50 years in the past, Porsche debuted an über-iconic model of its 911 mannequin in Paris. The automobile, generally known as the 911 Carrera RS 2.7 (due to its 2.7-liter engine), helped set up Porsche as a killer on the racetrack. It was widespread sufficient that after Porsche made the primary batch of 500 vehicles, it tripled manufacturing to maintain up with demand. In different phrases: this automobile was all the time going to earn a fanatical following of collectors. A light-weight RS 2.7 bought for $2,425,000 at public sale this summer season. Homeowners type golf equipment to get collectively and check the boundaries of their 50-year-old vehicles on the open street. Now, on the automobile’s fiftieth birthday, Tag Heuer is collaborating with Porsche on a pair of watches impressed by the RS 2.7. And since Tag Heuer has been making its personal Carrera watch since 1963, this new watch and outdated automobile share a reputation: that is the Tag Heuer Carrera x Porsche RS 2.7.
The watches are a testomony to the RS 2.7’s everlasting cool: taking components and inspiration from a automobile made in 1972 someway ends in completely modern-looking watches. The set features a blue-and-white piece made out of metal, and one other is available in rose gold with a red-accented dial.
The watch doesn’t overdo it with references to the unique vehicles, however the chosen particulars are performed with laser precision. Take the colour selections, as an example. The watch’s dial is white, proper? Improper! It’s “competitors white,” a selected shade that Porsche makes use of, and pushed for on these watches. “You may have ‘competitors white’ and you’ll have ‘ivory white,’” Nick Biebuyck, Tag Heuer’s heritage director stated in an interview. “What [the Porsche team] needs is pure competitors white.” Identical cope with blue: whereas Porsche runs vehicles in dalmatian and gulf, this mannequin opts for “glacier blue.” Even the typography was a matter of prolonged dialogue between Porsche and Tag. The phrase “Carrera” is written out on the dial and on the aspect of the case the identical manner it seems on the automobile, with the identical painstakingly particular proportions. (The normal Carrera watch has the “Carrera” mannequin title printed on its face, however these watches use Porsche’s Carrera logos as a one-time special-edition deal.)
With a lot reverence paid to the RS 2.7, it is a watch with a built-in viewers. Collectors of the automobile, who’ve already bought a automobile for a beginning worth round half one million bucks, would possibly desire a limited-edition watch to pair with their limited-edition vehicle. “However this can solely characterize a share [of buyers],” stated Frédéric Arnault, Tag Heuer’s CEO. And there’s one other extra attention-grabbing gross sales pitch happening right here, anyway: in the event you can’t personal the dream automobile, how concerning the dream-car watch? One other potential set of shoppers are the parents who know and love the RS 2.7, however don’t have the means to purchase it. “[They] would discover this story interesting,” Arnault stated.
Since leaping into the driving force’s seat at Tag in 2020, Arnault has taken the model in a predictably youthful path: highlights embrace a sandblasted collaboration with Bamford and a $376,000 piece set with lab-grown diamonds unveiled at Watches & Wonders this 12 months.
