Fifty years ago, as the summit of Mt Everest was conquered for the first time, equally adventurous technicians in Japan were entering the record books with their own form of ICE, manufacturing the first radio to be factory-installed in a car in Japan.
In doing so, Clarion – now the world’s largest specialist in-car entertainment (ICE) producer – triggered a revolution that has gone from that primitive one-button wonder to a range of equipment that will deliver a theatre-like experience from your dashboard.
Given their pioneering history, it’s no surprise that Clarion GB have chosen something radical to celebrate the ‘golden’ milestone.
Revealed today is the company’s latest audio concept, based on the Suzuki Wagon R. After a four-month specialist build, the respectable urban runabout has been transformed into a stunning one-off concept that shows just how far in-car entertainment has developed from those early days.
Over £20,000 has been spent on the transformation, which will be shown and demonstrated at Suzuki dealers in the UK over the next 12 months.
At its heart is a 600-watt powerhouse of the latest Clarion in-car entertainment. The specialist installation includes a barrage of high-power amplifiers driving a multi-media radio/CD/DVD arsenal in the dashboard, with a bank of colour monitors and loudspeakers delivering a real treat for both eyes and ears.
The Clarion range, brought to life in the Wagon R Concept and available nationwide, caters for all tastes, from those looking for a modest upgrade, to the most adventurous technophiles.
The range spans award-winning radio/CD head units, revolutionary in-car DVD ‘multi-media’ and monitors, the very latest Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) tuner, multi-CD autochangers, add-on amplifiers, loudspeakers, a host of accessories and, at the peak of the range, in-dashboard units that provide satellite navigation… something Everest’s conquerers, Sir Edmund Hillary and Tensing Noregay, surely would have appreciated.
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