Morgan Motor Company announced it has entered into a technology partnership with Sennheiser. Working jointly with the support of Continental Engineering Service’s Ac2ated Sound System, the long-term project is intended to transform the sound experience of future generations of lightweight Morgan sports cars.
The British manufacturer of handcrafted sports cars produces around 850 cars per year, of which more than 70% are exported.
The partnership with Sennheiser continues Morgan’s philosophy of combining traditional craftsmanship with innovation, and the latest technology. This approach to 21st Century coachbuilding is celebrated throughout Morgan’s current model range which comprises Plus Four, Plus Six and the recently launched Super 3.
In the past, Morgan cars have presented challenges for audio systems due to limited space, low weight requirements and the nature of an open top sports car when optimizing sound quality. With the combination of Continental’s hardware and Sennheiser’s software, these challenges will be overcome, presenting an all-new proposition to new and existing Morgan customers.
Sennheiser is entering the automotive industry with its software technology and sound tuning know-how, aiming to revolutionize the way driver and passengers experience sound. Thanks to Sennheiser’s end-to-end expertise of sound capture and reproduction, Morgan will be the first automotive OEM to unlock the development of a new generation of sound experiences in its cars for enhanced music enjoyment. The two companies share a long-term development vision sealed by this partnership.
Continental’s actuator system abandons conventional speaker technology by exciting selected surfaces in the vehicle interior to produce sound. The result is an extremely natural and enveloping sound experience for the occupants, who feel as if they are surrounded by sound. In comparison to conventional audio systems, Continental says that Ac2ated Sound not only produces high audio quality but also enables a reduction of the weight and space taken up by up to 90 percent.
"We are delighted to be entering into a technical partnership with Sennheiser, supported by Continental. Sennheiser is a pioneer in its field, with a long tradition of developing ground-breaking new technology. As a small, lightweight sports car, a Morgan traditionally presents a packaging and weight saving challenge when identifying audio solutions. During our early discussions with Sennheiser and Continental it was clear that their technology provides a solution to these challenges, we are excited to announce more and introduce this new technology to our customers soon,“ says Graham Chapman, Chief Operations Officer, Morgan Motor Company.
"It is a privilege to bring our audio software expertise to one of the world’s longest established automotive manufacturers, one with a commitment to quality, craftsmanship and performance – values very close to our heart at Sennheiser. Morgan Motor sports cars are born from industry leading technologies implemented into the vehicles themselves as well as the production and design processes, and we are proud to be a part of this completely unique and fresh vision of 21st-century coachbuilding," adds Veronique Larcher, Head of Mobility at Sennheiser.
"With the cooperation of Morgan, Sennheiser and Continental experts, we have brought together the highest level of expertise in the areas of vehicle design, acoustics and user experience. By overcoming the challenges of weight and space, we can soon offer Morgan´s customers a premium sound experience,“ states Christoph Falk-Gierlinger, Managing Director Continental Engineering Services.
www.morgan-motor.com
www.continental-automotive.com
www.sennheiser.com | www.sennheiser-hearing.com
