The worlds of watchmaking and automobile racing have shared a strong connection for decades, with racing and high-performance cars often serving as a direct inspiration for watches, including classic models like the Rolex Daytona and TAG Heuer Carrera, which both turned 50 in 2013.
Below we take a look at eight recently released watches with designs influenced by automobile racing.
As a partner with Lamborghini in the all-Lambo Super Trofeo auto racing series, Blancpain produces a line of Super Trofeo watches in its L-Evolution collection. The 2012 Blancpain L-Evolution Super Trofeo watch has a flyback chronograph and incorporates materials found in Lamborghini cars, including carbon fiber in the case and dial and alcantara leather for the strap. Lamborghini also designed a Blancpain-branded Lamborghini Super Trofeo race car.
As a partner with Lamborghini in the all-Lambo Super Trofeo auto racing series, Blancpain produces a line of Super Trofeo watches in its L-Evolution collection. The 2012 Blancpain L-Evolution Super Trofeo watch has a flyback chronograph and incorporates materials found in Lamborghini cars, including carbon fiber in the case and dial and alcantara leather for the strap. Lamborghini also designed a Blancpain-branded Lamborghini Super Trofeo race car.
As part of its Breitling for Bentley series, Breitling introduced the Bentley Supersports Chronograph, a limited-edition timepiece made as a tribute to the Continental Supersports, the fastest and most powerful Bentley car ever manufactured, and holder of the world ice speed record. The watch features a “dashboard-style” dial in Royal Ebony, with either blue, orange or white-ringed subdials and inner bezels. The bezel, designed in the style of Bentley dashboard controls, activates a variable tachymeter which measures average speed no matter how much time has elapsed, how much distance is covered, or how high a speed is reached.
Chopard’s Superfast Chrono comes in 45-mm-diameter case, and is powered by Chopard’s automatic Calibre 03.05-M. The silver-brushed vertical lines against the black background of the dial resemble the cooling fins on air-cooled racing engines, while the rubber strap has a smooth tread pattern, resembling the slick tires used for high-speed-track motor racing. The watch also features a tachymeter scale along the bezel.
IWC’s revamped Ingenieuer line is inspired by the brand’s partnership with the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One racing team. The IWC Ingenieur Double Chronograph Titanium has a titanium case and bezel, and also has a titanium crown, crown protector, and push-buttons, all of which are then coated with rubber for a better grip. The watch has a chronograph mechanism (chosen for its usefulness in Formula One racing) with a split-seconds hand that can be used to record two intermediate times within a given minute while the blue- or white-tipped chronograph hand continues to run. When the push-button at 10 o’clock is pressed again, the split-seconds hand instantly catches up with the chronograph hand and runs synchronously with it again. As a result, the user can record as many lap times — important for determining pole position in an automobile race — as he chooses. The IWC Ingenieur Double Chronograph Titanium retails for $12,700.
Jaeger-LeCoultre marked the 100th anniversary of British luxury automaker Aston-Martin, a partner for nearly a decade in the development of special, luxury-auto-inspired timepieces, with the release of several new watches. The Master Compressor Extreme W-Alarm Aston Martin, containing Jaeger-LeCoultre’s automatic Caliber 912, combines a world-time display with a mechanical alarm function. The 46.3-mm-diameter case combines titanium and stainless steel and has a special logo, created by Aston Martin for its centennial, engraved on the caseback, while the black dial has a surface treatment evoking the grill on an Aston Martin car. The Master Compressor Extreme W-Alarm Aston Martin is limited to 100 pieces and has a price of $17,800.
Richard Mille also drew inspiration from materials used in Formula One cars for the RM 011 Flyback Chronograph, the first watch with a case made of brown silicon nitride. The silicone nitride in the watch is exceptionally hard (1,500 Vickers) and is highly resistant not only to wear and corrosion, but also to severe temperature variations. It is also very lightweight, which is why it is used in the automobile industry to make parts such as valves and turbocharger rotors. The watch is equipped with Richard Mille’s automatic caliber RMAC1, updated to include a flyback chronograph mechanism.
At Baselworld 2013, Rolex unveiled a 50th anniversary edition of the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona, which gets its name from the famous racetrack. This “prestigious edition” of the watch, priced at $75,000, is the first Daytona with a platinum case. Its tachymeter bezel is made of Rolex’s Cerachrom material. The wearer can use the tachymeter scale, in conjunction with the chronograph, to measure average speeds of up to 400 miles (or kilometers) per hour.
TAG Heuer celebrated the 50th anniversary of the iconic Carrera with the release of several new TAG Heuer Carrera watches. The design of the TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre 36 Chronograph Flyback is influenced by vintage TAG Heuer stopwatches, with the seconds displayed on a large scale along the outer rim of the dial. The watch also features a Zenith El Primero movement.
Source: watchtime.com
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