The new Senna watch is housed in TAG Heuerâs flagship Carrera. The model is based on a timepiece designed by Jack Heuer and released in 1963. TAG revamped the Carrera in 2023 with the invention of the âGlassboxâ design that essentially removes the bezel and gives the piece a more slimmed-down appearance. The versatile watch plays host to all manner of special editions, while its more complicated iterations impress with their integration of high-tech materials and precious metals.
TAG empties its entire bag of tricks when working on its Senna watches. Previous releases in 2018 and 2019 also matched race-ready chronograph models with tourbillons. The latest Senna comes in a 44-mm Grade 2 titanium case and features a forged carbon 400-km tachymeter inscribed with Sennaâs name. Chronograph counters at 3 and 9 oâclock have azure scales and open-worked yellow hands, while Sennaâs âSâ branding pokes out from behind the 12-hour totalizer. The tourbillon, meanwhile, is visible above 6 oâclock, while a caseback depicting Senna in his racing helmet partially reveals the automatic Calibre TH20-09 movement.
Paired to a blue integrated rubber strap with a titanium folding clasp, the Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon x Senna certainly looks like the type of watch that Senna might have worn racing had he begun his career in the 2020s. The brushed and sandblasted titanium case, forged carbon bezel, domed sapphire crystal, and skeletonized dial bear the high-tech hallmarks of a thoroughly modern racing watch and reflect the advanced technologies prevalent in F1 racing. The presence of a tourbillon, of course, is somewhat superfluous to a strict tool watchâalthough itâs hard to fault its inclusion for the sheer cool factor: TAG Heuer is one of few major watch brands that offers tourbillon-equipped watches for under $50,000. (That might seem like a lot, but consider that your âbasicâ tourbillon watch from a brand like Jaeger-LeCoultre or Omega might run you close to or well into the six figures.)
