TAG Heuer and Porsche’s Newest Carrera Is an Ode to Motorsport
Some collabs make more sense than others. While most people may not see a direct connection between, say, ice cream and basketball shoes, the new collaboration between TAG Heuer and Porsche is a partnership more than 50 years in the making. After more than a century in business, the Swiss luxury watchmaker has been along for the ride at countless historic races, from Formula 1 to Le Mans to Formula E, and their watch lineup celebrates this history at every opportunity. Porsche, meanwhile is…well…Porsche. For 2022, the two racing juggernauts have joined forces on the TAG Heuer Carrera x Porsche Limited Edition, a classic racing chronograph dedicated to one of the world’s most iconic sports cars, as well as one of the world’s most infamous races.
The Carrera Panamericana is nothing less than a legend in the history of motorsports, as much for the details of the race itself as for its legacy. Running for nine days along a 3,000-kilometre stretch of the Pan-American Highway through Mexico, the Carrera Panamericana attracted some of the world’s most skilled drivers and fastest road-going race cars. When it was cancelled after just five seasons in the early 1950s, it had established a reputation as one of the world’s most challenging motorsport events.
Among the carmakers in the running during the Carrera’s heyday was Porsche, who commemorated their success at the race by introducing a new “Carrera” engine for their flagship 356 sports car in 1955. Since its introduction, the engines and vehicles bearing the Carrera name have become an essential piece of the brand’s identity, and synonymous with Porsche’s pre-eminence in motorsport.
A passionate fan of motorsports and Porsche’s race-winning designs, Jack Heuer was inspired to create a Carrera of his own when he began work at his family’s watch company in the 1960s. The TAG Heuer Carrera, a motorsports chronograph designed for accuracy and legibility, and released in 1963, was among his most famous creations. The new TAG Heuer Carrera x Porsche Limited Edition draws on the legacy of both Porsche and TAG Heuer, making it worthy of a place in any starting grid.
“For this second chapter of our partnership, it seemed natural to continue to weave the thread of our co-creation through the TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph but with a completely new approach,” says TAG Heuer’s CEO Frédéric Arnault. As such, the TAG Heuer Carrera x Porsche Limited Edition sees the Carrera and its in-house Calibre Heuer 02 automatic movement wrapped in a dynamic new visual design inspired by Porsche. Porsche’s racing yellow Pantone plays a starring role, appearing everywhere from the Porsche logo on the bezel to the yellow Super-LumiNova lume, and is contrasted by a case coated in matt black diamond-like carbon (DLC), a glittering black dial, and two black asphalt-effect sub-dials. Dedicated to Porsche and TAG Heuer’s long, shared history in motorsport, this is a watch that tells a story about passion, dedication, and most of all speed. ($8,800)
Learn more about the TAG Heuer Carrera x Porsche Limited Edition here.
