IWC Schaffhausen Big Pilot’s Watch Shock Absorber XPL Toto Wolff x Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One™ Team
Cars & motorsport
Meet the IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Shock Absorber XPL Toto Wolff x Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team
Dedicated to the racing team’s CEO, Toto Wolff, this performance-enhancing timepiece will blow your house down.
By Rhonda Riche
Editor-At-Large
With Sir Lewis Hamilton joining Scuderia Ferrari, we wondered if the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 team would be in flux this season. We also asked ourselves what Hamilton’s departure meant for IWC Schaffhausen now that it is losing its beloved brand ambassador.
But you know what? Everyone and everything is going to be fine. Our evidence is the IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Shock Absorber XPL Toto Wolff x Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team.
In fact, this is the second timepiece IWC has dedicated to its giant motorsport partner this year, coming after the Pilot’s Watch Mark XX Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team, which was announced in January. (Our only complaint about this latest watch is its name is too long. To that end, from here on, we will call it “The Wolff,” for brevity’s sake.)
It honors a team lynchpin while taking the squad’s livery and IWC's technology to the next level.
Wear Wolff
We got a little preview of this limited-edition watch when Wolff was spotted wearing a prototype in the weeks leading up to the start of the 2025 season. It isn’t an easy watch to miss.
While it shares the same 44mm size and Ceratanium construction as the 2021 Big Pilot’s Watch Shock Absorber XPL – the first model created by the brand’s “Experimental Engineering Team” (hence the XPL in the name) – the design of this edition has been jacked by adding the team’s black and Petronas-green livery; even the metallic glass spring that protects the movement against the extreme g-forces has been coated with Super-LumiNova in the team’s signature green.
The super tough movement is visible through a tinted sapphire glass case back inscribed with Toto’s signature. To make this hardy watch even more visually impressive, it comes with two straps: One in black rubber with textile inlays and the other an in-your-face Petronas-green.
Why Wolff?
Formula One drivers are exposed to all kinds of physical stress as they are constantly batted about and exposed to high centrifugal forces in the cockpit. However, team leaders like Wolff are also under extreme pressure.
On top of fielding a new car for 2025, Mercedes is welcoming driver George Russell’s new teammate, Kimi Antonelli, this year. It seems appropriate to collaborate with Wolff, the guy orchestrating all this excitement, because to be a boss in racing, you must roll with the punches.
The Wolff’s SPRIN-g Protect shock absorber system was introduced in 2021 with the Big Pilot’s Watch Shock Absorber XPL. At its core is a cantilever spring crafted from bulk metallic glass (BMG), a material renowned for its exceptional elasticity.
By cushioning the movement inside the case, the SPRIN-g Protect shock absorber system evenly spreads out any shocks before they reach the calibre. This innovation is not only important for the on-track conditions of F1 racing but also symbolic of its C-suite maneuvers.
Pricing & Availability
The Big Pilot’s Watch Shock Absorber XPL Toto Wolff x Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team is limited to 100 pieces and is priced at $102,000. For more information, visit the IWC website.