"This is an exciting project for JBL," says Christopher M. Dragon, director of brand marketing, JBL Mobile. "We are pleased to partner with a car powerhouse such as Ford Racing Technology and play a role in its latest developments."

Of primary concern to JBL engineers was the power-to-weight ratio. They remedied this problem by installing a JBL BP600.1 amplifier to power one JBL GT1041 subwoofer. Packing 600 watts of power, the trunk-installed BP600.1 is more efficient than a conventional Class-AB amplifier, and it delivers 80 percent of its power to the speaker compared to 50 percent for a conventional amplifier.

The BP600.1 drives the GT1041, a 10-inch woofer that was installed in the trunk's rear package tray in a custom-built enclosure, leaving useable trunk space available. The subwoofer system uses a unique membrane over the rear of the woofer, damping the woofer's inherent impedance rise at its frequency of resonance. This eliminates the need for an enclosure, preserving the utility of the trunk and providing the woofer with low-frequency extension and transient accuracy. The FR500's main components are a pair of JBL 504GTi coupled component loudspeakers. These speakers are mounted in custom kick panels.

The main speakers are powered by a JBL P80.4 amplifier. In order to deliver maximum output, the P80.4 was configured to deliver 160 watts in each of the two channels. Both the BP600.1 and the P80.4 are mounted in custom-built carbon fiber panels in the car's trunk.

A Becker TrafficPro source unit heads up the system. The TrafficPro is a high-performance compact disc player, AM and dual FM tuner, and a navigation system -- all in a one DIN unit. It uses NAVTECH CD-ROM databases, relaying information to the driver using voice prompts delivered through the audio system.

Link for more info: www.jbl.com