The new Porsche Design Flyback Chronograph: a watch that only comes with a super sportscar
They are probably the only watches that you can buy at a car dealer, and only at a car dealer β the recently launched Porsche Design Chronograph 911 GT2 RS and Chronograph911 Turbo S Exclusive Series. The reason is the new βPorsche Design for Porscheβ concept which means, that only buyers of the new 911 super sportscars GT2 RS and Turbo S Exclusive Series can buy the eponymous watches. And at a price starting from 260.000 Euro for the cars the watch might reach a collectors-like value one day.
In June 2017 Porsche introduced their two new 911 at the prestige Goodwood Festival of Speed in South England. A good time to also present the two timepieces that go along with these cars. Again Porsche Design and Porsche have teamed up to develop watches that are customized to match the cars. Only, this time they decided to keep it more exclusive to their customers. However one will most likely not buy a car because he desperately wants a Porsche Design watch from this exclusive collection, but will certainly not be reluctant to buy one when already made his mind up about buying the car. The costs are an extra 9.950,- Euro for the watch.
Joined forces β Porsche Design and Porsche teamed up for a new own record
New Record
Both, Porsche Design and Porsche proclaim a new own record. The 911 GT2 RS with 700 horsepower is the fastest road-legal Porsche 911 ever. And the two new chronograph watches run with Porsche Designβs first in-house movement (Werk 01.200). It has taken 3 years to develop and now it comes with a Flyback mechanism and plenty of high-tech materials that are also used in the sportscars.
The Flyback function is especially useful for stopping lap-times as it stops, resets and starts the chronograph counters within one push for instant transition. Of course, there is also a tachymeter scale sitting on the bezel. Then you will spot something at 9 oβclock, which is a true Porsche Design element. A display that reads β911 GT2 RSβ and is called a βmechanical function displayβ to show that all mechanism of the watch are still running smoothly.
Letβs tell you more about the materials that are being used. The case is made of titan. The dial is made of carbon with a racing stripe painted in the original colour as used on the cars. The winding rotor is a true eye-catcher as it has been designed to resemble the 911 wheel rims. It looks great, however it was quite a challenge for the engineers as the weight and lack of material was too unstable to withstand the forces. The solution was to use Wolfram steel, which is heavier and the strongest kind of steel available.
Porsche Design 911 Turbo S Exclusive Series Flyback Chronograph (right)
On the 911 GT2 RS the rotor is painted silver and on the 911 Turbo S Exclusive Series the rotor is painted yellow, analogue the wheel rims.
The rotor is inspired by the wheel rims and made of Wolfram steel
Every owner of the car and watch will also receive a package of leather straps. As for the 911 Turbo S Exclusive Series it includes two leather straps (available in six colours) and a titanium bracelet. As for the 911 GT2 RS it includes two leather straps with Alcantara leather matching the car seats. You can even choose the colour of the stitching matching your seats. Both watch types are COSC certified.
We recently set out to a journey to Vienna, the capital of Austria, which is such a beautiful and vibrant city with so much historical spirit that still keeps the city alive. One historical date that stands out is no doubt September 18, 1814 β the first appointment of the Congress of Vienna, which lasted…
Popping pastels and vacation vibes; Breitling's new SuperOcean Heritage β57 Pastel Paradise Capsule Collection for women actually stems from a 1950s diver's watch for men. Now, however, it has transformed into a high quality, incredibly fashionable new timepiece. With the introduction of this series, Breitling is proving itself to be truly with the times, not to…
Victor Lance Vescovo is a special person in many ways. While visiting the Greek island of Mykonos for the 75th anniversary of the Omega Seamaster, Swisswatches met this titan of a man; slender as a whip, with a white beard and long white hair held scraped back with a hair tie, he looks like a…
The past 100 years have without doubt brought along many technical changes. Looking at classical cars like Porsche 911, Jaguar X-type or Mercedes SL for example you might optically not notice too many differences to a modern version. However under the hood you will find a high tech engine. This is applicable to the watch…
At the time when the collection was first launched in the 1960th it was still called Admiralβs Cup, named after the legendary sailing regatta that took place from 1957 to 2003. The collection soon became famous as the βnautical-legendβ and was the first ever waterproof square wristwatch. In the 1980th the dial received its striking flags that are…
Of all the luxury brands out there, Cartier is surely the most resplendent. The Cartier insignia, glowing in gold and set against lavish red, represents decades upon decades of history, jewels, fashion, kings, queens, actresses β and, most importantly for us, watchmaking. Understatement and refinement are important: style is vital. Allow us to paint you…
When I visited the Zenith manufacture in Le Locle a few years ago, I discovered a wall lined with certificates in the stairwell. They were just some of the many original certificates that the watchmaker had won in the chronometry competitions organised by the NeuchΓ’tel Observatory. In total, there are 2,333 chronometry prizes - more…
There is always room for more in the world of fine watchmaking β and few collections embody this aspiration as convincingly as Chopardβs L.U.C collection and the L.U.C 98.01-L calibre. Since the launch of the first L.U.C Quattro in 2000, the L.U.C line has evolved into a fusion of innovation and tradition, consistently redefining itself…
Like almost every year, OMEGA also in 2018 introduces a Speedmaster Special Edition. This year they celebrate 50 years of the Apollo 8 mission and surprise with a new skeletonized Moonwatch movement for their famous βDark Side of the Moonβ watch. 50 years of Apollo 8 mission β the anniversary watch Speedmaster Dark Side of…
Those who know me know that I have another great passion besides mechanical watches; tennis. For me, there is no more perfect tennis player in my generation than Roger Federer, because his game is unrivalled in elegance. Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, his two greatest opponents, are certainly just as remarkable in terms of sporting…
What establishes a bicompax chronograph from a "normal" one? Principally, a bicompax chronograph (as the name suggests) has not three, but rather only two subdial counters. Along with this year's trend for green dial watches, the horology world is also seeing a resurgence of bicompax chronographs, which have been on the scene since the 20th…
As you might have heard, Patek Philippe invested 600 million Swiss francs into its new factory building in Plan-les-Ouates, which was completed earlier this year. If you are wondering what such a large sum was spent on, and how the Stern family is envisaging the balancing act between preserving tradition and looking to the future,…
Itβs been another extraordinary year for us all, and the watch world is no exception. That is why the Swisswatches team sat down once more to comprise a list of our top watches of 2022. From anniversary models to world records, we are presenting you 24 special highlights to emerge from the ever-surprising Swiss watch…