TAG Heuer Revs Up Le Mans

For decades Le Mans has been the most legendary of endurance races and this year the luxury watchmaker TAG Heuer will be back in the heart of things at this exciting event. For 2015, TAG Heuer will be partnering up with the Nissan GT-R LM NISMO, which marks Nissan’s return to Le Mans after an absence of 16 years. This revolutionary new car sports more than 1,000 horsepower, hybrid front wheel drive and a V6 3-litre twin turbo engine. Three lucky drivers from the Nissan Academy —Lucas Ordonez, Jann Mardenborough and Mark Shulzhitskiy—will be among the nine taking turns driving this behemoth of an auto.

Jean-Claude Biver, CEO of TAG Heuer and Chairman of the Watch Division of LVMH group, gave this statement on the partnership: “We want innovation, audacity, and courage to return to the Le Mans course. Nissan NISMO is the perfect challenger, a pioneer when it comes to the technology in their cars, and also particularly in the way they communicate with young people using their massive social media presence. Just take a look at this car, it’s powerful, different, and breaks the mould. It’s the perfect embodiment of our #DontCrackUnderPressure campaign.”

Of course, such an occasion calls for a new watch and TAG Heuer has responded with the Carrera “NISMO” Calibre 16 Day-Date Chronograph Special Edition, a timepiece as racy as the cars competing at Le Mans. The 43mm titanium case is micro-blasted with titanium carbide for lightness and strength while the face is black with bands of charcoal grey and red. On the inside is a calibre 16 movement and the caseback is adorned with a Nissan NISMO decal. The scratch-proof ceramic bezel has a tachometer for measuring average speed and the domed sapphire crystal has antireflective coating on both sides. The TAG Heuer Carrera “NISMO” Special Edition comes with a Soft Touch matt alligator strap with red topstitching and is water-resistant to 100m.