense,” said Wester. “Both Maserati and Bowers & Wilkins have a proud heritage of traditional craftsmanship and engineering excellence. Both have a real commitment to innovation. And both continue to set benchmarks for performance and design in our industries.”
“Maserati has always attracted discerning customers who appreciate understated refinement and genuine performance – and the same can be said for Bowers & Wilkins,” said Huizing. “By working closely with Maserati engineers, we’ve designed a system perfectly adapted to the unique challenges of the car environment, and one which will deliver great sound and transform the driving experience.”
To support the partnership, Maserati and Bowers & Wilkins will launch a range of brand activities including a microsite, films and a series of events in cities around the world. The center piece of the marketing drive will be Seven Notes – a campaign inspired by the seven unique notes produced by all Maserati car engines. These engine notes have been used to create a series of exclusive tracks, composed and recorded by musician and producer Howie B (U2, Björk) at Abbey Road Studios in London. These tracks are freely available in high-definition audio from 7notes.com.
Along with the new car-audio system, the Maserati/Bowers & Wilkins partnership will produce a range of limited edition co-branded audio products, including high-performance loudspeakers and headphones.