TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon x Senna: A Limited Edition for a Racing Legend

Few watchmakers are more closely associated with auto racing and the history of motorsports than TAG Heuer, which introduced its signature timepieces, the Carrera and Monaco, in the 1960s heyday of racing and has been rolling out new variations on them in the decades since. TAG Heuer watches have been seen on the wrists of many of the sport’s iconic drivers, including the late Brazilian superstar Aryton Senna, winner of Formula One championships in 1988, ‘89, and ‘91 before his untimely death on the track in 1994. TAG Heuer has produced several memorable limited editions in honor of Senna’s legacy, most of them hailing from the flagship Carrera family, and the latest and arguably greatest one debuts today: the Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon x Senna. 

Released ahead of a new Netflix miniseries on Senna’s life — dropping November 29, 2024, and starring TAG Heuer ambassador Gabriel Leone in the lead role, wearing a period-appropriate TAG Heuer Link Chronograph — the new watch is a limited edition of 500 pieces adorned with a number of aesthetic homages to Senna on the 30th anniversary of his death in the San Marino Grand Prix. The 44mm case is made of grade 2 titanium with fine-brushed and sandblasted finishes, with sharp, vertically brushed lugs whose sandblasted rims lend the case a sense of dynamism. The fixed bezel is made from forged carbon and features a tachymeter scale calibrated to a high-octane speed of 400 km/hr to pay tribute to its namesake’s blazing runs around the world’s most storied racetracks, and also hosts a “SENNA” logo with the stylized “S” in bold yellow. 

The bright yellow of the Senna logo finds echoes on the skeletonized, tricompax dial, under a beveled, domed sapphire crystal. The central chronograph seconds hand and the hands on the two chronograph counters at 3 and 9 o’clock have a lacquered yellow finish; the latter subdial is also enhanced with another placement of the Senna “S.” The other two colors of the Brazilian flag are also in evidence on the dial: the minute-scale flange is in blue, bordered by an outer ring in green, and the same blue highlights the snailed rings framing the chronograph subdials. The hour and minute hands, and the indexes on the edge of the black-plated, brushed and grained skeleton dial, are rhodium-plated. 

The engine powering the latest Senna edition is the automatic Caliber TH20-09, based on the earlier Heuer 02-T, developed in-house by the brand as its first movement that combined a chronograph and a “flying” tourbillon escapement, i.e., one that is mounted at the bottom and thus appears to float within its tiny case. (If you’re new to tourbillons, read about them here.) It features automatic winding (still a relative rarity in a tourbillon movement), a frequency of 4 hz (28,800 vph), an integrated, column-wheel-controlled chronograph, and a power reserve of more than 65 hours in a single barrel. The tourbillon cage, visible at 6 o’clock on the dial, is exceptionally lightweight, with parts made of titanium and carbon, and takes the place of a traditional small seconds subdial, Admire what you can see of this impressive mechanism from the dial side, as its back side is concealed behind a solid titanium caseback depicting a close-up view of Ayrton Senna in his racing helmet, along with the limited-edition markings. 

The case of the TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon x Senna is 15.10mm thick and spans 47.7mm from lug to lug. It is delivered on an integrated blue rubber strap, with surface areas that continue the line-brushed and sandblasted motifs of the case, and fastens to the wrist via a grade-2 titanium folding clasp with double safety push-buttons. Available at TAG Heuer retailers as of November 2024, it has an MSRP of $37,900 — a substantial chunk of change, sure, but you're highly unlikely to find a Swiss-made tourbillon watch, much less one that's also a chronograph, at this sub-$50K price point anywhere else.