What happens when racing drivers set out to make the perfect luxury sports watch? Laurent Ferrier’s Sport Auto may just be the best answer of the past decade.
Mr Ferrier’s journey towards creating the Sport Auto began in 1979 when he, his Laurent Ferrier co-founder François Servanin and fellow racer François Trisconi lived out their lifelong dream by earning a podium place in the Le Mans 25 Hour race driving a Porsche 935 Turbo.
The engineering, the commitment and the energy of Le Mans can almost be felt in the Sport Auto in the same way that the sea, swell and power of great ocean liners can be found in the Gerald Genta-designed Patek Philippe Nautilus.
“Today, more than forty years have passed since this exceptional [Le Mans] podium, but not a single week goes by without us recalling this memory. It is also thanks to this that we designed the Sport Auto. We thought it would have been the ideal timepiece to wear during each of our races,” Mr Ferrier suggests.
“In watchmaking as well as during our many racing adventures, I have always been very attentive to the slightest sensations. Just like the vibrations of the steering wheel, the roar of the engine, the screeching of the tyres, the heat of the leather of my gloves or even the intensity of the speed keeping me firmly in my seat, our Sport Auto had to arouse true emotions,” he continues.
Laurent Ferrier has played with round and square shapes over the years in classical and sportier watches.
The Sport Auto’s 41.5mm case uses the circular dial in a rounded square case in a way that is similar to the brand’s previous sports watch, the Grand Sport Tourbillon from 2020.
That 2020 watch was also a rare departure from leather straps, and Laurent Ferrier has done the same again this year with an integrated titanium bracelet for the titanium timepiece.
Laurent Ferrier’s signature onion-shaped crown is screwed-in for the first time, making the watch water resistant to 120 metres.
The dial fades from dark to light blue and has a soft opaline finish while white gold hands and indexes stand out with pale green lume.
Inside, Laurent Ferrier has delivered a new movement, the elegantly decorated automatic LF 270.0 with a micro-rotor that delivers power for up to 72 hours.
The Laurent Ferrier Sport Auto is on sale now for CHF 46,000, excluding tax.
