Bower and Wilkins’ McLaren Edition Px8 headphones for audiophiles who drool over supercars

Bowers and Wilkins have been tailoring high-performance audio systems for McLaren supercars ever since 2015, and now a Bowers and Wilkins accessory gets their special treatment.

The British luxury automaker’s signature colors are now adorned by the premium audio manufacturing expert who’s produced reliable audio systems for McLaren cars all these years.

Designer: Bower and Wilkins

Riding on the success of the Px8 headphones which have already struck a successful partnership with the James Bond franchise, these special edition pair of cans adorn the papaya orange hues of the rising Formula-1 team. Dubbed the Px8 McLaren Edition, the headphones have a dual-toned finish with the Galvanic Grey dominating the look.

According to Dan Shepherd, B&W’s Vice President of Licensing & Partnerships the Px8 McLaren Edition extends the “appeal of our industry-leading sound performance and McLaren’s DNA to outside the car.” Those subtle instances of McLaren’s iconic color are present inside the ear cups (with matching fabric covers), metal bands on the edges and also on the audio cable running out of the smooth chassis. Of course, the McLaren branding on one edge of the leather headband and the grey case cover top things off in style.

Other than this, these over-the-ear headphones get the same soft napa leather finish and the exact same dimensions as the regular Px8 headphones. Technical specifications are virtually the same with the 40mm Carbon Cone drivers angled at an angle rocking the sound. The regular model has already impressed tech pundits, and the legacy continues on to this special edition model with one of the best (if not the best) active noise cancellation and an impressive 30 hours of battery life on a single charge.

Audiophiles and Motorsports lovers will find the perfect match in the form of these headies that feature aptX Adaptive Bluetooth codec. McLaren Edition Px8 headphones can be directly plugged into a DAC or a digital USB-C connection to experience lossless 24-bit audio. When the battery runs dry and there’s no way to charge the cans, you can continue listening to audio with the accompanying 3.5mm cable.

McLaren Edition Px8 will carry a price tag of $800 – which is $100 more than the regular version. For McLaren fans that won’t be a huge price barrier to cross over, since these headphones do actually look good. Matching them up with the automotive brand’s livery is going to be the course for audiophiles.

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McLaren unveils e-scooter that folds into an easy-to-carry package

E-scooters are all the rage in current times and most automakers are joining this electrification trend. McLaren is homing in on the mindful rage with its all-in-one electric vehicle which is a battery-powered scooter destined to redefine the complexion of personal mobility.

The British company has created a new offshoot christened Lavoie Electric (much like the Porsche Design label) to take up the rising developments of their EV quest – be it the current ones or the ones destined for the future. As Wertheimer, Lavoie cofounder and CEO rightly suggested that they want to create a vehicle that’s “reliable, faultlessly functional, powerful, stylish,”  having state-of-the-art technology.” TO be precise, built in the same way as any car or motorcycle would.

Designer: Lavoie Electric

McLaren is quite serious about its clean energy ambitions for personal mobility space as Richard Clarke, ex-F1 engineer and electric vehicle expert Eliott Wertheimer and Albert Nassar head the ranks at Lavoie. The first-ever product is going to be the Series 1 folding electric scooter which draws inspiration from the suspension system of a world-class race car. That’s complimented well by the chunky tires to further soak the bumps and uneven driving pavements. So, you can pretty well imagine the ride comfort on this electric scooter in real-life situations.

The real USP of this personal commuter lies in its ability to fold in half thanks to the patented Flowfold mechanism to become the size of an easy-to-carry package – and that too with the push of a button. The magnesium-framed scooter weighs only 36 pounds for urban practicality which is a huge bonus. Series 1 e-scooter has a battery capacity enough to go 31 miles on a single charge. The unit can be recharged in a couple of hours – again a big advantage.

Looks are also kept at a premium here with a sleek aerodynamic shape and funky triangular headlight. Safety is also paramount in this design as the innovative lighting spread illuminates the road ahead and the side lights keep other motorists informed about the ride. The integrated display on the Series 1 provides turn-by-turn navigation and the indicator lights are controlled from the handlebars.

Lavoie promises to unfurl more details about the electric scooter in the coming future and for now, hasn’t revealed any details about the availability or the pricing. However, the design is promising and is backed by closely-knit features that are very useful in daily usage.

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LEGO Technic unveils a pretty impressive 1432-brick McLaren Formula 1 set

Designed in partnership with McLaren, LEGO Group has just revealed the LEGO Technic McLaren Formula 1 Race Car #42141 set, a 25.5-inch long, 10.5-inch wide F1 replica made from a staggering 1432 bricks. The set celebrates McLaren’s iconic papaya livery carried on the MCL35M race cars throughout the 2021 F1 season and comes with some pretty nifty details, including an actual V6-engine made from LEGO bricks, complete with moving pistons!

Designers: LEGO & McLaren Racing

The LEGO Technic McLaren Formula 1 Race Car is a collaborative design effort between LEGO and McLaren Racing’s design team. Built to vividly realistic detail, the car comes with its own LEGO V6 engine with moving pistons, steering activated from the cockpit, suspension, and a differential lock. For added realism, the automobile even sports the logos of the partner and sponsor brands across the car’s bodywork, and even the half-open cockpit that’s now a standard in the Formula 1!

“We are excited to unveil the unique LEGO Technic model of our McLaren F1 car, a fun and engaging product that celebrates our 2021 season livery while giving fans a hands-on interpretation of the new 2022 F1 car design,” said James Key, Technical Director of McLaren Racing. “The final product looks fantastic, and we cannot wait to make this available to our fans.”

The LEGO Technic McLaren Formula 1 Race Car #42141 set will be made available starting March 1st, 2022, at a price of $179.99.

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This bare-backed McLaren 570s looks even more brutishly beautiful than the original

Looking quite like the Terminator with parts of his skin pulled off, Khyzyl Saleem’s McLaren 570s begs to ask the question – how essential is bodywork on an automobile? Saleem’s 570s concept sports a semi-bare design with parts of the bodywork removed for more rugged emphasis. To be honest, while the idea of removing a car’s bodywork does feel like desecrating its design, there’s also a case to be made that a car’s underlying chassis can sometimes be just as beautiful as its body panels. Just take a look at this wild stripped-apart Lamborghini Huracan from last year.

The McLaren’s design comes from the mind of Khyzyl Saleem, a Surrey-based self-taught concept artist and car-design-virtuoso. Saleem’s works tread the fine line between being absolute fantasies and rooted in some semblance of reality. Saleem isn’t scared of tapping into his wild side, and that’s a characteristic that shows in his cars too. The 570s seems like a hobby project for now, although I’d pay top dollar to see someone actually custom-build one. Saleem’s design, aptly named the 570s Unhinged, sports a few significant modifications. The front and rear look nothing like the original, with an exposed, modified chassis (with a few reinforcements) that allows for monstrously wide wheels, redesigned headlights + taillights (I really like Saleem’s continuous taillight detail), and even a modded exhaust system. If a regular 570s is Bucky Barnes, the Unhinged concept feels like the Winter Soldier in a blind fit of sheer unbridled fury. The fact that the car isn’t shy to showcase its chrome details (those rims look absolutely bonkers), much like Winter Soldier’s shiny vibranium arm.

Designer: Khyzyl Saleem

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The Project Fenix is an outright gorgeous supercar that pays homage to the iconic Pininfarina-designed Ferrari F50





Mirroring the celebratory spirit of the F50, which was designed by Pininfarina to commemorate Ferrari’s 50th Anniversary, the Project Fenix marks the 15th year anniversary of Dutch automotive studio Ugur Sahin Design. However, in a year filled with overhyped and underdelivered revivals (the 2021 Countach comes swiftly to mind), Ugur Sahin’s Project Fenix highlights the best aspects of the F50 in a form that’s an incredible balance between old and new. A futuristic throwback, if you will.

Project Fenix walks the visual tightrope between a hallmark of automotive design from 1995, and a vision of the future… something that’s already challenging considering the Ferrari F50 looks stunningly future-ready even 27 years later. Automotive design Ugur Sahin stressed how important it was to retain the classic car’s core essence, while still pulling off a redesign that elicits modernity. In that pursuit, Fenix retains signature elements of the car’s design, notably its silhouette, the iconic rear wing, transparent engine bay cover, the sculpted vents on the hood, and that sharp-looking sweeping side line in black, that can even be found on the F50. Where the Fenix shines, however, is in how the car manipulates the curves and surfaces to look cleaner, tighter, and more contemporary.

Where the Fenix really shines (quite literally if I may add) is in its headlight clusters, an area that Ugur explored as his personal creative playground. The front hood remains ostensibly within Ferrari territory with slightly larger sculpted vents, but the headlights take a detour via McLaren-town (which, in unrelated news, just recently got acquired by Audi). Moving to the rear, the Fenix still retains the overall essence of the F50, but explores sleeker taillights, highlighting exactly what Ugur Sahin Design does so incredibly well – recreating classic automobiles from legendary companies, but with a fresh twist that elicits nostalgia, curiosity, and certainly a bit of an adrenaline rush.

Although Ugur Sahin Design has dabbled in one-off custom prototypes, the Project Fenix currently exists only as a concept car designed to celebrate the Dutch studio’s 15th anniversary. Ugur Sahin’s been rather vocal of being open to building custom units if there’s enough demand… something that shouldn’t be a problem for the Fenix, given exactly how stunning it looks! Heck, I wouldn’t be surprised if Ferrari or Pininfarina commissioned a custom build of their own!

Designer: Ugur Sahin Design

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The McLaren Meliora Concept aims at being the purest expression of the British carmaker’s brand DNA





If done correctly, designers can create a very powerful tie between their products and their brand in a way that makes them instantly recognizable even to the average Joe. The Cybertruck is unapologetically linked to Tesla, the Blue and Black paint job along with the horseshoe radiator is unmistakably Bugatti, and back in the earlier days, if a car had an aggressive aesthetic with a vibrant citrus yellow/green/orange paint job, it was almost always a Lamborghini. The Meliora Concept aims at establishing that same connection with the McLaren brand. Envisioned by India-based automotive designer Krishnakanta Saikhom, the Meliora encapsulates McLaren’s signature style in a car that’s simple yet has a strong character… and looks like a McLaren from a mile away.

The icon of the Meliora’s design is the ellipse element located around its headlights. Inspired by the color and surface-split details often seen with McLaren’s cars around their headlights (especially the 720S), the Meliora doubles down on the detail, creating a car with a captivating pair of eyes that just lock your gaze the moment you look at them. The ellipse doesn’t end on the front… instead, it continues well into the sides of the car, cutting through the tires and becoming a pair of vents located on each side. To ensure that this black detail stands out, Saikhom gave the Meliora a yellow paint-job, creating that perfect contrast required for the car to absolutely pop.

The rear feels distinctly McLaren-inspired too, with its taillights that remind me of the 570S, and the two exhausts between them that are classically seen on the Artura and the 720S. All in all, the rest of the surfacing on the Meliora is rather simple, focusing on pristine elegance instead of exaggerated self-assertion. Just as its name suggests (Meliora is Latin for ‘the pursuit of better’), Saikhom’s Meliora concept focuses on succinctly and effectively communicating the McLaren brand in as little detail as possible.

Designer: Krishnakanta Saikhom

Mclaren Can-Am homage concept is a fusion of retro racing culture + modern supercar character!





The Can-Am sports car racing held from 1966 to 1987 was in a league of its own dominated by the most exotic race cars on the planet at that time, driven by champion racers from F1, NASCAR, and Indy-car. McLaren had the best years in the series in the M8D race car (popularly known as the Batmobile for its appearance) owing to the technological innovation driven by the spirit of racing. Now decades after that golden era of motorsports that exploded in popularity beyond belief, the McLaren gets a new racing avatar inspired by the renowned Can-Am racers.

This is the Mclaren Can-Am car homage concept car, the brainchild of designer Yosuke Yamada who has reimagined the spirit of racing as a homage to the era when motorsports overtook football and baseball in popularity. The whole design of the racer is centered around aerodynamic performance to make the car run at top speeds without any airflow resistance. If you look closely at the back, there is a pneumatic cooling power unit that draws the air inside the power unit for extra efficiency and peak output. That’s well complemented by the supercharged aero wing for the funneling effect produced by the two blades. On the sides too, there is an aero turbine to accelerate the airflow for cooling and aerodynamics. Not surprisingly, the wheels are also aero optimized to make the racer glide through at stunning speeds.

Yosuke has managed to culminate a unique interpretation of the McLaren design language with the apparent connection to the Can-Am racing cars with the sleek look to go with it. A futuristic car concept that’s dope for its sheer connection with the nostalgic era where high-speed racing was the cult. Fusing the retro with the modern looks of a McLaren race car is what makes this concept shout out loud, even though it is just at the blueprint stage!

Designer: Yosuke Yamada

 

McLaren M8D Aotearoa Concept is a Maori-inspired lean, mean, racing machine!

Look closely at the graphics on the side and you’ll immediately get the McLaren M8D Aotearoa’s source of inspiration. Named after the Maori term for the country of New Zealand, the Aotearoa is a Polynesian-themed racecar that combines sleek, aerodynamic forms with an allegiance to a fictional team called Kiwi Racing.

What immediately stands out with the Aotearoa concept is the way it adopts aspects of the Maori culture without being too obviously inspired. The car is both short and wide, giving it a much broader axle-track (space between left and right wheels) to resemble the stance of Maori warriors while they perform their Haka. That goes in line with the aggressive appeal of the car… the menacing headlights give the Aotearoa an instant warrior-like appeal and make it look menacing to its opponents. Its black paint-job is a hat-tip to the color of the sporting jerseys worn by the New Zealand teams, and the side even has a black-on-black Maori tattoo-inspired graphic with the words Kiwi Racing emblazoned near the rear-wheel.

The Mclaren M8D Aotearoa concept’s inspiration aside, it’s a pretty sweet looking racecar with a closed cockpit that merges beautifully into the rest of the body. The car carefully and cleverly balances the use of curves and straight lines, giving it a memorable front as well as side-view without openly compromising on aerodynamics. There’s ample room for airflow to minimize drag as the car races down the track, and even though its bodywork is mainly carbon-fiber, that dangerously low nose on the front and the spoiler on the back provide just the right amount of downforce to ensure that the McLaren M8D Aotearoa absolutely dominates on the track!

Designer: Yaro Yakovlev

The OnePlus Concept One and its innovative design is the company’s biggest limelight moment

In the 6 years (and one month) of its existence, OnePlus has cultivated a reputation of being an indie brand that could make good flagship smartphones without the flagship price tag. Honestly, that’s a great way to cultivate a reputation, and it’s a hard one to shake off, considering your most loyal fanbase comprises the very antithesis of Apple’s fanbase… tech-loving nerds who hate the premium price tag. (And OnePlus has an extremely strong fanbase)

I talk about shaking off this reputation because in the past few years, OnePlus has really begun flexing its strength as a smartphone maker (and subsequently upping their prices) by releasing some of the first Android phones with facial recognition, multi-lens cameras, and fast-charging. It’s done this while garnering loads of support from people like MKBHD as well as partnering with Marvel to launch special-edition phones. The company even roped in Robert Downey Jr. as their brand ambassador, replacing veteran Indian movie star Amitabh Bachchan.

Today marks a significant day in OnePlus’ roadmap, as they announce their very first concept phone, the OnePlus Concept One. Following a long-time partnership with McLaren and Boeing, OnePlus debuted their conceptual device at CES today. On the front, it looks like any smartphone, with a screen that wraps all around the phone’s front, and the lack of a notch that’s further supported by a pop-up camera. Flip the phone over, and that’s where the OnePlus Concept One really begins to shine. With a leather back panel, and a black piece of glass running through its middle, the Concept One looks unique, no doubt… but that’s where the magic begins. The leather trim comes courtesy of McLaren, and is showcased in the company’s signature Papaya Orange color. Sitting between it is the black glass strip, which looks unassuming, until you turn the camera app on. Once the camera is activated, the opaque glass instantly turns transparent to reveal three lenses behind it. A feature often found in airplane windows, and in McLaren’s sunroof, the electrochromic glass makes its debut with the Concept One. OnePlus and McLaren spent nearly 18 months on this feature, taking the technology and shrinking it down to a glass panel that’s just 3.5mm thick. The electrochromic glass goes from opaque to translucent in a dazzling 7 milliseconds too, which is incredibly fast for the technology, making it the smallest and fastest electrochromic glass panel ever designed to date. The glass panel helps hide the camera lenses, until you need them, which seems like a great technology to have considering most new smartphones have anywhere from 4-6 camera lenses. The electronically tinting glass helps hide those ugly camera lenses until you need them, and what’s more, the tinting ability also works as a filter, helping darken videos that are shot in harsh daylight, preventing burnouts. You’ve really got to give OnePlus a round of applause for really pushing boundaries in this surprising new direction. In a world where wraparound screens, small bezels, and folding displays seem to be the only way to gain attention, OnePlus has done so with a feature that’s creative, innovative, and helps smartphones look and perform better. Hats off!

Designers: OnePlus & McLaren

Image Credits: Android Authority, Ayush Singh Patel