Tag Heuer more than ever confirms its status of luxury watch and Avant-Garde Eyewearreference in the universe of high end motor racing and GT
With Fernando Alonso, Kimi Räikkönen, Lewis Hamilton, Sébastien Bourdais, Jeff Gordon andSarah Fisher, with Team Vodafone McLaren Mercedes in Formula 1, with Peugeot Sport and itsdrivers at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with the Mercedes SLR in Grand Tourism and with Indy 500,TAG Heuer more than ever confirms its status of luxury watch and Avant-Garde Eyewearreference in the universe of high end motor racing and GT.
The benchmark in cutting-edge chronographs and timekeeping technology since 1860, TAGHeuer is the watch brand with the longest and strongest association to motor sports and dreamcars, as well as the one with the most impressive involvement and product developmentinspiration in 2007. Its recently launched Avant-Garde eyewear collection is strongly supportingthis unique positioning, also inspired and driven by motor sports.
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TAG Heuer: a unique motor racing heritage
First watch brand to develop chronographs dashboards for sports cars at the beginning of the 20thcentury, first watch brand to partner with racing drivers, first watch brand to partner with a Formula1 team, first watch brand to crack and master the time barrier, creating luxurious chronographs witha precision of 1/10th, 1/100th and now 1/1,000th of a second, TAG Heuer is made of racing DNA.
For more than a century, TAG Heuer has built its reputation on the core values and codes of motorsports and prestigious sports and Grand Tourism cars: advanced design and materials, high technology and performance movements, ultimate precision and unsurpassed reliability.
From the famous “Time of Trip” of 1911, the first car dashboard chronograph, to this year'srelaunch of the “new TAG Heuer F1”, TAG Heuer has created avant-garde products that answerthe needs of professional car racing and Grand Tourism passionate. In 1916, TAG Heuer launchedthe “Micrograph”, the first stopwatch able to measure 1/100ths of a second. It was followed in1933 by the “Autavia”, the first dashboard timekeeper for both automobiles (Aut) and aviation(avia); and in 1966, the “Microtimer” with the first ever portable time-keeping system mastering1,000th of a second precision. In constant quest for ultimate precision, performance andinnovation, when it comes to motor racing and Grand Tourism, TAG Heuer definitely leads therace.
From Jo Siffert to Fernando Alonso, from Scuderia Ferrari to Vodafone McLaren Mercedes,from FIA Formula One Timekeeping to Le Mans, TAG Heuer's historic partnerships with thegreatest, finest and fastest events, teams and drivers in motor racing is unparalleled in the world ofwatch making and timekeeping.
Those unique partnerships have allowed TAG Heuer to create some of the most mythicalluxury timepieces inspired from motoracing, such as the TAG Heuer Carrera, the Monaco,the TAG Heuer Formula 1 or the TAG Heuer SLR for Mercedes-Benz.
TAG Heuer: The Best Drivers as Brand Product DevelopmentPartners and Image Ambassadors
A unique dream team of racing legends has proudly worn TAG Heuer colors andchronographs
The first watch brand to sponsor a racing driver—Jo Siffert, back in 1969—TAG Heuer's ongoingpartnerships with top drivers perpetuate a long and rich tradition that goes back to the earliest days of Formula 1 Grand Prix Racing.
Racing legends such as Juan-Manuel Fangio, Jo Siffert, Jacky Ickx, Emmerson Fittipaldi,Clay Regazzoni, Ronnie Peterson, Mario Andretti, Nikki Lauda, Jody Scheckter, GillesVilleneuve, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, Mika Häkkinen, David Coulthard, Juan Pablo Montoya and Kimi Räikkönen have been part of TAG Heuer's incomparable roster ofFormula 1 racing ambassadors.
All together, these legendary drivers have won 298 Grand Prix and 25 F1 WorldChampionships*!
In 2007, this extraordinary TAG Heuer brand ambassadorial team have been joined by two newdrivers racing for Vodafone McLaren Mercedes F1 team: already two-time F1 World Champion Fernando Alonso, the youngest World Champion ever; and British ace Lewis Hamilton, GP2World Champion in 2006. TAG Heuer is very proud to have discovered Lewis back in 2003,offering him a fully branded TAG Heuer Formula Renault. Since then Lewis has always won andclimbed the steps to F1 with a TAG Heuer chronograph on his wrist.
After 5 years of successful collaboration with TAG Heuer since he started driving for TeamMcLaren Mercedes, F1 star driver and 2007 Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1 Kimi Räikkönen is nowendorsing and partnering with TAG Heuer Avant-Garde Eyewear products, while continuing towear and inspire TAG Heuer timepieces, with a strong involvement in product developments. Kimiproudly wore the new TAG Heuer Formula 1 chronograph in Melbourne when winning his firstGrand Prix for Scuderia Ferrari F1 on 18th March 2007. With Fernando and Lewis finishing 2nd and3rd, it was the 1st ever 100% TAG Heuer podium in Formula 1 history! Worth noting that Kimi “hattrick” (pole, fastest lap, race win) for his first ever race with Scuderia Ferrari F1 was the first hattrick since Juan-Manuel Fangio's in 1956 F1 seasonal opening.
Today, TAG Heuer's unique product development programs also include a number of famousracing stars: Formula 1 driver Mark Webber, NASCAR icon with 75 wins Jeff Gordon, three-time ChampCar World Champion Sébastien Bourdais (a TAG Heuer ambassador for watches andAvant-Garde Eyewear since 2001, driving in 2007 for actor Paul Newman's Newman-Haas Racing Team in ChampCar and for Peugeot Sport in the famous “24 Hours of Le Mans” Race) and IndyRacing League driver Sarah Fisher back in IRL this year after having being nominated 3 years in a row MPDA of the year of the category (Sarah has been a TAG Heuer ambassador since 2002).
With their outstanding mental strength, performance skills and eagerness to win, theseextraordinary drivers are a constant source of inspiration for the brand's watch making andtechnology teams.
As members of the most glamorous dream team of brand ambassadors in the luxury watchindustry, TAG Heuer's superlative motor racing ambassadors help set the tone for the brand'simage and appeal worldwide, joining Hollywood and Bollywood icons Brad Pitt, Uma Thurman andShah Rukh Khan in the acclaimed advertising campaign “What are you made of?” thus celebratingthe fusion of Sport with Glamour.
In its conquest for future talents and hopefully with the same success established with SebastienBourdais and Lewis Hamilton, TAG Heuer will support in 2007 Swiss drivers Sébastien Buemi in F3 and Simona De Silvestro in Formula Atlantic.
TAG Heuer: the Best F1 and racing Teams as Partners
An unrivalled heritage with the elite squads of the car-racing world
The first watch brand to sponsor a team, TAG Heuer became in the 1970s, official partner of thelegendary Scuderia Ferrari F1 team. The brand's 9-year partnership with Scuderia Ferrari saw numerous innovations, inventions and triumphs: FIA F1 World Champions titles for Nikki Laudaand Jody Scheckter in 1975, 1977 and 1979; and FIA F1 constructors World Championships in 1975, 1976, 1977 and 1979. A celebrated and perennial “friendship” with an amazing track recordfor success.
Strengthened by their experience with Ferrari and already associated with the McLaren-TexacoF1 team in 1974, when Emerson Fittipaldi became F1 World Champion for the second time, TAG Heuer joined forces with McLaren in 1985, signing on as the team's Official and CorporatePartner. This hugely successful partnership has become a legend: six Constructors WorldChampionship titles, eight Drivers titles (three with Alain Prost in 1985, 1986 and 1989; threewith Ayrton Senna in 1988, 1990 and 1991; and two with Mika Häkkinen in 1998 and 1999). In the1970's, TAG Heuer was also associated to Surtees and BRM, two other teams which wrote someglorious pages of Formula 1.
Today, with Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton, the TAG Heuer Vodafone McLarenMercedes partnership is stronger than ever. The two leaders in their respective field of activitiesshare the same values of avant-garde, prestige and performance. Alongside its ongoingcommitment as official watch, official timekeeper and corporate partner of Vodafone McLarenMercedes F1 team for the seasons to come, TAG Heuer is also an active participant in theMcLaren Technology Center, providing the ultimate timekeeping systems for testing sessions,and developing special projects like the “TAG Heuer SLR Chronograph for Mercedes Benz”, adream chronograph inspired by a dream car.
In 2007, TAG Heuer will also become official timekeeper, official watch and chronograph andofficial eyewear partner of Peugeot Sport, which celebrates its come back in the legendary 24Hours of Le Mans in LMP1 category (Peugeot Sport will also compete in other races of Le MansSeries) with the Peugeot 908 V12 HDi FAP. TAG Heuer and Peugeot Sport share the samepassion for excellence and performance with the drivers of the team: Sébastien Bourdais, JacquesVilleneuve, Stéphane Sarrazin, Pedro Lamy, Nicolas Minassian, Marc Géné and Eric Hélary (testdriver).
In parallel to its association with Peugeot Sport in LMP1, TAG Heuer will partner in LMP2 with theTeam Barazi Epsilon and its drivers, coming back to Le Mans with a Zytek supported by Gulf. With these new partnerships, TAG Heuer will be back “in grand style” at the 24 Hours of Le Mans,thirty seven years after the movie “Le Mans” starring Steve McQueen in a Gulf-sponsored Porsche917K, and 34 years after its last presence in 1973 as official timekeeper and partner of ScuderiaFerrari with the famous Ferrari 312 PB sport prototypes.
TAG Heuer: the Best Timekeeping Expertise and the most preciseProfessional Time Measurement Instruments
A century of peerless expertise in precision, clocking race times to the tiniestfraction
In the 1970s, because of its unique expertise and avant-garde technology, TAG Heuer wasappointed by Enzo Ferrari as the Official Timekeeper for the legendary Scuderia Ferrari.Realizing that Ferrari was better organized and equipped than even the circuit officials, otherracing teams soon acquired and used Heuer systems, including Brabham, Williams and, mostimportant, McLaren, with whom the partnership is still running.
As official timekeeper of the most performing teams and tracks in the world, TAG Heuer hasendlessly pushed back the limits of accuracy and precision making it today the only watch brandto master 1/100th, 1/1,000th and 1/10,000th of a second, this last one being used in the Indy 500race and the Race of Champions.
Official Timekeeper of the F1 Championship from 1992 to 2003, TAG Heuer has been adominating presence in the motor sports since the very first F1 World Championship in 1950,when Heuer manual chronometers were used by many of the participants.
As the Official Timekeeper and Chronograph of IRL/Indy 500 Race from 2004 to 2006, TAGHeuer put its unique timekeeping experience and know-how up against the fastest courses in the world, where speeds regularly surpass 220 mph. It also tackled one of the most mythic numbers ininternational sports timing: the 1/10,000th of a second threshold demanded by the IRL. Themeasuring and display of the 1/10,000th of a second is derived form a stunning 1/250,000th of asecond electronic time base, confirming TAG Heuer as the world master of measuring the tiniestfractions of time mankind has ever dealt with. In 2007, TAG Heuer is still the “Official Watch ofIndy 500”.
Since 2004, TAG Heuer is also the Official Timekeeper of the Race of Champions-NationsCup. Held at the “Stade de France” in Paris and overseen by 15 TAG Heuer engineers, thisinternationally renowned race is the last of the season and the only one in which drivers fromdifferent countries and mechanical-sports disciplines compete with one another in a series of heatsin identical cars. In December 2006, TAG Heuer set a new world record when it precisely clockedan astonishing 2/10,000ths of a second difference between first-place Matthias Ekström ofSweden and second-place Heikki Kovalainen of Finland in the semi-final, demonstrating onceagain that when it comes to timekeeping and precision, no other watch brand can surpass TAGHeuer.
On December 16th 2007, this impressive race will be held in the new Wembley Stadium in London,another challenge for the brand.
TAG Heuer: the partner and official chronograph of the Mercedes SLRMcLaren Grand Tourism supercar
In 2004, TAG Heuer was appointed official chronograph of the superlative Mercedes SLR McLarenroadcar, the quintessence of Grand Tourism, combining the unique technological know how of Mercedes-McLaren acquired and transferred from Formula 1 with the unsurpassed comfort andluxury traditions of Mercedes. To celebrate this unique GT Car, TAG Heuer created from scratch a unique asymmetric mechanical timepiece, the TAG Heuer SLR Chronograph Calibre 36-R,measuring the 1/10th of a second and capturing in its case shape and dial lay-out the mostemblematic features of the roadcar. Luxury of luxuries, this timepiece is proposed only the peopleacquiring the 470.000 € Sportscar, as a very special accessory, with the availability limited tomaximum 2 chronographs per car. In parallel and in the context of a broader collaboration, TAGHeuer has developed since 2006 the TAG Heuer SLR Chronograph Calibre 17, again capturingthe spirit of the SLR roadcar, but expressed in a totally different case characterized by its 45degrees inclined and patented push buttons, its inner bezel and its dome-shaped tachymeterscale. Created in the same decade of the 19th century, both Daimler-Mercedes and TAG Heuershare very similar values of prestige and performance which they carry through the 21st centurywith these unique timepieces, epitomizing this official and intensive partnership between the twocompanies.
TAG Heuer: the first luxury watch brand to partner with a F1 drivingschool to create the TAG Heuer-AGS F1 driving schoolThe depth of TAG Heuer's commitment to motor sports goes even further, covering suchengagements as the TAG Heuer F1 driving school, a testing ground of future racing stars.Partnered with former F1 race team AGS, TAG Heuer is associated with the world's top andmost prestigious open-wheel driving and recreational school at the famous Luc-en-Provence circuiton the French Riviera as well as occasionally on the state-of-the-art Le Castellet racing test track.The brand has a visual presence on all cars, helmets and suits, and equips the test trackwith its most advanced timekeeping systems and technology.
TAG Heuer uses the school's driving courses, leisure-park, and helipad for one-off commercialpromotions and as a means of initiating favored guests into the thrills of modern Formula 1 racing. The driving school today uses 9 recent single-seater Formula Ones (including Jordan, Prost,Arrows and AGS) powered with 650 HP Ford V8 Cosworth engines as well as 700 HP + Peugeotand Hart V10 engines, and 2 two-seater Formula Ones specially designed and built by AGS to provide the unique experience of being driven by a professional Formula 1 driver. Additionally tothe Formula 1, TAG Heuer-AGS driving school also proposes a unique V10 powered Peugeot 905Le Mans car from the 90's.
With the best world drivers as global brand ambassadors, the best racing teams aspartners, and its unparalleled expertise in professional timekeeping and time measurement,TAG Heuer is more directly engaged in the demanding universe of motor racing and speedthan any other watchmaker today, making it definitely the N°1 luxury watch and Avant-Garde Eyewear reference in motor racing.
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