The Heuer Carrera collection taking its name from the legendary week-long "Carrera Panamericana" celebrates this year its 55th anniversary. During its 50-year life, the TAG Heuer Carrera has taken various forms and incorporated numerous technical innovations. Sporty and modern, the new generation of TAG Heuer Carrera Heuer 02 automatic chronographs features the stylish lines of the 21st century Heuer Carrera models, rendered distinctive by their modular case and bezel with tachymeter scale.
Cherry on the birthday cake – the millennial TAG Heuer Carrera has a new motor: the Heuer 02 calibre. Thus equipped, it reprises the original 3-6-9 counter layout from 1963. Chronograph minutes and hours at 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock, permanent small second at 6 o'clock and date window at 4.30. Punctuated with luminescent baton hands and indexes, the skeleton dial is integrated in a 43 mm diameter modular case, water-resistant to 100 metres and available in several versions – steel, carbon, ceramic or gold. A total of 13 new versions, including one with a GMT function, and a range of straps and bracelets in rubber, leather, metal or ceramic with deployant buckle.
The skeleton dial with sapphire case-back is a characteristic feature of the more recent TAG Heuer Carrera models. It reveals a state-of-the-art movement designed in-house: the Heuer 02 calibre. Paired with the iconic Heuer Carrera, this automatic manufacture chronograph, developed and produced by TAG Heuer, incorporates 168 components, including a column wheel and a vertical clutch – signature Haute Horlogerie features. Modern, accurate and reliable, this mechanical movement oscillates at a frequency of 4 Hz and has an 80-hour power reserve stored in a singe barrel. It has been specifically designed in an industrial production context, and with the aim of simplifying the assembly and after-sales service operations.
To celebrate the anniversary of the Heuer Carrera, TAG Heuer has issued a special edition book called "Ahead of its time". Recounting the highlights of this signature collection and the models that have sealed its legendary status, the book describes how the often-pioneering Heuer Carrera chronograph, which is now synonymous with the brand, became universally recognised as an icon. This 4500-piece edition is available in the brand's boutiques, and can be ordered from www.tagheuer.com in certain markets.
