HANDS-ON: The Porsche Design Chronograph 1 – 911 Dakar introduces a brand new materials to watchmaking

Fergus Nash

There’s an outdated adage in motorsport that to complete first, first it’s a must to end. In no occasion is that more true than the Dakar Rally — a gruelling drive by means of desert dunes and scorching warmth. A median of 62% members don’t make it to the top of the rally, with amateurs and professionals alike succumbing to the cruel situations even in purpose-built machines. Though the occasion hasn’t really travelled to Dakar in Senegal for years, the spirit of the desert race is saved alive by means of the competitive drivers and producers equivalent to Porsche. The Porsche Design Chronograph 1 – 911 Dakar that was introduced final yr honours the storied occasion and introduces a brand new materials to watchmaking.

The case

Porsche Design’s Chronograph 1 has been legendary since its launch in 1972, pioneering using PVD coatings for the primary totally blacked-out watch. The case design is straightforward but barely ethereal, with mild curves, slab sides and stout lugs that take straps neatly. For the Porsche Design Chronograph 1 – 911 Dakar, the model have solid the case fully out of titanium carbide. This materials, shaped by fusing titanium and carbon at excessive temperatures in a course of known as sintering, has sometimes been utilized in watchmaking to create scratch-proof coatings on different supplies. Introduced right here in a stable kind, the titanium carbide is each scratch-proof and even lighter than titanium as it’s technically a ceramic. Working with this can be very troublesome, because the tooling must be constructed from one thing even tougher to not be worn out instantly.

Wearability is helped alongside by the brief lugs, permitting the strap to do its job of conforming to the wrist. It’s fairly a chunky watch at 42.7mm huge and 15.5mm thick, nonetheless fortunately its visible bulk doesn’t mirror its light-weight consolation. Offering you modify the leather-based strap, the case can also be pool-ready with water resistance of 100m. The darkish case additionally provides it a modern look, with a gentle matte texture and a blacked-out crown and pushers.

The dial

The variations between the Chronograph 1 and the 911 Dakar model are principally delicate, however every particular person ingredient comes collectively to create a racier image. The sloping rehaut between the bezel and dial depicts minute markers moderately than a tachymeter, the 60 numeral at 12 painted pink to match the lollipop-weighted chronograph hand. The opposite pink particulars denote the titanium carbide case as 1:30, and the flyback operation of the motion below the hours subdial at 6 o’clock.

The same old place for the Porsche Design brand above the date and day home windows now depicts the 911 Dakar badge, and boasts chronometer certification beneath it. When choosing your options in the online configurator, you even have the selection between the usual 911 Dakar or the 911 Dakar Rallye Design Version. The Dakar Rallye Design Version makes use of a portion of the working seconds subdial at 9 o’clock to indicate a bit of racing stripes, taken from the design of the Paris-Dakar race-winning Porsche 953 from 1984.

The strap

No racing watch is really full with no perforated leather-based strap, immediately placing your thoughts into race mode. Fitted with a quick-exchange system, the leather-based is black however backed with a contrasting color that may be seen within the stitching and thru the perforations. The 911 Dakar is paired with Shade Inexperienced, and the 911 Dakar Rallye Design Version makes use of a vibrant Shark Blue. Finishing the bundle is a black-coated titanium buckle that matches the pushers and caseback.

The motion

One other space of slight customisation, in addition to the obvious characteristic while you flip the watch over, is the winding rotor which retains the watch wound mechanically. Introduced as a miniaturised wheel that matches the Porsche 911 Dakar automotive, the five-spoke design is accessible in black, white, or Vesuvius gray. Behind it’s the calibre WERK 01.240, Porsche Design’s personal variant on the Valjoux 7750 structure. Fitted with a flyback complication, 4Hz beat price and a 48-hour energy reserve, these actions are each COSC-certified and individually examined by watchmakers earlier than they get delivered.

The Porsche Design Chronometer 1 – 911 Dakar pricing and availability:

The Porsche Design Chronometer 1 – 911 Dakar and Rallye Design Version are fairly unique watches, being accessible solely to homeowners of the vehicles of the identical identify. Solely 2,500 models shall be produced. Value: US$14,500