JBL and Garage Italia Amp Up the Sound of Custom Cars

JBL becomes the preferred audio partner of Milan-based Garage Italia with legendary sound for custom-designed cars

THIS from the JBL folk as part of Harman..who have now got an astonishing amount of resources in their world as a piece of the immense Samsung corporation.. and is about a car that is iconic in car audio for reasons quite other than this. Do you know why? because the Panda was so tiny that the microphone of a how-loud-is-it? contest testing device – an SPL meter (Sound Pressure Level) was always closer to the subwoofers when put on the windscreen. This made for them arriving on trailers at 170dB level, with bullet proof windows! This, sounds cool and is about old Pandas fitted with electric motors and new audio. Now read on… Ed.

HARMAN International, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. focused on connected technologies for automotive, consumer and enterprise markets, and Milan-based Garage Italia, specialised in customising vehicles, today announced a new partnership, that will bring legendary JBL sound to Garage Italia’s custom-designed cars. As part of the collaboration, Garage Italia will customise their vehicles with JBL’s portfolio of car aftermarket and consumer audio solutions to create unique sound solutions.

Extending its portfolio of Icon-E project cars, Garage Italia revealed yesterday the first of five customised Fiat Panda 4×4 vehicles that will be revealed one by one during the Autumn/Winter 2020 Season. The idea of Icon-E is to give a new life to iconic classic cars, by equipping them with an electric motor and freshening them up with a new customised design. Using an all-wheel-drive Panda from the first series, produced between 1983 and 2003, the cars are a real manifestation of Italian design.

The Panderis car opens the way, born from the synergy with Vitale Barberis Canonico, the Biella-based woollen mill with over 350 years of history that enriches the 4×4 with a unique sartorial touch thanks to the interiors made with its fabrics. For a bold, vibrant sound experience, the designers of Garage Italia are using JBL Car Aftermarket speakers, custom fitting them into the vehicle cabin. Four JBL Club 4020 coaxial loudspeakers and a JBL Basspro SL active subwoofer will make the heart of the car passengers rise with the beat of their favourite tune.

Garage Italia is one of the leading and most renowned customisation companies in the world, customising products to be unique works of art. Founded by Lapo Elkann, the DNA and mindset of Garage Italia are inspired by the tradition and the excellence of ‘Made in Italy’ in the automotive, design and tailoring fields. This combined with the ability to explore the customisation world in an innovative and disruptive way through artistic interpretation, craftsmanship and passionate attention to detail is what makes both world-leading car manufacturers as well as car enthusiasts turn to Garage Italia for customised works of art.

“We are proud and excited about this new partnership with Garage Italia,” said Mathias Brand, Sr. Director, Global Marketing European Customers, Automotive Audio at HARMAN. “They are unique in the field of world class automotive customisation through outstanding design. Integrating our JBL aftermarket-audio and consumer audio solutions into these exceptional cars will certainly deliver truly unique experiences to the customers.”

Sound plays an elemental role in people’s lives by connecting and inspiring them and creating emotions. JBL creates the amazing sound that shapes life’s most epic moments. From iconic events like Woodstock and concerts at Madison Square Garden, to games at Yankee Stadium and weekend road trips in the car, JBL elevates listeners’ experiences with award-winning audio that lets them make the most of every moment.

“We want our cars not only to be an eye-catcher but also an ‘ear-catcher’. JBL is an authority and iconic brand in the audio industry and our brands both share the same commitment to creating elevated, unique experiences. So, the collaboration is proving to be a great fit”, commented Enrico Vitali, CEO at Garage Italia.

The Panda 4×4 project sets the new partnership off to an inspiring start, and there are further projects anticipated to be revealed in 2020.

About HARMAN

HARMAN (harman.com) designs and engineers connected products and solutions for automakers, consumers, and enterprises worldwide, including connected car systems, audio and visual products, enterprise automation solutions; and services supporting the Internet of Things. With leading brands including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon®, Mark Levinson® and Revel®, HARMAN is admired by audiophiles, musicians and the entertainment venues where they perform around the world. More than 50 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and connected car systems. Our software services power billions of mobile devices and systems that are connected, integrated and secure across all platforms, from work and home to car and mobile. HARMAN has a workforce of approximately 30,000 people across the Americas, Europe, and Asia. In March 2017, HARMAN became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.