Tag Heuer Carrera Chronosprint x Porsche Rallye Watch Review

Car / watch partnerships can be a tricky proposition. Sure, they can be really cool showcases of automotive mechanics translated to the wrist, your Hublots, Jacob & Cos with their eye-wateringly pricey complications. On the other hand, the worst of them are nothing more than a limited-edition colourway and a lazily placed badge. The latest in Tag Heuer’s five-year partnership with Porsche is nicely in the middle, the Tag Heuer Carrera Chronosprint x Porsche Rallye.

I said five-year partnership, but it’s worth nothing that Tag Heuer and Porsche have worked together historically, too – at least, Porsche and Heuer (key difference) have. In fact, when the Porsche 911 made its competitive debut during the 1965 Rallye Monte Carlo, drivers Herbert Linge and Peter Falk would have read their necessary info off a Heuer dash-timer. So, when starting number 147 finished second in its class and fifth overall in the brutal, icy rally, despite not being a dedicated racer, it was in no small part thanks to Heuer.

Obviously, the relationship continued tentatively across the years, such as in Le Mans (where Linge actually acted as a stunt double for Steve McQueen), but the last five years have made it a little more official.

The New Carrera Chronosprint x Porsche Rallye might not have downsized a 911 engine into a wristwatch, but between the two brands’ shared history there’s more than enough here to give the collaboration some weight. And the fact that it’s one of the loveliest versions of an already beautiful racing watch helps all the more.

This isn’t the first Chronosprint we’ve seen; the model was debuted in 2023 in a handsome pair of classical models in rose gold or steel with pared-back, silver and beige dials. The bones here are the same, but the colourway is new, drawing the darker, high-contrast look of black with gold numerals from that 1965 Heuer dashboard clock. The red highlights on the other hand are taken from the livery of car 147 and there’s a good reason for them.

You see, the Chronosprint isn’t just another Carrera chronograph. While it does indeed work perfectly well as a stopwatch, the difference here is in the first 15 seconds. Look close at the bezel and you’ll see that the 15 is just short of where 6 o’clock would be. This is because the chronograph seconds hand races through those first 15 seconds before slowing for the rest of the minute.

Philosophically, this apes the sprint of a Porsche 911, but there’s a practical purpose too. It means that you can time fractions of seconds for short times when everything after the decimal point actually matters, while allowing longer timekeeping for simpler stretches of road. It makes it a much more versatile chronograph. That said, I’m never going to use a chronograph for timing a race. I’d like to say I will and it’s nice to know I could, but I’m just not.

For me, that simply makes the Chronosprint one of the most satisfying complications to play around with – and I’m pretty sure a lot of you reading this can understand that. Seriously, watching the chronograph second hand sprint the highlighted red line (that incidentally follows the 9.1 second sprint of the original 911) is more fun that it has any right to be.

The 42mm case sits nicely on the wrist with a thickness of 14.9mm. It wouldn’t stand out much if it weren’t for the double glassbox sitting on top, that really emphasises the shape of the watch in smooth, tactile fashion. I love the Glassbox. The Rallye is the Glassbox with a unique complication. Is it any surprise I love it?

The movement powering the whole thing is the TH20-08, with an 80-hour power reserve. Not too shabby at all. It’s also a looker, with copious Geneva striping and a (slightly on-the-nose) steering wheel shaped rotor. As you’d expect from this calibre (haha) of movement, it also has a good heft when engaging the chronograph. Anything else would be a travesty.

So how does this stack up against last year’s debut Chronosprint? Well, there are two versions available, one in gold, limited to 11 pieces and the non-limited version in steel we have here. Honestly, the gold one seems a bit too flashy for a racing chronograph and the steel tones down those gold numerals and ‘Porsche’ lettering to make it more wearable. With 100m water resistance, the steel makes it a practical, everyday wearer, too. But even then, I still prefer the previous silver dials to the black.

The blacks arguably cooler, inarguably more modern and has a bit more going on than the more streamlined, vintage-feeling 2024 editions. And that’s precisely why, for me, it comes in second place – which given it’s Monte Carlo Rallye inspiration, is fitting. It is however the same price at £8,050 in steel and £21,150 in gold, so there’s not a lot in it. And while that’s a pretty hefty price even for a Tag Heuer chronograph, for a genuinely cool mechanical wrist on the stopwatch, paired with some genuine motorsport pedigree, it’s a price plenty of collectors will undoubtedly be willing to pay.

More details at Tag Heuer.

​Oracle Time 

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