2luxury2 at Baselworld 2013.
In 1963, Jack Heuer, the man responsible for some of the most groundbreaking advances in sports timekeeping, turned his attention to the specific needs of professional motor-racing drivers. A long-time fan of and participant in the sport, he knew exactly what was needed: a wide-open, easy-to-read dial and a shock-resistant and waterproof case tough enough for even the most intense road wear.
Carrera Panamericana Mexico Road Race, the innovative ideas from early 60s modernism, vintage dashboard counters or the perforated leather gloves favored by Juan Manuel Fangio and his contemporaries, inspired the creation of the first Carrera chronograph.
Among the star pilots to wear a Carrera over the next decade were Ferrari drivers Jackie Ickx, Clay Regazzoni, Mario Andretti, Carlos Reutemann and Jody Scheckter. Every member of Ferrari’s 1970s ‘scuderia’, with whom Heuer had signed on as Official Sponsor and Timekeeper, received a solid gold Carrera engraved with his name and blood type.
Since, It has been worn by every TAG Heuer driving great: Alain Prost, David Coulthard, Kimi Räikkönen, Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button and Sergio Perez…
In 2013, four flyback chronographs are part of the new TAG Heuer Carrera collection, each a showcase of TAG Heuer design and finishing: a racing timepiece, a new standard-bearer of classic Carrera sportiness, a luxury choice of the international business elite, and a sport elegance watch.
TAG Heuer CARRERA Calibre 36 Chronograph Flyback “Racing” (43mm)
At the helm of this year’s TAG Heuer Carrera rollout is one of the line’s most elegant and sporting creations to date. Housing the brand’s high-rate Calibre 36 automatic chronograph movement (named for its 36,000 beats per hour frequency), it features an authentic fly-back complication–a simple click instantly resets the chronograph to zero. Inspired by automobile racing, the function lets drivers (and aviation pilots) instantly restart and reset without stopping.
TAG Heuer CARRERA Calibre 36 Chronograph Flyback (43mm)
The double-scale dial design is directly inspired by vintage Heuer stopwatches, with a large external scale (in silver or black depending of the model) for at-a-glance viewing of chronograph seconds. Hours and minutes are indicated on the anthracite sunray internal part, which is highlighted by the small second counter at 9 o’clock, the chronograph minutes indication at 3 and the date at 6.
TAG Heuer CARRERA Calibre 8 Grande Date – GMT – COSC (41mm)
The TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre 8 automatic movement features a large date, shown through a beveled aperture hand-applied at 12 o’clock. The bigger, 41mm case also displays a second GMT time zone counter at 6 o’clock.
TAG Heuer CARRERA CALIBRE 16 Day Date 41mm
Loaded with features–full day of the week and day of the month display, three chronograph subdials and a 41mm bezel with tachymeter scale–the overall look is reminiscent of a classic racecar dashboard.
TAG Heuer CARRERA CALIBRE 1887 CHRONOGRAPH – Jack Heuer Edition (45mm) and Heuer Carrera Calibre 17 – Jack Heuer 80 years Edition (41mm)
The two editions of the Carrera–one vintage, the other avant-garde, celebrate the 80th birthday of TAG Heuer Honorary Chairman Jack Heuer.
The first was designed by Jack Heuer himself and produced in a limited edition of 3,000 pieces. The second draws its inspiration from the groundbreaking Mikrogirder and Jack helped with the design.
