Cars & motorsport

09/26/2019

Wheels On Fire! Gas Monkey Garage And Seiko Give Away The Coutura Car

It’s well known that watches are related to cars and vice-versa. On more than one occasion we’ve seen watches inspired by cars, but what happens when a car gets inspired by a watch? Well, turns out, it's awesome.

By Viviana Shanks

Contributor

Last Thursday, Watchonista flew to Dallas to attend the much anticipated Coutura Car giveaway at the famous Gas Monkey Garage.

Drivers, Start your engines: The Coutura Watch

Taking inspiration from the iconic muscle car, the Chevrolet Camaro, the Seiko Coutura Collection was introduced back in 2003. The sleek, sporty look of the Coutura watch is comfortable on the wrist for any occasion or daily wear.

Richard Rawlings

Seiko Coutura on the wrist

This time around, however, it was the car that took inspiration from the Coutura watch. One in particular: the Seiko Coutura SSC697 that is now almost sold out. Using a 2018 Chevrolet Camaro SS as the starting point, Seiko partnered with the famous Gas Monkey Garage, to modify the car and make it look like the Coutura watch.

Chevrolet Camaro

Presented last year at Macy's Herald Square flagship in New York, the Coutoura Camaro is a faithful representation of the Seiko Coutura SSC697 watch. The tires are adorned with the blue rims, reminding us of the electric blue bezel. Engraved Coutura, the brakes are yellow in homage to the watch’s second hand. Additionally, the black matte paint reminds us of the sporty look of the Seiko Coutura watch.

Richard Rawlings and the Chevrolet Camaro

It stopped in Macy’s Woodfield Mall in Chicago and South coast Plaza in California. Seiko also partnered with the Army and exhibited the car in the Fort Hood military base and St Diego Navy Base , During every stop, the car sure made noise (literally). It was the perfect occasion for Seiko to start the giveaway promotion, now with local retailers where their customers were able to enter for the chance to win a trip to the Gas Monkey Garage, meet Richard Rowling and have the chance to win the Coutura Camaro

Seiko Coutura on the wrist

The Gas Monkey Garage

My first steps into the Gas Monkey Garage took me back to one of my favorite childhood shows, Pimp My Ride. With Richard Rawlings and his band of employees, affectionately called the Monkeys, the Gas Monkey Garage rose to success thanks to its clever concept: buying old relics and transforming them.

Cameras and an energetic crew welcomed us with open arms to the most well-known garage in Dallas. Richard Rawlings was happy to see the crowd and ready to pose for pictures. After all, he is the public face of the Gas Monkey Garage. And inside the garage, many cars were modified in the most unusual ways.

FIRE: 20 finalists but only one lucky winner

At a beautifully organized event at the garage, 20 finalists and their guest were flown in from all over the United States to Texas. Only one would be the lucky winner of the unique Coutura Car. In pure Texan tradition, we were served BBQ while the reggae-inspired rock band Rise N’ Shine performed among the muscle cars. And, in case we were in danger of forgetting, the entire event was filmed by the Gas Monkey Garage team and is set to appear on their next show.

Later in the night, the 20 finalists were separated into four different groups of 5 people. Then they each drew a card, but only contestants who drew a card autographed by Richard Rawlings moved on to the final round. At the end of the drawing, only four were selected. The atmosphere was roaring like an engine of a Camaro. One of the four final contestants, a man from Wisconsin, was feeling lucky and told everyone within earshot that he would win. In the end, we all gathered at the entrance of the garage to witness the final drawing and the last grand entrance of the car. As the car was rolling out, the four finalists drew a card each with a different colored signature. Then the crowd was told the Coutura Car would perform a burnout and the color of the tire smoke would indicate who the lucky winner was. Quickly, the entire garage filled with purple smoke, the winner jumping around in excitement. Our surroundings were barely visible, and it was impossible to know where the car was…until the tires caught fire! It was a breathtaking spectacle. The lucky winner? The gentlemen from Wisconsin proved that a positive attitude could take you anywhere in life!

The winner, a Seiko lover, was incredibly proud of winning the car and couldn't wait to have it shipped to Wisconsin. Chatting with him, he expressed his wish to own more Seikos and to discover more about the brand. Well, it was definitely his lucky night because Richard Rawlings ended up gifting him his personal Seiko Coutura SSC697.

Overall, it was a perfect, unusual, and never-before-seen concept that brings Seiko to a new horizon, which fits this iconic Japanese brand perfectly. (The car now will be shipped to Hebert’s Jewelers in Kenosha Wisconsin where Seiko will host a giveaway party on October 19th at the store to handle the keys to the lucky winner)