Car Review: B&W and Jaguar team up

Swanky XKR Portfolio to get equally swanky British-made sound system.

Jaguar has drafted in British speaker maker extraordinaire Bowers & Wilkins to create the in-car “audio experience” for its new XKR Portfolio sports jalopy.

The system, which includes B&W signatures like improved dispersion Kevlar mid-range speakers and extended high-frequency performance aluminium tweeters, is the first in-car system the company has made.

According to B&W’s boffins, the Kevlar helps maintain the “sonic purity” of the signal, spreading sound evenly across the frequency range – which results in a clearer, more detailed sound hitting your lugholes as you put pedal to the metal. The system was also calibrated by the same B&W engineers that tune the company’s 800 Diamond Series speakers – the self same noise-bricks used as the audio reference in Abbey Road studios.

The system will be fitted as standard in all XKR Portfolios, which Jaguar expects to be available in early summer. We’ve got ours reserved already.