Simply Abu Dhabi XX

1 1 4 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I A fter gratefully accepting a rare invitation from TAG Heuer to visit theMcLaren Technology Centre (MTC) it was with wide eyes and childlike awe that I approached the building. The entire facility looks like it could easily be in the next James Bond movie. Architecturally, it’s ultra futuristic and strangely calming. It wouldn’t be the Bond villain’s lair, it would be have to be on the side of MI6. Entering the building into a vast hall we are greeted by a flank of Formula 1 cars that cover the decades, including the actual winning cars from historical victories. We see a select few but more than 300 chassis stored, the entire history of vehicles ever made. Many of these bear the name TAGHeuer, as the company has been a McLaren Partner since 1985 – the longest running partnership with any watch brand in the sport. Just as I’m admiring the TAG turbo V6 – the most powerful engine ever used by McLaren, nicknamed the ‘grenade engine’ we’re ushered to another area of the facility where the two F1 cars recently driven by Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso in the Hungarian leg of the Grand Prix have just arrived back at MTC and are being checked over by a team of elite mechanics. The cars are supervised 24 hours a day and there’s an upgrade exacted every 14 to 17 minutes – from a new bolt to a software revision. The cars can change between up to 98 per cent during one season. As we watch the work in process things get even better. TAG Heuer has arranged for us to try our hands at being pit mechanics ourselves. Namely, we get drills in hand and practice changing the tyres on an F1 car in as short a time as possible. We get three seconds…not bad, for beginners. After a full tour of the site and even seeing the production line in the adjacent building where all McLaren cars are built, it’s easy to see why Ron Dennis, Chairman and CEO, McLaren Technology Group, described this place as 90 per cent NASA and 10 per cent Disneyland. As we break for lunch and head to the canteen we pass thorough a long corridor displaying the largest collection of Motorsport trophies in the world – 643 original trophies covering NASCAR, Indy, Can Am and F1. It’s an extraordinary place – a true cradle of innovation. To mark the 30th anniversary of the partnership between TAG Heuer and McLaren the celebrated Swiss watch brand releasing a numbered limited edition of the TAG Heuer Formula 1 chronograph that we featured in the last issue. But another wonderful watch that pays dynamic tribute to the TAG Heuer and McLaren is the TAG Heuer Carrera MP4-12C automatic flyback chronograph. It was launched in 2011 to great acclaim in a limited edition run of 1000 pieces and was designed together with McLaren to accompany the McLaren MP4-12C super car – one of the fastest production vehicles in the world. As amazing as the car looks on the road, this does on the wrist. The watch is housed in a 43mm sand-blasted titanium case in the distinctly cool Carrera style and complements the car’s colour codes of orange, black and white. The dial is partially skeletonized in the middle allowing a view of the big date indicator and the chronograph subdials. It is powered not by petrol but by a Dubois-Depraz calibre 4900 automatic movement, based on the ETA 2894 chronograph ebauche, which is fully visible through the transparent case-back. The Carrera MP4-12C has hours, minutes, annual calendar, big date, and flyback chronograph functions together with a 44-hour power reserve. There are a few savvy nods to the world of racing seen in the tyre style crown and the piston style chronograph pushers… perfectly matched elements for when you’re behind the wheel. TAGHeuer &McLaren TAGHeuer CarreraMP4-12C automatic flyback chronograph