The two iconic audio brands have collaborated on bringing Abbey Road Studios to automotive, launching first in the Volvo EX90 in 2025. The partnership aims to address the acoustic limitations of the car environment, transporting the driver and passengers to new and more compelling listening spaces.

For over 92 years, Abbey Road Studios has been at the forefront of music-tech innovation. Meanwhile, Bowers & Wilkins has been perfecting the art of bringing leading-edge loudspeaker technology to the car environment with its automotive partners.

Its new “Abbey Road Studios Mode” captures the unique characteristics of Abbey Road's studio spaces, equipment and processes to create a new listening experience. This allows the listener to effectively engineer their own sound, using configurable settings developed directly with Abbey Road's engineers.

The natural sound of the studios is captured using real measurements taken from several live spaces and control rooms, plus the tonality of Abbey Road's unique EMI-era equipment and the expertise of its engineers. In Producer Mode, these components have been combined to give the user freedom to explore both the scale of the spaces at Abbey Road and how equipment affects tonality – shifting the acoustic from a retro vintage to a deeper, modern sound, narrowing or expanding the stereo sound field, and adjusting the acoustic environment, just as a producer or engineer would do.

Debuting in the Volvo EX90, the Abbey Road Studios Mode is accessed via the car's redesigned user interface alongside more traditional audio settings. The mode will be available free of charge to EX90 owners via an over-the-air software update in 2025 for all EX90s fitted with Bowers & Wilkins.

The EX90 features a highly advanced Bowers & Wilkins audio system, which includes several proprietary Bowers & Wilkins technologies. Six Continuum cone midrange drivers and five Nautilus Double-dome tweeters are complemented by eight aluminium-domed headrest and ceiling speakers. The central Tweeter-on-Top on the dashboard is a further visible embodiment of Bowers & Wilkins' acoustic philosophy, also being used in their high-performance home loudspeakers, the most advanced of which – the 800 Series Diamond – can be found in use at Abbey Road. Each of the 25 speakers in the EX90 has been carefully positioned within the car's cabin. The system has been developed and tuned by Bowers & Wilkins engineers in close collaboration with Volvo Cars' audio team and can also play Dolby Atmos content.

Dan Shepherd, Vice President, Licensing and Partnerships for Bowers & Wilkins, told StereoNET:

We are thrilled to work with Abbey Road Studios to elevate the in-car experience and bring drivers and passengers across the globe a new and exciting way to enjoy their music. I'm confident our combined expertise will prove to be game-changing for automotive entertainment.

Jeremy Huffelmann, General Manager at Abbey Road Studios, added: 

We are delighted to extend our partnership with Bowers & Wilkins to launch the Abbey Road Studios Mode. Through our shared passion for creative excellence and the highest quality audio, we aim to create the most authentic listening experiences possible for both artists and consumers.

For more information visit Bowers & Wilkins