Bulgari unveiled their latest Aluminium X Gran Turismo Special Edition watches at the Gran Turismo World Series Finals in Barcelona. The luxury Italian fashion house also created a full-scale concept car designed to be used for racing in the Gran Turismo game!
Merry Christmas to all WatchAdvice readers! Earlier this month, Bulgari announced they will release two special edition timepieces and a concept car dedicated to the famed racing game Gran Turismo. The timepieces will be based on the brand’s iconic Aluminium series of timepieces and feature an unprecedented combination of graphic lines and brand cues with aluminium and rubber – materials directly inspired by the automotive industry.
In 1998, the luxury fashion house created a non-gendered “Italian sport-chic” timepiece, the Bulgaru Aluminium, which has now become a design icon thanks to its stand-out details. The most notable features of the Aluminium model are the oversized rubber bezel with Bulgari engraving throughout, the mix of baton-style and Arabic hour indices, and the central lug design.
Bulgari’s Aluminium was a visionary design, winning the Red Dot Design Best of the Best Award in 2023. The chronograph models follow this same design layout, adding the tachymeter scale on the dial and the stylised sub-counters.
For the latest version of the Aluminium chronograph, Bulgari and Gran Turismo auto racing simulation game are teaming up under the banner of precision and innovation to create two captivating limited edition watches and a concept car designed by Bulgari for the game itself!
2023 also marks the 10th anniversary of the Vision GT program, which opened race car developments for the video gram to the world’s top automobile manufacturers. This marked the perfect occasion for Bulgari to unveil the two limited editions of the Bulgari Aluminium x Gran Turismo Special Edition chronograph alongside the Bulgari Aluminium Vision GT Car, the first and only hypercar especially designed for Gran Turismo racing by a watchmaking brand.
“We greatly value personal relationships. That’s the key to many of the collaborations we have forged, and it’s the soul of our community of players. It’s especially true this time: it flowed naturally from the strong relationship between Mr. Buonamassa, Bulgari’s design director, and Mr. Filippini, the former design director of Pininfarina with whom we collaborated, and also a member of our Explore studio.
The timing was perfect, too, as this year marks the 10th anniversary of Vision Gran Turismo. There’s no better way to celebrate it than with a product as stunning as the Bulgari Aluminium x Gran Turismo Special Edition watches and the striking Bulgari Vision Gran Turismo car.”
Kazunori Yamauchi, the creator of Gran Turismo franchise and president of Polyphony Digital
The Bulgari Aluminium x Gran Turismo Special Edition chronograph is presented in two variants that differ through the dial colours used. Both models carry the 3-6-9 sub-counter layout, the subtle date window between 4 and 5 o’clock and the tachymeter scale on the outer part of the dial. This tachymeter scale design is a first since the Aluminium model’s relaunch in 2020. With this integrated tachymetric scale, the design pays homage to speed. The yellow dial with contrasting black counters is limited to 500 models worldwide, while the anthracite dial with yellow outlined counters is limited to 1200 models worldwide.
The Bulgari Aluminium x Gran Turismo Special Edition combines the lightness of aluminium for the 41mm case with the softness of rubber for the Bulgari-emblazoned bezel. The sporty materials flow all the way into the bracelet, which features articulated rubber links connected by aluminium rods. The crown and caseback are forged from high-tech, extra-strong, lightweight titanium with a black DLC treatment inscribed with the 10th Anniversary Vision GT logo.
The timepieces come with Bulgari’s automatic Calibre B381 movement, which has been used in prior Aluminium models, including the chronograph. The Calibre B381 movement is based around the Sellita SW300 movement with a Dubois-Depraz module. The SW300 is widely used by reputable companies as the base movement due to its cost-effectiveness compared to ETA-based calibres while also offering a decent power reserve. The Calibre B381 movement operates at a high frequency of 28,800 VpH (4Hz) while giving out a power reserve of 42 hours.
Bulgari’s concept car, which was built to conquer the virtual racetracks of Gran Turismo, is quite impressive in the materials used and its overall design, with the aesthetic matching these latest Gran Turismo watches. The Bulgari Aluminium Vision GT showcases Bulgari’s bold design and innovation in the form of a racing car. The curves of the watch’s case, and the articulated bracelet with its visible screws, mirror the lines that define the cockpit and wheel design of the concept car.
The bodywork of the Bulgari Aluminium Vision GT is brushed aluminium, with carbon for the lower body and technical sections and black rubber to protect exposed areas. Inside the cockpit, the colours and materials are very aesthetically pleasing, emphasizing the contrast between aluminium, black rubber, anthracite Alcantara, and yellow accents. The dashboard is a standout feature, as it evokes the yellow dial of the Bulgari Aluminium x Gran Turismo Special Edition.
“I envisioned a different way of playing with Bulgari’s DNA, creating a concept car that speaks the same language as the Bulgari Aluminium watch. Its design is based on geometric, pure, and angular forms, inspired by the lines of legendary Italian Gran Turismo cars from the 1970s, featuring sporty three-spoke steering wheels and walnut dashboards.
These shapes come together to create the unmistakable Bulgari aesthetic, resulting in a concept car with perfectly realistic proportions, also in the real world, at full scale.”
Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani, Product Creation Executive Director at Bulgari
These latest releases show Bulgari’s commitment to raising the bar on and off the circuit. Personally, I like the way the yellow Bulgari Aluminium x Gran Turismo Special Edition has been executed. Retaining the iconic design of the Aluminium model whilst adding in racing-inspired elements and the contrasting yellow and black colour combination works extremely well for this watch, which is also why it has been used as the theme for the instrument cluster on the Vision GT car. The Bulgari Aluminium Vision GT is another example of Bulgari pushing the boundaries of innovation by connecting the mechanics of high horology with those of high-performance auto racing.
Reference: 103893 (Anthracite dial), 104006 (Yellow Dial)
Specification
- Case: 41mm length
- Case: Titanium caseback with DLC coating and ‘GT Vision 10th Anniversary’ engraving, rubber bezel; titanium crown with DLC coating
- Dial: Brushed anthracite dial with yellow hour markers and numerals (Ref 103893); varnished yellow dial with black hour markers and numerals (Ref 104006).
- Hands/Indices: Mixture of baton-style and Arabic hour indices.
- Crystal: Sapphire crystal top with anti-reflective coating inside
- Water resistance: 100m (10BAR)
- Movement: Self-winding mechanical movement Calibre B381.
- Movement frequency: 28,800 VpH (4Hz)
- Power reserve: 42 hours
- Bracelet/Strap: Rubber strap with aluminium links, aluminium pin buckle.
