The Finest Bowers & Wilkins Headphones Have Received a Successful McLaren Transformation

The Papaya Orange colourway of the F1 championship squad enhances the aesthetic appeal of the brand's "best-sounding headphones."

McLaren

With McLaren's premier driver Lando Norris securing the 2025 Formula One world championship—achieving his inaugural title with a third-place finish in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, culminating a season-long contest that extended to the final race—it is an opportune moment to explore McLaren's luxury headphone partnership with Bowers & Wilkins.

McLaren and Bowers & Wilkins, both renowned British firms, previously collaborated on special editions of the Pi8 earphones and the inaugural version of the premium Px8 headset. The recent launch of the enhanced Px8 S2 necessitates another McLaren redesign of the premium audio brand's "finest-sounding headphones" to date. The design incorporates the distinctive McLaren Papaya finish alongside a bold Anthracite Grey, replacing the Onyx Black and silvery Warm Stone launch colours, and features the McLaren Speedmark insignia on both the headband and earcups. The provocative features are complemented by diamond-cut luminous edges on the elliptical logo plate and memory-foam cushions upholstered in Nappa leather.

The Px8 enhances the Px7 S3 headphones, incorporating reengineered 40mm Carbon Cone drive units together with an upgraded chassis, voice coil, and magnet to deliver what is regarded as the brand's finest wireless headphone audio quality. The drive units are strategically tilted and positioned to provide sound straight to the ear, powered by a standalone amplifier. The device also includes compatibility for aptX Adaptive 24/96 and aptX Lossless technologies, enabling the transmission of high-fidelity audio from streaming services like Amazon Music, Qobuz, and Tidal.

McLaren

The audio quality is enhanced by Bowers & Wilkins' latest noise-cancelling technology, featuring eight high-performance microphones: two for measuring the output of each driver, four located at opposite ends of each earcup to detect ambient noise, and two for ensuring voice clarity. ADI Pure Voice, the latest iteration of voice processing technology, reduces extraneous noise to enhance phone conversation clarity.

The Px8 S2 is compatible with the Bowers & Wilkins music application, enabling users to modify noise cancellation levels, select wear sensor sensitivity, monitor the 30-hour battery status, customise the functionality of the physical “Quick Action” button to either cycle through three noise-cancelling modes or activate their phone’s voice assistant, and, for the first time on the Px8, refine the auditory experience using a five-band equaliser. Over-the-air updates ensure the Px8 S2 remains current.

The Bowers & Wilkins x McLaren Px8 S2 headphones are currently available for purchase, starting at $899.