HANDS-ON: An extra dose of speed – the TAG Heuer Carrera Heuer 01 Aston Martin Special Edition

At the March 2018 Geneva Motor Show, TAG Heuer announced a new partnership with Aston Martin. Being named as the “Official Partner, Official Watch Partner, and Official Connected Watch Partner” of both the British car manufacturer and its racing teams (Quick fun fact! – Aston Martin are the title sponsors of the Red Bull Racing Formula 1 team, who also happen to run engines that are badged TAG Heuer). And to celebrate the partnership, the motorsport-loving brand released a pair of new chronographs, including this unique take on the contemporary Carrera Heuer 01.

And that’s where it all begins, with a modular stainless-steel 45mm case that’s water resistant to 100 metres and holds inside it an in-house chronograph movement – the Heuer 01. However, things quickly speed around the hairpin when you look a little closer. The dial now features a semi-skeletonised hexagonal pattern that evokes the aggressive look of the front grill of the latest Aston Martin Vantage. Newly sharpened race lines trace its mid-case for an extra dose of speed, and a set of redesigned lugs take inspiration from the high-tempo bodywork of the Vantage. All subtle hints that not only add even more modern and sporty appeal to the Carrera Heuer 01 but also point to a continued love of the motorsport world, which TAG Heuer has shared since the sport’s golden age of the ’60s and ’70s.

That connection is only made stronger once you see the famed luxury sports car manufacturer’s winged logo printed on the running seconds subdial at 9 o’clock, and then notice that on its black ceramic tachymeter engraved bezel is the Aston Martin name. The 30-minute and 12-hour chronograph counting subdials at 12 and 6 o’clock have also been redesigned, with concentric rings solidifying their insides, while six tiny markers on each imitate the lume-filled applied hour markers of the main dial.

Playing to its automotive-inspired strengths, TAG Heuer’s latest special edition of the Carrera Heuer 01 does more than solely rely on a simple addition of a logo to the dial. Instead it brings the whole car to your wrist.

The TAG Heuer Carrera Heuer 01 Aston Martin Special Edition Australian pricing

TAG Heuer Carrera Heuer 01 Aston Martin Special Edition, $8450