TAG Heuer Formula 1 McLaren Limited Edition Watch Review
Monday - 07 December 2015
by Angus Davies, www.escapementmagazine.com
1985 was an interesting year for McLaren. The famous Formula 1 team, which has enjoyed much podium success, fielded two of the best drivers of the era, Prost and Lauda. The Frenchman and Austrian had a different approaches to racing but both were equally familiar with the taste of Champagne. The two drivers drove the tomato red coloured MP4/2B, equipped with TAG V6 engines that featured KKK turbochargers.
It was Prost’s year, scoring 73 points and taking five victories. Sadly, Lauda did not share the same good fortune as his teammate, suffering a wrist injury and securing only one win during the season. At the end of the 1985, Lauda retired, Prost won the World Championship and McLaren secured the Constructor’s Trophy.
Interestingly, 1985 was a landmark year for the British motor racing team for another reason. It spelt the start of a relationship with TAG Heuer that continues to this day, some 30 years later. In recognition of this anniversary, the Swiss watch brand has released a limited edition timepiece celebrating the partnership.
The TAG Heuer Formula 1 is a chronograph, sporting a vibrating red colour scheme, or ‘rocket red’ to be precise, and a reference to the colourway of the championship-winning car of 1985.
The opaline black dial features three snailed subdials. The hour and minute hands are faceted with rhodium-plated surfaces and, together with the applied hour markers, feature white luminescent material to aid nocturnal legibility.
TAG Heuer, whilst creating a very attractive watch, has also imbued the Formula 1 - McLaren Limited Edition with a welcome degree of practicality. The watch is water resistant to 200 metres, the quartz movement requires little wearer-input and the dial wonderfully communicates with its owner, enunciating time with perfect diction.
A key reason for selecting this timepiece for my list of favourite watches is the design elements judiciously employed. The ‘rocket red’ aluminium bezel exhibits a handsome appearance and is adorned with a tachymeter scale, reinforcing its racing-inspired character. The caseback is engraved with the text, ’30 years of partnership anniversary’ and the rocket red and black NATO strap reinforce the sporty persona of the watch.
The TAG Heuer Formula 1 - McLaren Limited Edition exudes passion from each facet of its form and provides a fitting tribute to a relationship which is no doubt the envy of the rest of the Formula One paddock. Finally, if the above arguments were not sufficient reason alone to consider purchase, then the asking price of £1200 makes a compelling case for choosing this watch and reinforces why I think it is a championship winner.
