BY HARLAN CHAPMAN-GREEN
TAG Heuer’s 2024 seems to be going very well indeed. From the exciting Watches & Wonders releases to the new Aquaracer release, it seems that the brand’s playfulness isn’t over yet, although the less said about the Formula 1 Kith partnership pieces, the better. The next piece to be released by the brand is the Carrera Chronograph X Porsche 963, which brings with it a totally modern look.
The 963 is Porsche’s current endurance racer for events like the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It comes from a strong lineage, descending from the renowned 956 and 962 models. This modern race car is equipped with a 4.6L twin-turbo V8 engine, boosted by a hybrid system, producing 671hp (500kw), while weighing only 1,030kg (2,271lb). We’re eager to see how the Porsche performs, but for now, let’s shift our focus back to the watch.
The new watch, measuring 44mm x 15.1mm, should be quite easy to read. The stainless steel case is water-resistant to 100m, but I think its technical look will attract the most interest. There are many edges and faces to this thing, and subtle details such as the ‘963’ text engraved into the 6 O’clock lugs make it look a bit more special without seeming to go overboard. They’ve even written ‘Porsche’ on the side of the case, but again, it doesn’t seem over the top for me. I like that the forged carbon bezel has the Porsche name written into the tachymeter as well, although they only added lume to the Porsche text rather than any of the rest of the numbers, which are the things you might want to, you know, use at some point.
The dial has clearly been designed to resemble motorsports equipment, as one would naturally expect. Clues to this motoring theme can be found in the “tubular skeleton dial,” which clearly resembles a roll cage, or “scaffolding,” as Jeremy Clarkson would call it. The three subdials have a coating on them reminiscent of aventurine although they aren’t that, they look good on the dial and keep it from being too dour and predictable. There’s also a touch of red on the chronograph seconds track, which is supposed to resemble the adrenaline of the countdown to a race’s start or something like that. A much more interesting detail is the backlit date window, courtesy of an application of SuperLumiNova; that’s a feature I think should be on a lot more watches.
Visible through parts of the dial and the open caseback is the in-house-made self-winding calibre TH20-00. The TH20-00 is an updated version of TAG Heuer’s already impressive calibre Heuer 02, featuring a red-coloured column wheel and a vertical clutch for a smooth and accurate user experience. There’s also a 4Hz beat rate and an 80-hour power reserve. TAG Heuer’s in-house movements have been improving a lot as of late, both from a technical perspective and a finishing one. It’s good to see them going the extra mile, like Omega does, to make their watches that little bit more intriguing for both watch fans and novices alike. Even those who don’t care about watches at all will find something to like.
The rubber strap of the watch also features unique details, the most prominent being the shape around the case lugs. TAG Heuer says this specific shape is reminiscent of the ducting found on the car (called NACA [National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics – precursor to NASA] ducts) which, when in situ, direct air more effectively into the internals. On the TAG Heuer, they don’t do that, but they still look cool. In fact, the entire watch looks cool. The coolness comes at a price, though, and that’s quite high at $9,200 or £8,050, it’s also limited to just 963 examples worldwide.
