Swiss luxury watchmaker Tag Heuer and German sportscar manufacturer Porsche have officially sealed their longstanding friendship with an exceptional partnership inspired by their shared passion for competition and designing luxury products. The special edition TAG Heuer Porsche Carrera Chronograph celebrates this link-up between two iconic brands.
In 1963 Jack Heuer, the great grandson of the founder, created the first Heuer Carrera chronograph, designed specially for racecar drivers. A few years later Jack Heuer forged an agreement with racing driver Jo Siffert, who put the brand’s logo on his suit and the Porsche he drove, in exchange for which he sold Heuer Monaco watches, named in tribute to the Monaco Grand Prix. Thanks to Steve McQueen, who wore a racing suit bearing the two logos, the two brands came together again in the 1971 movie ‘Le Mans’. They continued their close relationship in the 1980s and 90s with the TAG-Turbo engine, as well as competitions including the Porsche Carrera Cup and Supercup. In 2019, when Porsche created its own Formula E team, it naturally partnered with TAG Heuer.
Now a new partnership between TAG Heuer and Porsche formally celebrates these years of friendship, says Frédéric Arnault, CEO of the watchmaker: “TAG Heuer and Porsche have common history and values, of course, but more importantly, we share an attitude. Like Porsche, we are disruptors at heart, always in pursuit of high performance. With this alliance, TAG Heuer and Porsche finally come together officially after decades of close encounters and will create unmatched experiences and products for customers and fans that are passionate about both our brands and what we stand for.”
The TAG Heuer Carrera Porsche Chronograph is well worth the wait. Associated with Porsche’s most powerful engines, the Carrera name was a natural choice for this exceptional timepiece, inspired by the famous Carrera Panamericana race in Mexico. The design is a perfectly balanced alliance of the essence of each brand’s identity. The Porsche colors of red, black and gray and unmistakable font are joined by Arabic numerals that evoke the numbers on the dashboard of exquisite Porsche sportscars. The asphalt effect of the black dial, embodying a passion for the road.
The 44mm stainless steel case of the TAG Heuer Carrera Porsche Chronograph is shared with the standard Carrera Sport Chronograph line, with the same short angular lugs, undercut case architecture, and unique modernist take on piston pushers. This futuristic take on a classic Heuer shape is accentuated by vivid red Porsche branding replacing the tachymeter text on the ceramic bezel. Although this takes up quite a bit of visual real estate, the integration of the logo into the usual layout of the design rather than placing a Porsche emblem somewhere on the dial feels considered and streamlined in initial images. The Carrera Porsche Chronograph also adds a pop of red to the screwdown crown in place of the usual black stripe. Like the standard model, this case offers a solid 100 meters of water resistance.
What immediately sets the TAG Heuer Carrera Porsche Chronograph apart from its stablemates is its dial texture. While this isn’t the first time in recent years the brand has tried to emulate asphalt in its dial finishes (that honor goes to the Formula 1 Indy 500, 2020 Special Edition), the effect is markedly different here. Rather than the deep black of a freshly repaved racing circuit, the stony gray and rougher-grained finish here aims to capture the feel of a winding back road. It strikes a different emotional chord in this way, but the effect in images appears to be perhaps a bit too glossy to capture the weathered feel of a public road. The look is nonetheless striking, and the Carrera Porsche Chronograph adds several unique elements on top of this. This is the first in the current Carrera Sport Chronograph series to feature Arabic numerals rather than indices, and the smooth modern applied numerals here are inspired by the gauges of the current Porsche 911. The dial also adds accents in Porsche’s signature Guards Red to the subdials, outer seconds track, and the central chronograph seconds hand for a sporty punch. Interestingly, this is also the first time the current Carrera Sport Chronograph design has featured a black date wheel at 6 o’clock, giving the date display a more cohesive feel.
For lovers of speed and precision, the timepiece is powered by the in-house Calibre Heuer 02 automatic chronograph movement. The Heuer 02 has become the brand’s flagship chronograph movement in recent years, with an impressive array of features, including a column wheel and vertical clutch chronograph actuation system and a hefty 80-hour power reserve at a 28,800 bph neat rate. The Carrera Porsche Chronograph adds a unique black-plated rotor design to mimic Porsche steering wheels.
TAG Heuer offers the Carrera Porsche Chronograph with a pair of strap options. First up is its angular, modernist take on the H-link stainless steel bracelet with a push-button clasp. The second option is unique to this model, an embossed black calf-leather strap with a center seam and hand-sewn contrast stitching inspired by Porsche interiors.
In 2021 TAG Heuer and Porsche are teaming up for a series of events, notably the Porsche Carrera Cup and Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup competitions. On the green, TAG Heuer will join Porsche as a partner of the Porsche Golf Cup and the Porsche European Open. And on the court, their shared passion for tennis will bring them together for the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, featuring the game’s most talented women. These collaborations mark the strong bonds between the two brands nourished over decades of friendship, an ideal embodiment of Jack Heuer’s motto: “Time doesn’t stop. Why should we?”
With the introduction of the TAG Heuer Carrera Porsche Chronograph, the historic and lasting relationship between these two sporting brands becomes even deeper. While the TAG Heuer Carrera Porsche Chronograph is a special-edition model, production numbers are not limited.
The TAG Heuer Porsche Carrera Chronograph is available at TAG Heuer boutiques and selected stores worldwide. Come into the beautiful and timeless world of TAG Heuer.
Yakymour 