RICHARD MILLE RM 11- 03 MCLAREN AUTOMATIC FLYBACK CHRONOGRAPH
A supercar on your wrist
INDEPENDENT WATCHMAKER
RICHARD MILLE is always the scene stealer at the annual Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) where it debuts the year’s novelties. However, although it was present at this year's event, it waited until two months later for the Geneva Motor show in March to release one of its finest timepieces yet. And with good reason. This RM 11-03 McLaren Automatic Flyback Chronograph is a collaboration between Richard Mille and McLaren Automotive – the latter is the showstopper at the world’s most prestigious annual car show.
McLaren motorsport division and Richard Mille have already been partnering for over a year now (the $1.3m RM 50-03 Tourbillion Split Seconds Chronograph took inspiration from the McLaren F1 car), but this is the first time that RM and McLaren’s road-going car division have collaborated.
The materials used in the construction of the tonneau curved case of the RM 11-03 are as complex as that of the car itself. It uses a TPT case construction. TPT stands for Thin Ply Technology, which encompasses ultra-thin sheets of composites sandwiched together. In between, layers of carbon fibre and orange silica have been added lending it a dramatic visual appeal. The inserts on the case, which feature the McLaren branding, are similar to the McLaren F1’s roofmounted air-intake snorkel.
McLaren’s design director Rob Melville and Richard Mille engineer Fabrice Namura worked together on the project. For inspiration, RM turned to a very specific McLaren model – the fourlitre twin-turbo McLaren 720S, which was unveiled last year. The titanium chronograph pushers are modelled after the ‘empty eye socket headlights’ (which look like air intakes) on the 720S. The crown of the timepiece is a nod to the vehicle's multispoke wheel.
The engine of this wrist machine is the RMAC 3 calibre, which was launched three years ago. But it isn’t just a rehashed movement that’s made its way into this timepiece. Mille has created a new baseplate and bridges made from titanium to improve the performance of the gear train. The automatic-winding watch has a 55-hour power reserve, which is impressive when you consider that the watch boasts an annual calendar, oversized date, 12-hour chronograph and countdown counters visible on the skeletonised dial. This RM 11-03 costs CHF 180,000 (Dhs660,000) and even if you have that kind of money it doesn’t guarantee you are eligible for one. At the Geneva show it was declared that the watch, limited to 500 units, would only be available to McLaren Ultimate Series owners. The good thing is that McLaren and Richard Mille will allow you to match the number on the car to that on the caseback, which naturally should be between 1-500. The best news though is that the carmaker and watchmaker both say that this is the first timepiece in an ongoing partnership. Keep your centurion credit card handy.