The ultimate high-performance earbuds, courtesy of McLaren and Bowers & Wilkins

High-end audio manufacturer Bowers & Wilkins has bolstered its ongoing partnership with McLaren Automotive with these new McLaren Edition of the Pi8 wireless earbuds.

One of our favourite audiophile earbud designs, the Pi8 has been given an aesthetic overhaul in line with McLaren’s signature colour palette. That means a technical-looking Galvanic Grey main colour for the case and buds themselves, with splashes of metallic Papaya Orange to drive home the McLaren connection. The company's use of this vivid shade dates back to 1968, when founder Bruce McLaren and his racing team adopted it as a bold choice that would stand out from the pack as well as show up well on black and white television sets.

The company has already created McLaren Editions of its Px8 over-ear headphones and iconic Zeppelin speaker and recently expanded the collaboration to bring the McLaren Formula 1 Team into the partnership. Since 2015, bespoke Bowers & Wilkins audio systems have been an integral component of McLaren’s range of supercars, all the way up to the recently announced W1 Ultimate Series.

The Pi8 sits at the top of Bowers & Wilkins wireless earbud range. Whilst there are no technical enhancements to the McLaren Editions, only aesthetic ones, the tie-in with F1 will see Bowers & Wilkins' products used across the F1 team as they criss-cross the globe during the 2025 season. As well as the colourway, the new edition also includes a discreet rendering of McLaren's distinctive 'Swoosh' logo.

For the rest of us, the new edition offers a bold and distinctive aesthetic that’s a cut above the monochrome stylings of most rival wireless earbuds. Bowers & Wilkins has a commitment to sound quality that goes above and beyond, and the south coast-based British manufacturer isn’t a huge distance from McLaren’s HQ in Woking. Bowers & Wilkins’ R&D centre is barely 30 miles from McLaren’s Foster-designed Technology Centre.

Such close proximity and shared values around performance and technology have created another winning combination.

Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 McLaren Edition, £449, BowersWilkins.com, @BowersWilkins, Cars.Mclaren.com