The 1950s and 1960s – The inspiration: Carrera Panamericana and the origin of the name ‘Carrera’.
The first Carrera Panamericana race was staged in 1950 and spanned over 3,000km from the northern Mexican border to the southern. Drivers competed at an average speed of 150+ km/h in the top classes and it was quickly considered among the absolute test of the car and the drivers’ abilities at the time. Inevitably, the race saw much drama and multiple crashes. Consequently, it was only run on five occasions before being cancelled after the 1954 edition.
Just five races were enough to create a mystique around the race to keep the event at the center of the conversation across the motorsport world. Almost a decade after that final race, drivers would still tell the stories of ‘the Carrera’. It was parents of two Mexican brothers, Pedro and Ricardo Rodríquez, who at Sebring in 1962 inspired Jack with tales of the Carrera Panamericana’s danger, its ability to test, the drama of the route and the sweetness of victory. ‘Carrera, Carrera, Carrera’ repeated in his head and Jack raced to register the name ‘Heuer Carrera’ – a name that had so many synergies with the Heuer brand…so much so that it became the perfect name of his next chronograph.
The Heuer Carrera’s Iconic Design
Throughout its 60 years, Heuer and TAG Heuer have been blessed with some memorable Carrera designs that with time, have become icons of the range. The Heuer Carrera is one of Jack’s proudest creation – a watch that uses a bold, confident design and was inspired by the understanding that in racing, and everywhere, legibility is crucial. And these traits have been central to the Carrera’s DNA since the first references.
In 1963, Jack launched a manual-winding chronograph that featured a new acrylic crystal with tension ring. Jack saw an opportunity to clear up the dial of the chronograph by moving the 1/5th seconds scale to the flange, outside of the hour markers. A cleaner dial paired with the innovative tension ring enhanced legibility from all angles.
These original pieces are highly coveted because of some of their unique features. The original case back and movement of the reference 2447 (and the reference 3647) features ‘Ed Heuer & Co’, the company’s original name before the acquisition of Leonidas. Both references do not feature the ‘T’ designation for Tritium as Radium was still being used for its luminescence properties. And the silver dial would feature a semi-matte finish, commonly called an ‘eggshell’, which would soon become the more common ‘soleil’ finish.
Early Iconic Heuer Carrera References
As in these first pieces, Jack has used contrasting colors to enhance legibility further. Early Heuer Carreras were recognized with white on black, or black on white designs with color accents. The 1968 Carrera combined all these enhancements into a new dial design with wider dial markers. Looking through the archives one sees this very clearly in the reference 2447 SN, panda design. And it is this iconic piece that TAG Heuer is celebrating with the 60th Anniversary piece in January 2023.
Then there is the showpiece Carrera – the solid gold reference 1158. Originally this watch was created as a celebration of Heuer Leonidas’s listing on the Swiss
Stock Exchange. But such was its beauty and impact, that drivers began to crave the piece. It soon became known as the ‘Success Watch’, a name that stuck after Jack gifted an engraved version of this piece to every new Ferrari driver from 1971 including Niki Lauda and Clay Regazzoni as well as other drivers such as Mario Andretti, Jo Siffert and Ronnie Peterson.
The reference 1158 was offered in 3 variations, each with its own unique identity. The 1158 CH was offered with a champagne dial, 1158 S featured a silvered dial and the most popular and most collectable 1158 CHN champagne and noir with a black sub-dial.
1970s – Famous Heuer Carrera Wearers From Across Motorsport and Beyond
The Heuer Carrera is not just inherently linked to motorsport through its naming or design inspiration, but also through the famous drivers. The most recognizable to wear the Heuer Carrera were of course the Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1 team of the 1970’s. Jack was supplying timing equipment to Ferrari from 1971, but Jack was unable to secure official sponsorship funding from Ferrari. Being the savvy marketeer he is, he got creative: instead of chasing funding, he wanted endorsement and exposure.
He achieved both by getting the Heuer Carrera on the wrists of technical director Mauro Forghieri and drivers including Niki Lauda, and Arturo Merzario. Drivers loved the Heuer Carrera so much, they even gifted personalized pieces to their family members – Ronnie Peterson gifting an engraved Heuer Carrera to his father for his 60th birthday.
Beyond Ferrari, other drivers were drawn to the Heuer Carrera including notable names such as Mario Andretti, Derek Bell, James Hunt, and Colin Chapman. Jack also recognized drivers who achieved arguably more than a podium finish – Mike Hailwood was gifted a Heuer Carrera for saving the life of a Clay Regazzoni by pulling him from his burning wreckage at the South African Grand Prix.
It wasn’t just drivers who fell in love with the piece. The Heuer Carrera also resonates with icons across music, film and beyond. Most iconic is probably the image of Mick Jagger, John Lennon and Yoko Ono in the studio – Mick Jagger with the reference 1153 on wrist.
Role of Jack Heuer
TJack Heuer, born November 19th, 1932, became the fourth generation of the Heuer family to lead te family business. His educational background focused on finding operational excellences through
manufacturing processes, an area that required a clear affinity with timekeeping and precision. During a summer study break spent in New York, Jack worked for Abercrombie & Fitch selling Heuer watches in their stores.
One of Jack’s most important early roles was to set up a subsidiary in North America called Heuer Timing Corporation. The North America market was booming, and Jack’s experience there equipped him perfectly to take over leadership of the company from his father and uncle in 1962, aged just 29. Jack brought fresh, modern ideas to the range and a golden period of launches followed – the Heuer Autavia in 1962, the Heuer Carrera in 1963, the Heuer Camaro in 1968, the Heuer Automatic Chronograph and the Heuer Monaco in 1969.
Mid-way through this period, Heuer also became the world leader in timing equipment supplier with the acquisition of Leonidas. The 70s brought many macroeconomic challenges including the quartz crisis and the emergence of Nixon-economics which brought the Swiss watchmaking industry to its knees. Jack was forced out in a hostile takeover and was heartbroken but carved out a successful second career in the electronics industry.
Following that time, Heuer also went through some major structural and identity changes. But Jack returned to TAG Heuer the year the TAG Heuer Carrera returned in 1996 and would become honorary chairman in 2000.
HISTORY 1996-2023
The relaunch of the TAG Heuer Carrera following a 12-year hiatus was inspired by the original reference 2447 and opened a new chapter in the enduring legend of the racing chronograph.
Contemporary models build upon the foundational design codes, sleek case, sharp lug line, uncluttered dial, and utmost technical reliability.
Contemporary models build upon the foundational design codes, sleek case, sharp lug line, uncluttered dial, and utmost technical reliability.
The Carrera collection has featured some of TAG Heuer’s most impressive innovations, among which the Calibre 1887 in 2010, followed by the Calibre Heuer 01 which powered some of the brand’s boldest timepieces, the TAG Heuer Mikrogirder that won the GPHG overall prize (Aiguille d’Or) in 2012, or more recently in 2018 the TAG Heuer Carrera “Tête de Vipère” Chronograph Tourbillon Chronometer and in 2019 the TAG Heuer Carrera Heuer 02T Nanograph featuring the isograph carbon hairspring.
The TAG Heuer Carrera family also introduced sought-after limited editions such as the TAG Heuer Carrera x Fragment Design of 2018, celebrated designs to mark the brand’s 160th anniversary in 2020 and the global brand partnership that brought two icons together – the Porsche 911 Carrera and the TAG Heuer Carrera – in the form of inspiring co-creations since 2021.
