The supercar world is characterized by the superlatives disguised as numbers. McLaren Speedtail is no exception: from 1,050 to 403 and 1,430 to 2.37. In other words, from 1,050 horsepower, a top speed of over 403 km/h and a weight of 1,430 kg to a unit price of 2.37 million euros-plus additional costs. In this world, no matter whether it is performance, expense or forward thrust, there cannot be too much. This is why it can be said that in many ways, Richard Mille’s watch self-image is very similar to the car ideal of a super sports car. The brand’s advertising slogan is “racing on the wrist” for a reason. The new RM 40-01 automatic tourbillon McLaren Speedtail combines the two worlds in the best way.
Richard Mille-Innovator
At present, Richard Mille’s success seems almost inevitable. After all, it is so unique and so expensive that its watch marks its wearer as the highest earner. Aesthetically, they are so different and innovative that they speak to a whole new generation of collectors. swiss Richard Mille watches are not elegant pieces paired with tailor-made suits, but rather inspire those who have a more relaxed and less traditional concept of high life. This is a high-tech watch for hip-hop artists, start-up billionaires, sports icons and new big money.
In other words, this is a brand that not only defends the spirit of today’s zeitgeist, but also represents a bold idea in 1999. At the time, describing Richard Mille as a pioneer was not an understatement. The Frenchman founded his company with the support of Audemars Piguet as a minority shareholder and launched his first watch in 2001. That watch, the RM 001 tourbillon, was sold for a limited edition of 17 pieces, which was a sensational US$135,000 at the time. Richard Mille no longer just relies on gold and platinum, but combines them with new materials with a technical appearance. This includes materials such as titanium and even the company’s own composite materials such as carbon TPT or quartz TPT. In addition, the trend of sapphire crystal case is also largely attributed to Richard Mille.
Mille worked with Rafael Nadal and Pharrell Williams and others, to name just two examples. In addition, he emphasized the connection between his watch and the motorsport world from the beginning. His watch sees itself as a race car on his wrist. These watches have had fans in Formula from the early days, let alone as their sponsors. In addition, when the entire watch industry saw a decline in sales after the financial crisis, Mille did not reduce its high prices, but increased their prices.
Today, Richard Mille is considered one of the most valuable brands in the industry. The thousands of watches produced each year sell out so quickly that boutiques usually only display a few models. Naturally, the result is skyrocketing prices in the second-hand market. It is almost inevitable that such a brand will cooperate with Hyper-Watches and McLaren sooner or later.
McLaren: newcomers
In the world of supercars dominated by Italian manufacturers, McLaren has won a respected position in just over a decade. Like Richard Mille, the company did not succumb to the formidable competitors with a long history. Instead, it relies on the respect of Bruce McLaren in the field of racing and related sports car expertise.
Today, people think that McLaren racers are better than the horses and bulls in their logo. However, its image can be said to lack charm on the whole. This makes the cars look more sober and objective, while also giving them extra performance charm. Anyone who has ever stood at the headquarters of a futuristic company in Woking near London—any Bond villain who wanted to be the headquarters when planning world domination—can hardly escape the charm of very different models of British modern racing, from Senna and P1 To the GT at 720S.
After the initial collaboration between Richard Mille and McLaren Racing, subsequent collaboration with McLaren Automotive was almost inevitable. After all, these two brands come together, not just a marketing plan.
The new Hyper-Watch: RM 40-01 automatic tourbillon McLaren Speedtail
Anyone who can spend 2.37 million euros on a car will indeed be very rich. For most people, such a purchase may be unimaginable, or even ridiculous, but it is fair to say that most buyers of McLaren Speedtail, the fastest supercar to date, may have passed A lot of hard work has gained this kind of financial freedom and cleverness. Therefore, one can assume that many such buyers have indeed made wise investments.
After all, it has been shown in the past that from a purely economic point of view, Richard Mille watches designed for McLaren cars are a smart way to buy—not to mention the fun it brings. Take the 2018 RM 11-03 McLaren Flyb a ck chronograph as an example.
Richard Mille RM 40-01 Automatic Tourbillon McLaren Speedtail has 106 pieces to choose from. If Speedtail watches insist on producing only this number and are initially offered to owners of three-seater cars, then similar value development can be expected. This is partly because this time, the global collector community has fewer watches. More importantly, the community is of course eager to get any new works from Richard Mille.
RM 40-01: Countless hours of work
This brings us back to the numbers, which are equally impressive for this Hyper-Watch and Speedtail supercar. It took 2,800 hours to design the case alone. This case only met all the requirements of Richard Mille’s technical director Julien Boillat only after 18 months and five prototypes. As he said, “We not only drew inspiration from Speedtail’s teardrop shape, but also faced the challenge of seamlessly fusing the existing Richard Mille features with those of McLaren.”
The notch on the bezel is reminiscent of the opening on the hood. At the same time, the pusher is reminiscent of the air outlet behind the front wheel. The orange stripe at six o’clock continues to the rubber strap (there are also crocodile leather, crocodile leather Velcro and ballistic Velcro straps), which is a typical McLaren. However, this timepiece is undoubtedly Richard Mille (Richard Mille).
A particular challenge facing manufacturers is the unique shape of the watch case, which consists of 69 parts and measures 41.80 x 48.25 x 14.15 mm. Due to its teardrop-inspired shape, the side of the case at 12 o’clock is significantly wider than at 6 o’clock. Titanium meets carbon TPT, and the smooth surface meets the satin polished surface. According to Richard Mille, the production of only the upper sapphire crystal (with a hardness of 1,800 Vickers) is 15 to 20 times more complicated than the production of “ordinary” sapphire crystals, even the highest quality sapphire crystals. This is due to the unusual shape and reduced thickness of the case. All in all, the manufacturer regards the new tourbillon timepiece as “Richard Mille’s most extreme watch ever.”
The connection between the replica watches usa and the supercar is of course beautiful and meaningful. However, watchmaking is still watchmaking. The developers of the movement leader Salvador Arbona are proud to present this watch and a new initiative of the CRMT4 movement; an internally developed power reserve display with a large date and function selector, located in the manufacturing tourbillon movement. The function selector allows the wearer to switch between neutral, winding, and adjustment settings—similar to shifting gears in a car.
Also worth mentioning is the oscillating weight with platinum oscillating weight and variable geometric shape. With it, the winding function can be adjusted according to the wearer’s activities. To do this, place the weight made of red gold in the correct position and fix it with two screws. The balance wheel swings freely and the moment of inertia is variable, which reduces its sensitivity to vibration and improves accuracy.
Overall, the development of this new movement took a total of 8,600 hours. The movement adopts a new structure. In addition, it is also decorated with polished rims and hand-polished chamfers and bevels.
brand
Richard Mille
Model
RM 40-01 automatic tourbillon McLaren Speedtail
refer to
RM 40-01 CA Titanium
Case material
Carbon fiber TPT® case strap and buttons
Front and rear frames and titanium pillars
Titanium upper flange, black electroplating treatment
Titanium and carbon TPT® crown
aspect
Width: 41.80 mm
Length: 48.25 mm
Height: 14.15 mm
Water resistance
50 m (5 bar)
dial
Base plate and bridge plate: micro-sprayed grade 5 titanium
Strap/Bracelet
Rubber: black with orange lines
Crocodile skin Velcro: white, black, red or brown and orange
Ballistic Velcro: white, black, red, orange, yellow or green and gray
Crocodile skin: white, black, red or brown and orange
move
Caliber CRMT4
Movement type
automatic
Power reserve
Approximately 50 hours (± 10%).
The indicator is located at 9 o’clock and is driven by a planetary differential.
frequency
4 Hz (28,800 vph)
Function
Tourbillon movement with hours, minutes, variable geometric oscillating weight, oversized
Date, power reserve indicator and function selector