Hand crafted in Porsche’s own watch factory in Solothurn, Switzerland, the Chronograph 1 - 911 Dakar and the Chronograph 1 - 911 Dakar Rally Design Edition reprise the striking highlights of their automotive namesakes and make a lasting impression with a world premiere: a highly scratch-resistant titanium carbide case developed by Porsche Design. The chronographs are reserved exclusively for owners of the Porsche 911 Dakar and are therefore limited to just 2,500 units. The limited-edition number corresponds to the build number of the car and is engraved on the back of the casing.
After five years of intensive development work, Porsche Design has succeeded in forming a chronograph case out of titanium carbide, an exceptionally robust and highly scratch-resistant material. This is very much in the spirit of Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, who once said: “It gives me pleasure to make things better.” Porsche Design did not merely coat the case with titanium carbide, but in fact made it entirely from this revolutionary material. For this purpose, granules are first pressed under several tons of pressure before being fired at over 2,000 degrees Celsius. The resulting blank is then milled into the final shape and fine polished. Titanium carbide prevents the visible ageing process and is even lighter than titanium. The ceramic material is notable for its striking black powder look and elegant crystal structure. The abbreviation TiC for titanium carbide features on the distinctive red of the instrument dial.
Fine distinctions in the design
As with the 911 Dakar models with and without the Rallye Design Package, there are also fine differences in the designs of the two chronographs. The instrument dial of the 911 Dakar Rallye Design chronograph, for example, has a ‘Roughroads’ graphic that evokes the car’s design. Moreover, the backing of the vehicle-leather band features Race-Tex in Shark Blue instead of the Shade Green in the 911 Dakar chronograph.
Both designs of the 911 Dakar chronograph reinvigorate the legend of the most famous rally in history and celebrate unmistakable design details of the new Porsche 911 Dakar. In this way, owners of this extraordinary car can also wear a piece of motorsport history on their wrist.