uploadIn the days before digital timing, everyone from hobbyists to professional drivers timed their laps with analog stopwatches and wrist-worn chronographs. The watch was more than an accessory it was an all-important tool for the serious racer. The 1960s and 1970s produced some of the most iconic cars and legendary drivers, and the Autodromo Prototipo pays homage to the watches worn by the greats in the cockpit during this golden age.
The Prototipo draws aesthetic inspiration from vintage racing chronographs of the late '60s and early '70s, but with clean, modern detailing at every turn. The stainless steel case measures 42mm and is curved with integrated lugs, recalling the curved body shapes of the so-called "Prototype" cars of the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Powered by a Japanese Seiko hybrid quartz chronograph movement, the Prototipo features a sweep second hand and instant chronograph reset thanks to internal mechanical linkages shared with Seiko's celebrated in-house automatic movements. The Prototipo offers 1/5th second timing accuracy, while the subregister on the left records elapsed minutes and up to 24 hours can be recorded on the right subregister. This would allow a racer to use the Prototipo for even the longest races, such as Le Mans.
Encircling the dial are both a tachymeter scale and a pulsometer scale. At 6 o'clock is a date window. It comes with a perforated leather racing strap.
Limited Edition of 224 Pieces
Vic Elford is a living legend of motorsport, celebrated for his outright speed as well as his mastery of the world's most challenging race courses such as the Nurburgring and the Targa Florio. His name is inextricably linked with the Porsche marque, as he won many significant races for Porsche throughout the 1960s.
host imageAutodromo has collaborated with Elford to create this limited edition timepiece commemorating his legendary victory at the 1968 Targa Florio race in Sicily. Over the course of the race, he turned an 18 minute deficit into a 3 minute, 42 second margin of victory, breaking his own lap record multiple times in the process. With a dial inspired by the colorful paintwork on Elford's Porsche 907, this special edition is limited to 224 pieces, corresponding to Elford's race number.
The caseback features a map of the Targa Florio circuit, as well as Elford's practice lap record and race lap record, which was a full 45.4 seconds faster. The Vic Elford Prototipo comes in a collector's box along with a 44 page booklet hand-signed by Elford himself.
$775
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