What has Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, World Cup collectibles, trading cards and this supercool Pirelli wireless speaker have in common? They are made by a Modena-based Italian company founded by the Panini family back in 1961.
Six years ago, a new subsidiary called Ixoost was launched by the Panini family to produce automotive-themed audiophile-quality, hi-fi speakers. The creations qualify as works of art; an example being the Esavox speaker system which resembles the hindquarters of a Lamborghini Aventador, replete with a monocoque frame made of carbon fibre and exhaust parts made by Lamborgini.
Being proudly Italian and fine collectors of classic cars (Maseratis in particular), the collaboration with automotive companies has now been expanded to include Pirelli Design, and where better but to start at the pinnacle of motorsport where Pirelli is a major sponsor — Formula 1.
The Pirelli P Zero Sound system is based on the actual scaled down wind tunnel tyre which Pirelli supplies to Formula 1 teams for use on half-size models during aerodynamics testing. The size and aluminium alloy construction of the wheel are retained but Ixxost shoehorned a mid-woofer driver along with a silk dome tweeter within the confines of the wheel. They also added amplification (rated at 100W) and Bluetooth connectivity for wireless operation.
Like the real items seen on telly over race weekends, the Pirelli P Zero Sound is available in nine different colours representing the different compounds offered by Pirelli to the Formula 1 teams, including the grooved green Intermediate and blue-banded Wet tyres. And like how the F1 teams fret over the selection of tyres for race weekends, it can be just as tough to decide which colour looks best in the living room, that is if you can afford the ultra-stiff asking price of €2,400 or RM11,600, each. Mamma mia!
