Roger Dubuis & Lamborghini: a match made in heaven

Watchmaker Roger Dubuis and sports car manufacturer Lamborghini join forces to create the first timepiece that combines the expertise of both: Swiss precision and craftsmanship of the highest level meets Italian allure and performance.

Based in Geneva, as many other fine watch companies are, Roger Dubuis was founded in 1995. From day one their mission was to push the boundaries of fine watchmaking beyond the conventional, just as Lamborghini does with its cars. Boldness and extravagance are certainly strong defining characteristics of both brands.

Jean-Marc Pontroué, the CEO of Roger Dubuis, and the boss of Automobili Lamborghini, Stefano Domenicali, both clearly understood this and came together to forge a unique partnership in an industry where prestigious car and watch brands often collaborate. However, nothing like this has ever been done before.

It’s easy to brand a watch with a car manufacturer’s logo for use in a ‘collection’ in much the same way as a scarf or fountain pen. But what we have here is a unique synergy where both the design and mechanical aspects incorporate design elements from the engine bay of the Lamborghini after which it is named, and a high-tech lightweight material used on the Huracán Performante.

Roger Dubuis designers collaborated with Lamborghini designers, resulting in the Excalibur Aventador S watch. The innovative use of high-tech materials such as multi-layered carbon and C-SMC carbon as used in Lamborghini cars represents a technological world premiere in watchmaking. The challenge was to associate these materials with a sporty, sophisticated look, while maintaining the brand’s sense of luxury and prestige.

De Excalibur Aventador S wordt aangedreven door een speciaal ontwikkeld Duotor kaliber, waarbij de ontwerpers werden geïnspireerd door de motoren van Lamborghini’s Aventador S en de nieuwe Huracan Super Trofeo EVO. De typische veerpootbruggen daarvan zijn terug te zien in het open skelet-uurwerk. En net als in het dashboard bij de sportwagens creëerden de ontwerpers in het midden van het horloge een power control display. 

Behind the glass that protects the skeletal mechanism of the watch, you can see for the same reason the cross brace of the engine compartment that gives the Aventador its torsional rigidity. Meanwhile, the dual balance wheels of the Duotor caliber movement slope at a similar angle to the cylinder banks of the V12 powering the Aventador, and are supported and highlighted by holders in the shape of the car’s triangular wishbones.

The Roger Dubuis Excaliber Aventador S is available in two limited edition versions: one with details in ‘Giallo Orion’ yellow, in a limited edition of 88 pieces, and one with parts in ‘Arancio Argos’ orange, in an even more exclusive edition of only 8 pieces.

The Roger Dubuis collection is available through Roger Dubois boutiques and selected jewelers worldwide. Enter the wonderful worlds of Roger Dubuis and Lamborghini.

Sold out: Lamborghini Centenario

Did you have to think about whether you would buy a Lamborghini Centenario? Sorry, you waited too long, we can inform you that the €1,750,000 Centenario is sold out!

Last week at the Geneva Motor Show, Lamborghini introduced a new special edition car. The Centenario LP 770-4, is Lamborghini’s posthumous birthday present for legendary founder Ferruccio Lamborghini, who would have turned 100 next month. The Centenario is essentially a special bodywork on the ultra-high-performance Aventador LP 750-4 Super Veloce.

With the Centenario, Lamborghini shows what the thoughts are for the future. Like many of its predecessors, the Centenario is produced in a very limited edition. Only 40 are made. That is, twenty coupes and twenty roadsters. The bad news: they’ve all been sold already. The price? €1.75 million ex taxes. If you say it quickly, it’s not much…

The Centenario is powered by a mighty 6.5-litre V12, which idles at 850 rpm and shoots into the red at 8,600 rpm. It produces 770 hp (20 hp more than the Aventador SV, and that’s not a car you can blame for a lack of decisiveness). It reaches 100 km/h in 2.8 seconds and, if you’re brave enough (and still have air in your lungs after all your terrified screams), explodes to 300 km/h in 23.5 seconds. To channel this madness onto the road, it’s featured on Pirelli P Zero Corsa’s, 255/30 ZR20 at the front and 355/25 ZR21 at the rear, both designed specifically for this car.

At the front, a highly aggressive dual splitter generates massive downforce and channels air over the car, out to the sides, but it’s at the rear where the black magic of the airflow really extends to great heights. The Centenario has one of the largest diffusers on the human side of a Le Mans race car; combine that with the fact that quite a bit of bodywork has been removed behind the rear wheels and an active rear wing that can lift 150 millimeters, and you have 227 kilos of downforce at 290 km/h.

Perhaps the biggest news is that the Centenario is the first Lamborghini with rear-wheel steering, a system that improves maneuverability at speeds below 75 km/h and improves stability at higher speeds, effectively shortening and lengthening the wheelbase by 1,200 millimeters depending on the speed driven. Despite all this extra technology, the Lamborghini Centenario weighs only 1,520 kilos, making it 55 kilos lighter than an Aventador.

The interior has a different design than the Aventador, but more importantly, the Centenario is the first Lamborghini to get a touchscreen. It measures 10.1 inches diagonally and adds plenty of connectivity features. Drivers can connect to Internet radio, browse the web, access email, check social media and perform all functions available through Apple Car Play.

This system also displays telemetry information such as pedal position, rpm, oil pressure, real-time power consumption, current gear, speed, lap and sprint times, and lateral g-forces. With two optional interior cameras, the driver’s experience can be captured. All this information can be downloaded using a USB stick for easy review, and studied to improve lap times. Of course, the interior can be completely customized by the owner.

Sometimes you shouldn’t write too much text because you really just want to watch. Do you like fast sleek design cars with an Italian heart? Then your heart will certainly beat faster. I don’t know if he’s really beautiful yet, but it is a real Lamborghini. Then a minus: as a posthumous birthday present for the legendary founder Ferruccio Lamborghini, to complete the circle, they should have opted for a design by Touring Superleggera, the designer of the first Lamborghini’s. Or an idea for the 60th anniversary of the brand with the bull?

A price tag of € 1,750,000 is of course not for everyone, but the Centenario was sold out in no time. The first copies of the Centenario will be handed over to their owners at the end of this year. Enter the beautiful world of Lamborghini.