There’s one word that unites Porsche, TAG Heuer, and Mexico – and that’s Carrera. It’s the name that Porsche has tacked on to some of their most famous sports cars (think of the 911 Carrera) and it’s also the name of a well-known family of watches. Both are inspired by one of the most fearsome road races in the history of motorsport: the Carrera Panamericana.
Originally created to publicise the building of a new highway across Mexico, it was held on open public roads and only ran for four years – from 1950 to 1954. Porsche won their class at the Carrera Panamericana on the final attempt, courtesy of Hans Hermann. The former baker turned racing driver achieved a feat that would go down in racing history, covering 3,070 kilometres (1,908 miles) at an astonishing average speed of 157.12 kph (97.63 mph). Reflecting on the experience years later, Herrmann summed up the brutal truth of racing with a simple phrase:
“Glück hat, wer als Rennfahrer überlebt” – “luck, for a racing driver, is to survive.”
He’s still alive now, aged 96.
This was just one of the stories that Jack Heuer heard back in 1962 when he struck up a friendship with Pedro and Ricardo Rodriguez, two Mexican brothers who competed with Porsche in endurance racing. The tale sparked his imagination and he quickly registered the rights to the name “Carrera” for a new watch. The rest, as they say, is history.
This latest TAG Heuer Carrera celebrates the 70 th anniversary of that famous Porsche win in 1954, with TAG Heuer and Porsche having been brand partners since 2021 – although the historic association dates back much further.
TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon x Porsche Panamericana
The TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon x Porsche Panamericana draws inspiration from the winning Porsche 550 Spyder: a car so low and sleek that on the Mille Miglia road race in Italy it was even able to drive under level crossing barriers, courtesy of the famous – and undeniably lucky – Hermann.
The skeleton dial features intricate details that resemble the wheels of the 550 Spyder, while the striking colour scheme of silver, yellow, and black is a nod to the original Carrera Panamericana livery, which featured yellow decals. For the same reason, there’s yellow stitching on the black leather strap.
Back then, the steel and aluminium bodywork of every 550 race car was finished by hand, and you see a reminder of that on the textured finish of the dial, within a brushed and polished case. In fact, the more you look, the more you realise how much is going on in there.
The texture on the subdials is actually grainy and that evokes the rough asphalt that the Carrera cars competed on all those years ago. The third subdial at the bottom houses the tourbillon: the beating heart of the TH20-09 movement, providing a 65-hour power reserve, which reimagines the car’s engine. The rotor, visible through the display caseback, looks exactly like a Porsche 550’s steering wheel.
Throughout this watch, there are a number of other motifs that evoke the famous race: you’ll find ‘Porsche’ and ‘Panamericana’ script too. But the triumph here is that TAG Heuer have managed to bring all these seemingly disparate and busy elements together within a very cohesive whole.
Like every Carrera, you get the ‘glassbox’ crystal that wraps its way around the whole watch and enhances readability. Even if, like Hermann, you happen to be doing 100mph at the time. This is definitely a special timepiece, perhaps the best variation of this theme yet, but it’s still instantly recognisable as a Carrera.
Limited to just 255 pieces (each priced at £31,300) the number is a tribute to the iconic “55” race number that adorned Hermann’s Porsche 550 Spyder during its victorious 1954 run. Each watch is individually numbered, while the luxurious lacquered wooden box offers the perfect finishing touch.
