Capeland Shelby Cobra Chronograph US unveiling

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Capeland Shelby Cobra Chronograph US unveiling - Baume & Mercier
New York's Classic Car Club hosts the Baume & Mercier Capeland Shelby Cobra Chronograph unveiling for the US market.

Last week in New York City, Baume & Mercier hosted the official US unveiling of the all-new Capeland Shelby Cobra Collection of watches. The event was appropriately held at the Manhattan Classic Car Club – and naturally there were a couple of pretty cool original Cobra cars on premises.

Said Fred Martel, president of Baume & Mercier in America, “We are happy to expand the collection of Cobra watches and to be working with Carroll Shelby Licensing Inc. in Las Vegas, who are all so professional.”

Indeed, the brand has worked with Carroll Shelby Licensing since it first opted to delve into one of the most iconic brand names in racing history. They worked together to unveil last year’s first generation of Capeland Shelby Cobra watches in honor of the brand that made history in 1965 beating out Ferrari in FIA International Championship of GT Manufacturers and winning a legendary place in history forever.

The new Capeland Shelby(R) Cobra and the Capeland Shelby Cobra 1963 Limited Edition Competition watches  (first released at January’s SIHH 2016) are designed to celebrate the famed drivers who risked their lives to make that history happen.
At last week's event, one of those drives, Allen Grant, was on hand to talk about how he heard of Shelby’s efforts, drove to Venice, CA, to Shelby’s garage and literally stopped Carroll Shelby by standing in front of the doorway to insist on an internship with the young dynamo threatening to make big marks in auto racing.

Capeland Shelby Cobra Chronograph US unveiling

“I had been a motorsports enthusiast since I was 16 years old. I had an AC Bristol and when I turned 21, I raced it and in that first year won 12 out of 14 races,” explains Grant. “My goal was to prove to Shelby that I was the best racer there was, and when I had the opportunity, I did that.”
In fact, Grant talked about how he was able to race the bright yellow GT to the near-winning spot in a Riverside, CA, race that caught Shelby’s attention. He   showed pictures of the car he   raced in—painted in racing DuPont yellow tinting color with horizontal black stripes. His races -- and incredible time and performance on the track – put him on the shortlist for Carroll Shelby when he picked the team a year later that drove the Cobras to beat the Ferraris.

The entire story is a captivating chapter not only in American history, but also in global racing history. Carroll Shelby and his band of drivers forever changed the landscape of GT racing.
The watches that honor Shelby, Grant, Phil Hill, Bob Bondurant and the others, demonstrate a confidence and precision worthy of both Carroll Shelby and Baume & Mercier.
The watches recall the Shelby Cobra 289 Sebring CSX2128 –first born in Carroll Shelby’s factory in 1963.  The chronographs are black and yellow in color, and there are two versions. One is the Limited Edition Spirit of Competition (with black rubber integrated strap), and the other features a black and yellow leather strap. Both are powered by the Swiss-made self-winding caliber Valjoux 7753 with chronograph, date and 48 hours of power reserve.  The watch, like its successful predecessors, features the bold and daring Cobra head on the seconds hand of the chronograph. Other features perfect for a racing Chrono include   a tachymeter for measuring speed, green light emission SuperLuminova markers and anti-glare crystals for easy readability. The case back is engraved with the name of the collection, as well as the words “One out of 1963” to recall the number of the piece and the year the car was born.   Retail prices are $4,450 to $4,550. 

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