TAG Heuer and Tesla Collaborate in Time and Motion Study

Filed in archive Design , News , Very Cool on March 2, 2010

Though I've never been motivated by brand associations to help advertise cars and other products, here's one that pleases me. Watchmaker TAG Heuer has teamed up with Tesla Motors in a collaboration of brands to create a unique Tesla electric roadster for the 2010 Geneva auto show. So why am I happy with a marketing technique that I might normally ignore? Two reasons: First, great watches and great cars are a natural combination. Second, because my everyday wristwatch is a 1969 Heuer Carrera (in fact, it's my only watch). That's like saying your daily set of wheels is a vintage Ferrari, because the Heuer Carrera has become a valuable collector's item, not only because of its make and age but because it was the watch to have back then; worn by many who were involved in road racing and rallying. I used it to informally time more laps than I can remember at tracks like Monaco, Silverstone, and Laguna Seca. It's been overhauled just twice and still runs perfectly, if a little fast. But hey, fast is good in racing!



Getting back to the TAG Heuer Tesla Roadster, the special sports car has been styled by Tesla's chief designer Franz von Holzhausen, who incorporated design elements from a new, one-fifth-second Heuer limited edition stopwatch and also integrated a TAG Heuer Meridiist mobile phone. The center console has been specifically constructed to cradle the "cutting edge concept watch" that will itself only be revealed a few weeks from now at the Baselworld watch and jewelry tradeshow. The Tesla's exterior is described as having a "foucault field gray carbon-fiber shell with branding-appropriate mirrors," to which I can only add one word: beautiful. In case you're unaware, this is an all-electric sports car that can accelerate to 60 mph in only 3.9 seconds and in near-silence. Rationale for the collaboration, an attempt to bring "technologically advanced art to life through motion," is TAG Heuer's 150th anniversary celebration. It's also my Heuer Carrera's 40th anniversary, a rather timely co-incidence, wouldn't you say?