Formula 1 fans – whether through the Netflix ‘Drive to Survive’ series or lifelong aficionados – will already be familiar with Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff from Austria: known by some insiders as ‘The Terminator’ due to his Schwarzenegger-like delivery and uncompromising approach.
And after a tough season in 2024, in which the team lost seven-time Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari, Wolff will have to rely on his inner strength more than ever to restore Mercedes to its former glory – with unproven Italian rookie Kimi Antonelli joining Britain’s George Russell in the driver line-up. Antonelli is seriously fast: on his only test outing with Mercedes at the Italian Grand Prix last year, he was quicker than anyone else – right up until the point that he buried the car in the wall.
So it’s perhaps lucky for Toto that IWC has just revealed the (deep breath) – IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Shock Absorber XPL Toto Wolff x Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team. Only 100 of these watches will be made, designed to withstand the forces of Formula 1, while mirroring the Mercedes team’s signature black and turquoise colours.
At the heart of the watch is IWC’s SPRIN-g PROTECT shock absorber system: a carefully-crafted piece of engineering that keeps the watch’s movement safe even if you drop it. Or crash your car at 200mph. It basically works like a tiny, ultra-resilient trampoline inside the watch, formed of a bulk metallic glass (BMG) spring, which is visible inside the case.
Given that Toto has also become famous for banging his fist against his desk when things aren’t going well, it’s a feature that has already been tried and tested in all sorts of different ways. The XPL moniker stands for ‘Experimental Engineering Team’; denoting the division of IWC that's dedicated to creating new watches at the cutting-edge of technology.
To give you an idea: the forces on a Formula 1 car will peak at just over 5g on the quickest circuits in the world, such as Silverstone in the UK or Suzuka in Japan. The first XPL watch (which was originally shown in 2021) was designed to resist forces in excess of 30,000g. After all, the very ethos of the ‘Big Pilot’ is centred around fighter planes: the most extreme machines that you will find anywhere.
The actual 44mm watch case and oversized diamond-shaped crown are made from Ceratanium: a proprietary material to IWC that blends titanium’s feather-light feel with ceramic’s scratch-proof toughness. And the aesthetics match the function: the watch hands and indices (as well as the shock absorber) are finished in ‘Petronas’ Super-LumiNova, in homage to the team’s Malaysian oil sponsor. That eye-catching turquoise colour is carried through to the integrated green rubber strap, with an extra black rubber strap available for a more subtle look.
Inside, you’ll find the IWC-manufactured 32101 calibre, featuring a 120-hour power reserve: more than enough for a full grand prix weekend. Flip it over, and you’ll see a tinted sapphire glass case back complete with Toto Wolff’s famous signature.
The man himself will be wearing the new watch at Formula 1’s official launch at the O2 Arena in London on Tuesday 18 February, with all the teams present. As the latest in a long line of collaborations with the Mercedes team, the latest watch from IWC certainly looks the part – although I can’t help thinking that it would have worked better as a limited edition of just 75 rather than 100 pieces, as part of the reason for the big show in London is that F1 is celebrating its 75 th anniversary this year.
Nonetheless, this is clearly a very special watch, which contains a deeply personal link to the charismatic Toto and the ultra-successful team that he leads. My favourite feature is the dial, which contains the granular look of an asphalt race track in a way that’s more realistic than anything else I’ve ever seen. The attention to detail and technology is stunning – but at just over £80,000 to buy (around half a day’s pay for the very top F1 drivers) – you would sort of expect that.
Formula 1 though is all about matching precision with beauty with engineering. And with this latest release, IWC has certainly achieved that.
IWC Big Pilot's x Toto Wolff -
Tech Specs and Price
- Model: IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Shock Absorber XPL Toto Wolff X Mercedes-Amg Petronas Formula One™ Team
- Ref: IW356201Case: 44mm diameter x 12.6mm thickness, Ceratanium®
- Dial: Black
- Water resistance: 100m (10 bar)
- Movement: IWC calibre 32101, automatic, 21 jewels
- Frequency: 28,800 vph (4 Hz)
- Power reserve: 120h
- Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds
- Strap: Black rubber
- Price: £79,700
