Nico Bandl 23 August 2017

A childhood dream has come true. Thanks to Mercedes-AMG and IWC Schaffhausen who teamed up at the Nürburgring 24-hours race to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the performance sports car brand of Mercedes-Benz, which took it’s name from the initials of the founders Hans Werner Aufrecht, Erhard Melcher and the town where it all began, Großaspach (Stuttgart) – AMG.

IWC Special Edition Mercedes AMG 50th Anniversary

IWC and Mercedes-AMG have already started their first collaboration in 2004 and every since then bring happiness to men with passion for strong performance cars and mechanical watches. It really is something different to watch a car race like this in TV or acutally being there, right on the track, hearing the deafening sound of these monster engines, inhaling the sharp smell of petrol, hot oil and smoking breaks and feeling the heat of the race. We believe the north loop track known as the “Green Hell” has deserved its name. We not only discovered the new IWC anniversary timepiece but also had the chance to test-drive some incredible cars which experience we share with you on attached videos & pictures.

IWC Special Edition Mercedes AMG 50th anniversary watch

How do cars and watches fit together?

Well, first of all, back in the days the tachymeter scale on the watch was used to define the speed of a car – before the technical revolution. With this technique a driver was able to calculate the speed by stopping the time within a certain distance. But besides all the technical advantages, cars and watches combine precision engineering with exclusive design, which simply fascinates. IWC has already launched various Mercedes-AMG special editions with features such as a case material like black zirconium oxide ceramic, inspired by high performance cars.

IWC Ingenieur Chronograph Sport Edition 50 years Mercedes AMG

For the 50th anniversary of Mercedes-AMG the manufacture from Schaffhausen has produced a limited edition of 250 “Ingenieur Chronograph Sport Edition – 50th Anniversary of Mercedes-AMG -” timepieces (Ref: IW380902) which was presented at the 24-hour race on the Nürburgring end of May. The watch has some remarkable features. The calibre is IWC’s own manufacture with flyback function. The case is made of titanium and features a soft-iron cage for protection against magnetic fields. This is especially interesting, since IWC developed this technique 1955, when the first Ingenieur collection was launched. At that time, due to the rapid technological developments (radio, TV, calculators etc.), which caused heavy magnetic fields, the precision of mechanical watches was affected. Thanks to a soft iron case developed by IWC, the watch now was protected.

The new IWC Ingenieur collection

The dial design of the IWC timepiece is modelled on the typical colour combinations of racetracks – with red and white for the kerbs and black for the asphalt. However, not only IWC revealed a novelty. Also Mercedes-AMG presented an exclusive special edition of the Mercedes-AMG GT3 Edition 50 (650 PS), which is limited to five cars. Every buyer of the car will also receive the anniversary watch from IWC. Who does not want to spend 380.000,- Euro can buy the watch at a price of 13.000,- Euro.