GOTHENBURG: Volvo Cars and Polestar have each rolled out Abbey Road Studios Mode for their flagship electric SUVs via complimentary over-the-air updates to owners of the optional Bowers & Wilkins High Fidelity Audio system.
The feature, developed jointly by Bowers & Wilkins and Abbey Road Studios, recreates the acoustic character of the legendary London facility inside the Volvo EX90 and Polestar 3, without affecting the vehicles’ hardware.
Inspired by Abbey Road’s control rooms, live spaces and EMI-era recording equipment, the mode offers four factory-tuned presets —Intimate, Open, Energised and Expansive — and a Producer setting that lets users adjust tonal balance, stereo width and ambience in real time.
Each preset is accompanied in the Polestar 3 by a bespoke high-definition image of iconic Abbey Road instruments and gear on the 14.5-inch touchscreen.
Drivers of the EX90 will see similar visual cues and can shape their own profiles via Producer mode.
Abbey Road general manager Jeremy Huffelmann noted: “For the first time, drivers can personalise their sound just as a producer would in our studios,” while Volvo Cars chief engineering and technology officer Anders Bell described the update as “a world-first experience” delivered seamlessly by OTA software.
“The Bowers & Wilkins sound system in Polestar 3 is already world class, but this new Abbey Road Studios Mode takes it to another level. You’d swear you were right there in the legendary London building, not driving a performance SUV,” said Polestar CEO Michael Lohscheller.
Both SUVs feature the same 25-speaker, 1 610-watt Bowers & Wilkins system with Dolby Atmos support — integrated into one of the quietest cabins Volvo has ever engineered, and the luxuriously appointed Polestar 3 interior.
Tests demonstrated that the Abbey Road mode retains the system’s dynamic range and low-frequency clarity, even under road noise.
Volvo Cars will include Abbey Road Studios Mode as standard equipment on all future EX90 and ES90 models fitted with the Bowers & Wilkins audio package, while Polestar’s flagship update arrives alongside audio enhancements also slated for later model years.
At present, while Volvo is a Geely sub-brand, Polestar is a Geely-controlled, independent brand.
The Volvo-Polestar relationship is best described as a strategic partnership with shared technology and collaboration, rather than Polestar being a direct Volvo sub-brand. Polestar continues to leverage Volvo’s vehicle platforms, technology and service infrastructure.
Polestar 3
