TAG Heuer and Porsche have revealed the first product from their collaboration will be The TAG Heuer Carrera Porsche Chronograph.
Alongside the TAG Heuer Monaco, the Carrera is the Swiss watchmaker's most legendary and recognizable design. From the brand's outset in 1860, Heuer, as they were known then, had been excelling in the manufacture of dashboard timers (chronographs) for airplanes and cars. The founding family's passion for speed, style, and motorsports had been influencing the brand for decades before great-grandson of the founder Jack Heuer adapted a popular dashboard clock, the Autavia (that the company had been producing since the '30s) into a wristwatch.
Jack Heuer's next significant accomplishment was the Heuer Carrera, which he named before the product was even designed. An avid racing fan like his ancestors before him, Jack became intently obsessed with the legend of the Carrera Panamerican Race, which involved adrenaline chasing drivers racing border to border across Mexico's open roads. The race was discontinued in 1954 due to concerns over its safety, but its reputation as one of the fastest and testing races ever remained. With speed, style, and precision at the top of his mind, Jack went to work on releasing a watch to match the name. Featuring the chronographic function meaning professional and enthusiast drivers alike could calculate their speed and times, quickly and clearly, the first model of the Heuer Carrera (2447) was a clean, slim timepiece that matched substance with style.
Throughout the '70s, the design evolved to suit wearers beyond the wheel of a car, adding silver and gold steel straps and extra design elements to the face of their offerings so that the watch could accompany the business suit as much as it did the driving one.
The Carrera name is also synonymous with Porsche and, in particular, its 911 model. Again the name was inspired by the Carrera Panamerican race and the speed and fury of which it was driven, as well as Porsche's own success in the races themselves. The 911 needs no introduction; its sleek modern lines, stylish silhouette, and unmistakable sound have contributed to its undoubted fame, not just as a car but as an icon of modernity, culture, and style. Recent collaborations with Aimé Leon Dore and Daniel Arsham were less marketing moves by the German brand and more fan interpretations of the classic model.
The TAG Heuer Carrera Porsche Chronograph is the result of more than 200 years of combined history and heritage in motorsports, watchmaking, and influence on style. It represents a meeting of two houses whose aesthetics, design outlooks, and attention to the finer details were made for each other.
While based on TAG Heuer's Carrera Sport Chronograph design at its very core - with the distinctive tachymeter scale engraved on the ceramic black bezel, the iconic 3 chronograph counters, and the 44 mm diameter steel polished, fine-brushed case all taking pride of place - Porsche's design essence comes through in several unique ways.
Porsche's engraved typography is incorporated onto the bezel with their unmistakable font also used for the indexes, and the Porsche classic colors of red, black, and grey are incorporated across the watch. On the face, the dial's asphalt effect finish has been created especially for this piece reflecting both brands' affinity with motorsports with Arabic numerals echoing the numbers on the dashboard of the Porsches we dream of owning.
The pièce de résistance is when you flip the watch over to discover the transparent cristal case revealing the beauty of the watch's inner workings. Ingeniously the incorporated oscillating mass has been redesigned in tribute to Porsche's iconic steering wheel shape. The watch is built around TAG Heuer's impressive Calibre Heuer 02 manufacture movement, its thinnest, smoothest, and most precise mechanism to date, allowing for an impressive 80 hours of power before winding.
Finally, two strap options are available in either a soft calf leather reminiscent of the original Heuer Carrera 2447 and Porsche's lux interiors or a more showy steel interlocking bracelet.
The TAG Heuer Carrera Porsche Chronograph represents the starting line for a partnership built on decades of expertise, heritage, style, and design in the brands' respective lanes, and on this outing, we are excited to see what they bring to market next.
Buy the TAG Heuer Carrera Porsche Chronograph here.
