Last week we saw Tag Heuer and Porsche announce their latest partnership, in which a brand new watch was unveiled by the Swiss watchmaker to commemorate the event. At the heart of the partnership lies a common history between the two brands, with innovation and motor racing linking the two prestigious brands together. Diving further into both brand’s histories and you’ll see that both brands share further similarities, from their reputations for innovation to cutting-edge technologies, the powerful and independent mindset, and a knack for excellence in design.
The CEO of Tag Heuer, Frédéric Arnault says states in regards to this latest partnership that “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 strong friendship of our brand with TAG Heuer exists since decades and I am more than happy that we are now taking the next steps in the frame of a strategic partnership,” says Detlev von Platen, Member of the Executive Board for Sales and Marketing at Porsche AG. “We bring together what our customers love the most about both of us: authentic heritage, thrilling sports events, unique life experiences and the fulfilment of dreams. We both strive to create some unique, magic moments for our communities. We now look forward to doing it together.”
This isn’t the first time however that the two brands have “shared DNA”. Back in 1954, Porsche had a class win in the famous Carrera Panamericana race. In Honor of successfully winning this race, Porsche decided to name their most powerful engine “Carrera”. This is the same race that Jack Heuer took inspiration from to create the first ever Heuer Carrera Chronograph. This ground-breaking timepiece and powerful engine united the two brands under the Carrera name, which embodied ambition, speed, and technical excellence.
Initial Thoughts:
A glimpse of what this new partnership can become, the new Carrera Porsche Chronograph is certainly a stunning looking piece. This latest watch is based on TAG Heuer’s Carrera Sport Chronograph model, where the tachymeter scale is engraved in the bezel. The iconic Arabic numerals for the hour indexes are retained and against the grey asphalt dial, the markers certainly stand out, while giving the effect of the numbers on a Porsche sports car dashboard.
TAG Heuer has used Porsches’ iconic red, black and grey colours throughout the timepiece, such as on the tachymeter scale, 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock sub-counters, chronograph seconds hand, and on the minute track. With the asphalt background, the dial certainly displays a refined look while giving that sports car feel. All of this is encased in a 44mm steel polished and brushed case. The Carrera Porsche Chronograph comes in a black calf leather strap with hand stitching that makes it look like it came from a Porsche interior.
The engine inside the Carrera Porsche Chronograph is TAG Heuer’s own Calibre Heuer 02 manufacture movement. This Calibre Heuer 02 movement has a frequency of 28,800 VpH (4 Hz) and can produce a power reserve of approximately 80 hours. The watch also comes with an open case back in which you can see the specially redesigned oscillating mass in the shape of Porsche’s celebrated steering wheel. The oscillating mass has printed on it “Porsche” and “TAG Heuer” to show the collaboration.
The Carrera Porsche Chronograph is certainly one of the better-looking sports car collaboration timepieces in the market at the moment. Its refined, sharp yet colorful look combined with a trusted and robust movement is sure to be a winner among the enthusiasts.
This is just the start however of what promises to be an exciting partnership between these two prestigious brands. 2021 will undoubtedly feature more collaborations from these two companies that will surely produce a rich portfolio of joint projects that reflect both brand’s vision for speed and precision sports. This special edition timepiece will be available for purchase in February 2021.
