Perhaps no other watch brand and automaker partnership is as enduring or impactful as the ongoing relationship between TAG Heuer and German sports car titan Porsche. Since the ‘60s, the two brands have been closely intertwined through motorsports, on film, and even in engineering through former TAG Heuer parent company Techniques d’Avant Garde. 2021 saw the two brands strengthen their partnership further with the launch of the special edition TAG Heuer Carrera Porsche, a stylish and sporty take on the modern Carrera filled with Porsche-inspired visual touches. As part of its Watches and Wonders 2022 novelties, the brand returns to the concept with an aggressive new colorway and a rarely-seen dial finish. The new TAG Heuer Carrera X Porsche Limited Edition brings a bold new face to the Porsche-inspired Carrera design, punctuated with blazing yellow accents.
Specifications:
Brand: TAG Heuer
Model: Carrera X Porsche Limited Edition
Dimensions: 44mm
Water Resistance: 100m
Case Material: Black DLC coated stainless steel/Ceramic bezel
Crystal/Lens: Sapphire
Movement: Manufacture Heuer 02 (automatic chronograph)
Frequency: 28,800 bph
Power Reserve: 80 hours
Price & Availability: $7,050, Limited to 1,500 pieces, Available April 2022
Measuring in at 44mm-wide, the black DLC-coated stainless steel case of the TAG Heuer Carrera X Porsche Limited Edition follows the modern Carrera profile. The series’ recognizable clean lines and inward-chamfered lugs are present and accounted for, but the addition of black DLC gives the mix of brushed and polished surfaces a sinister edge in images. The ceramic tachymeter bezel is this model’s first major departure from the standard Carrera design, however, with prominent engraved Porsche branding at 1 o’clock and an inner tachymeter scale both in vivid Porsche racing yellow. This vibrant color makes for a stark contrast against the black background, and TAG Heuer echoes this color with a contrast ring around the 3 o’clock crown. Around back, the brand fits a sapphire display caseback, and like the standard Carrera, TAG Heuer rates this model for a solid 100 meters of water resistance.
As with the first Porsche-themed Carrera model, TAG Heuer uses the dial of the Carrera X Porsche Limited Edition to experiment with unique textures. Where the first model’s main dial surface took on the pebbled and worn look of road asphalt, this new model instead looks to Porsche’s cars themselves for a smoother finish – metallic paint. Metallic finishes are a relative rarity in the world of watchmaking, with most brands opting to use sunbursts or brushing to obtain a similar shimmering effect. This gives the metallic black dial of the Carrera X Porsche Limited Edition a distinctive character in images most black dials tend to lack, and keeps the overall automotive theming of the design tastefully subtle. Like the previous model, the Carrera X Porsche Limited Edition uses speedometer-inspired applied Arabic minutes numerals rather than the more familiar hour indices, but finishes these elements in glossy black rather than polished metal. The striped baton handset also follows suit with this black-on-black treatment, which may lead to legibility issues on the wrist. TAG Heuer reintroduces the asphalt dial texture as an accent for the subdials here, giving the design a sense of added depth in images. The brand’s use of Porsche racing yellow accents is decidedly sparing, limited only to highlights for the chronograph subdials and for the tip of the central chronograph seconds hand.
Inside the TAG Heuer Carrera X Porsche Limited Edition beats the brand’s in-house Heuer 02 automatic chronograph movement. Over the past few years, the Heuer 02 has become TAG Heuer’s de facto flagship chronograph movement, with impressive modern performance including a massive 80 hour power reserve at a 28,800 bph beat rate. TAG Heuer ties in the Carrera X Porsche Limited Edition’s striking black and yellow colorway here as well, supplementing the Heuer 02’s usual Côtes de Genève and partially skeletonized bridges with a unique black DLC-coated skeleton rotor inspired by the modern Porsche 911’s steering wheel. TAG Heuer completes the design with a unique fabric-effect leather strap, featuring double yellow contrast stitching for a cohesive overall look.
Sporting a bold new colorway and a strikingly unorthodox dial finish, the new TAG Heuer Carrera X Porsche Limited Edition continues the long-standing partnership between these two brands in style. Only 1,500 examples of the TAG Heuer Carrera X Porsche Limited Edition will be made, and the watch will be available through authorized dealers in April 2022. MSRP for the TAG Heuer Carrera X Porsche Limited Edition stands at $7,050 as of press time. For more information, please visit the brand’s website.
