Porsche Design launches a new flyback chronograph for buyers of the new Porsche 911 Dakar, a specially designed 911 named after the famed Dakar auto rally.
For these owners, Porsche design offers its new Chronograph 1 – 911 Dakar and a variation, the Chronograph 1 – 911 Dakar Rallye Design Edition (with an additional dial graphic). Both watches are cased in a new titanium alloy called titanium carbide.
The new material represents a continuation of Porsche Design’s long history as an innovator of titanium watch cases, which were introduced into watchmaking forty years ago by Porsche Design in tandem with IWC.
The newest titanium alloy is highly scratch resistant, according to the watchmaker, which says that the “smallest scratches caused by fine sand, for example, are now a thing of the past.” In addition, titanium carbide is not subject to any visible aging process, is hypoallergenic, and is lighter than traditional case-grade titanium.
Porsche Design is understandably quite proud of its new metal and even calls it out in red at the top of the new watch’s dial with a new abbreviation “TiC” (titanium carbide).
While Porsche Design still makes the crown and pushers on the Chronograph 1 – 911 Dakar with standard titanium, the entire 42.7mm case for the watch is made using the new material, which the company spent years developing.
Porsche Design explains that the material is created by first compressing titanium carbide granules under several tons of pressure, and then sintering them at over 2,000 degrees Celsius. “This condenses the granules and irreversibly turns them into a homogeneous compound.”
The watchmaker explains that the case blank is then milled and honed into shape.
The dial
Porsche Design ensures a quick reading the dial of the new chronographs with a highly visible red 60 in the minute scale. This perfectly matches with the red color of the chronograph stop hands as well as the word ‘flyback.’ In addition, the watchmaker’s designers have widened the markings of the small hour display for whole hours as compared to the half-hour markings. 
The Chronograph 1 – 911 Dakar Rallye Design differs from the Chronograph 1 – 911 Dakar only with the colorful graphic within the running seconds aperture at 9 o’clock. Its white, blue, gold, and red lines represent the colors on the modified Porsche 953 that won the Rallye in 1984. 
Porsche Design designed the watch’s rotor to match the Porsche 911 Dakar rims, and makes them available for the watch in either black satin or solid white. For the Chronograph 1 – 911 Dakar, the winding rotor is also available in Vesuvius gray. 
Porsche Design fits its COSC-certified Porsche Design WERK 01.240 movement into the watch. This excellent in-house caliber features a flyback function that combines starting, stopping, and resetting in a single operation. The movement is visible through a titanium caseback and clear sapphire crystal. Each watch will bear an engraved limitation number on the caseback to match the number on the owner’s automobile. 
As on all Porsche Design watches, th new chronograph allows straps to be changed without the use of tools. Porsche Design makes the watch’s handsome strap of black leather with contrast stitching in Shadegreen, the same hue found on the seat middle of the Porsche 911 Dakar. For the Chronograph 1 – 911 Dakar Rallye Design Edition the stitching is made of Race-Tex in Shark Blue. 
The Porsche Design Chronograph 1 – 911 Dakar and Chronograph 1 – 911 Dakar Rallye Design Edition can be ordered only by buyers of the new Porsche 911 Dakar and 911 Dakar Rallye Design automobiles at authorized local Porsche dealers. The watches in both liveries are limited to a total of 2,500 pieces, each priced at $14,500.
Specifications: Porsche Design Chronograph 1 – 911 Dakar and Chronograph 1 – 911 Dakar Rallye Design Edition
Movement: Caliber Porsche Design Caliber WERK 01.240, chronograph with flyback function, day and date display in German and English, COSC certified Rotor 360° rotor in wheel design in White, Black or Vesuvius Grey with Porsche Crest. Decorative features include matte black color with chrome-plated bridges, plates and polished screws, engraved Porsche Design icon. Power reserve is 48 hours and its frequency is 28,800 semi-oscillations per hour [4Hz].
Case: 42.7mm by 15.5mm titanium carbide with glass bead blasted finish. Crown and pushers in titanium, Sapphire crystal with hard coating, scratch-resistant and with sevenfold anti-glare properties on both sides. Caseback in black titanium with sapphire crystal. Water resistant to 100 meters.
Dial: Black/white minute and hour hands with SuperLumiNova, seconds hand in white; chronograph hand in neon orange; day and date display in German and English at 3 o’clock; red TiC graphic between 1 and 2 o’clock; chronograph second; 30-minute display at 12 o’clock, 12-hour display at 6 o’clock; small seconds at 9 o’clock.
Strap: Perforated leather strap made of genuine Porsche vehicle leather in black with backing in Race-Tex in Shade Green and decorative stitching in genuine Porsche vehicle thread in Shade Green or Shark Blue. Black titanium folding clasp with pushers.
Price: $14,500.
Comments are closed.