Well they don't HAVE to, but they do...
Well my whole argument is that TAG should be doing things a bit differently, so I'm cutting the skeletons and the tourbillons from the new lineup. Sorry not sorry! Leave the skeletons for Hublot and the tourbillons for Bvlgari. (And the sporty skeletons to Zenith, who also are quite midguided lately, if improving recently)
on that basis watch companies should probably stop sponsoring motorsport altogether.
Well, there's an argument to be made that modern motorsport, like watchmaking, is somewhat superfluous. The old adage that "racing improves the breed" sadly isn't quite applicable anymore, since costs have gotten so far out of hand that even the pinnacles of the sport - Formula 1 or top-level sports-car prototypes - are rather restricted to a narrow rulebook these days. But the fact remains that there's an inextricable link between motorsport and watch enthusiasm - in fact, it's why I'm here on this forum at all! (And broke. Very very broke.)
You'd be forgiven for thinking so.
Again, the core of my argument: Why does the Carrera have to be everything to everybody? Surely they could have 02T'd a Link. But they didn't, which again, is because nobody cares that Senna wore an S/EL.
That's not what I meant, I meant that watch doesn't look obviously 'vintage'.
What about it looks less vintage than the Carrera 160? If you mean the patinated lume, it's because neither the old King Seikos nor the modern Grand Seikos had lumed dials at all (except for the modern GS sport line which.... putting it charitably.... is not highly subscribed to)
It's funny to me that Heuer choose to advertise their great motorsport heritage using an
actor pretending to be a racing driver, why do they not use Jo Siffert or another sixties driver instead?
Well, neither Jo Siffert or Jochen Rindt et al, not even Mario Andretti quite resonate with the public at large the way Steve McQueen does. Which makes sense really given that Steve McQueen in his day was not just
an actor but
the actor that so many people wanted to emulate.
And his aura extends beyond just watches, too.
Leaving aside the problems with his personal life that one should not want to emulate - Steve McQueen wasn't just an actor though. He loved sportscar racing, and wasn't just some schlub who took a part in a movie about racing. "Le Mans" was actually his own passion project, a movie he forced the studios into making on the basis of his star power. And the Heuer he wore was not out of sponsorship then, either - his idol and mentor was none other than Jo Siffert, whose style he based his character's on.
It's funny when you think about it actually, because Steve McQueen arguably
made the Monaco in the first place, so it's almost tradition that he continues to do so posthumously
😜
Anyway, TAG's choice of Patrick Dempsey was quite inspired I thought, since he's sort of followed along in the same footsteps, even if he's not quite the immense star that McQueen was.
