In 2014, Chopard became “Official Timing Partner” of Porsche Motorsport for the German racing team’s grand comeback to endurance competition. That same year, in honor of this exclusive partnership, Chopard launched a Superfast chronograph inspired by the Porsche 919 Hybrid competing in the World Endurance Championship LMP1 category. In 2015, Chopard is unveiling a new watch, the Superfast Chrono Porsche 919 Jacky Ickx Edition, a 100-piece limited series dedicated to Jacky Ickx, a driver with an impressive track record and a longstanding ambassador of Chopard and Porsche. This model proudly bears the colors of the legendary champion and six-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
While the Superfast Chrono Porsche 919 Jacky Ickx Edition features the design codes of the German speed machine racing in the World Endurance Championship, its dial also displays the famous colors of the racing helmet worn by Jacky Ickx, multiple champions and close friend of Chopard Co-President Karl-Friedrich Scheufele. This outstanding figure in the field of motor racing has a wide-ranging track record. His victories in the 24 Hours of Le Mans earned him the famous nickname “Monsieur Le Mans”. In tribute to this exceptional driver, the dial of the Superfast Chrono Porsche 919 Jacky Ickx Edition features an inner bezel ring and counters in dark blue dotted with white touches, the colors of the helmet worn by Jacky Ickx during his illustrious career. These contrasting shades stand out elegantly against a silver-toned dial echoing the metallic grey of the German manufacturer, while the dial stripes are reminiscent of the rear diffuser of the Porsche 919 Hybrid.
Jacky Ickx is one of the greatest 20th-century drivers. After starting his career on two wheels, he went on to make a major mark on the history of motor racing. As a Formula 1 driver from 1967 to 1979, he took part in 114 Grand Prix and won his first victory at the French Grand Prix in 1968, at the age of 23. But Jacky Ickx is above all famous for his performances in the field of endurance races, notably at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, a competition he won six times, including four times with Porsche. He held this record for many years. His most memorable victory is doubtless that of 1969. That year, the cars were lined up at an angle on one side of the track and all the drivers were preparing to rush to their speed machines and drive off. All, except one: Jacky Ickx. To protested against this type of start that he considered as dangerous and pointless within the context of a 24-hour race (with drivers hurtling off at dizzying speeds without buckling their safety belts), the Belgian driver decided to walk to his GT40. He remembered only too well the accident suffered by Willy Mairesse the previous year when he was caught in a hydroplaning tire spin on Les Hunaudières straight. Without the restraint of a safety belt, Willy had been thrown from his car and severely injured. At 2 pm on June 14th, 1969, Ickx, therefore, strolled across the track of the 24 Hours race, as other drivers sprinted ahead in order to jump into their cockpits. The Belgian won the race by the smallest margin in its history: just 120 meters. This victory vividly demonstrated that this type of start was pointless in ensuring an exciting race. A page in the history of Le Mans was thus turned and the rules were modified the following year. Jacky Ickx, a driver with a strong character, thus risked losing an important race in order to help change the starting rules.
As the latest ambassador of the Superfast collection, the Superfast Chrono Porsche 919 Jacky Ickx Edition carries a number of references to the world of competitive motor racing. Water-resistant to 100 meters and topped with a bezel bearing a tachymetric scale and secured by eight blackened screws, the 45 mm-diameter case houses a high-precision mechanism featuring decorations inspired by car engines. Fitted with a crown adorned with a black rubber-molded steering-wheel motif, the grooved sides of the case evoke the cooling fins found on air-cooled racing engines – an exclusive finish echoed by the lines on the dial and the openwork movement bridges. Like an authentic high-powered racing car, the exceptional bodywork of the
Superfast Chrono Porsche 919 Jacky Ickx Edition houses an engine entirely developed, produced, and assembled in Chopard’s Fleurier Ebauches workshops: Chopard Calibre 03.05-M. This mechanical self-winding chronograph with a flyback function can also lay claim to chronometer-worthy precision certified by the Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC). The back is engraved with the inscriptions “Official Timing Partner Porsche Motorsport” and “Jacky Ickx Limited Edition”. A black rubber strap with the smooth tread of slick racing tires sets the perfect finishing touch to this watch symbolizing Chopard’s wholehearted commitment to the world of racing.
Technical Details
Case:
• Steel
• Total diameter 45.00 mm
• Thickness 15.08 mm
• Water resistance 100 meters
• Screw-lock crown with black rubber-molded steel
steering wheel motif
• Steel bezel with tachymetric scale, secured by eight blackened PVD-coated steel screws
• Glareproofed sapphire crystal
• Back engraved with the inscriptions “Official Timing Partner Porsche Motorsport” and “Jacky Ickx Limited Edition”
Movement:
• Self-winding chronograph movement Chopard 03.05-M
• Total diameter 28.8 mm
• Thickness 7.60 mm
• Number of jewels 45
• Power reserve 60 hours
• Frequency 28,800 vph (4Hz)
• Chronometer-certified (COSC)
Dial and hands:
• Opaline silver-toned dial with matt blue inner bezel ring, white and silver-toned transfers
• Metallic black hours/minutes hands and hour-markers
• Arrow-tipped red central seconds hand
• Red hours/minutes counter hands
• Metallic black small seconds hand
Functions and displays:
• Central display of the hours, minutes, and seconds
• Small seconds at 6 o’clock
• Date aperture between 4 and 5 o’clock
• Chronograph sweep-seconds hand with flyback function
• 30-minute counter at 3 o’clock, 12-hour counter at 9 o’clock
• Tachymeter
Strap and clasp:
• Black rubber strap (slick-tire tread)
• Polished steel folding clasp
Ref. 168535-3003 – Limited edition of 100
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