History Class: TAG Heuer Launches a New Carrera Split-Seconds Chronograph at LVMH Watch Week

Last year was a very interesting year for TAG Heuer. The biggest news was its return as the official timekeeper of Formula 1. So, it made sense that at LVMH Watch Week 2025, the brand leaned in on its Formula 1 collection of watches. But the brand also introduced bold advances in materials, mechanics, and performance across all its collections.

This year, at LVMH Watch Week, TAG Heuer’s commitment to breaking boundaries while honoring its heritage is best expressed with the brand’s new Carrera Split-Seconds Chronograph.

Over its 166-year history in watchmaking, Heuer has long been considered the master of the chronograph. However, the Carrera itself wasn’t introduced until 1963, which was a golden era for the brand and its association with motorsport. At the time, Jack Heuer, the fourth generation of the family to lead the business, was shaking the foundations of the Swiss watchmaking industry with bold designs and a young, energetic approach to marketing.

The name Carrera itself was inspired by the legendary Mexican open-road race, the Carrera Panamericana. This rally race was held between 1950 and 1954 and was considered by contemporaries to be the most dangerous of any type in the world.
 

Skip ahead to 1962, where Jack met the parents of Pedro and Ricardo Rodríguez, two prodigiously talented racers from Mexico, at the 12 Hours of Sebring. They told him stories of the Carrera Panamericana, and the name stuck.

He later explained: “It was at Sebring that I first heard the Spanish word ‘Carrera.’ I loved not only its sexy sound but also its multiple meanings – road, race, course, and career. All very much Heuer territory!” Thus, at Basel in April 1963, Heuer unveiled the Carrera reference 2447.

This 36mm stainless steel case, with sharp, faceted lugs, was paired with oversized pushers designed to be operated while wearing driving gloves. But what really made the Carrera was its clean, rational design. By moving the chronograph scale to an angled tension ring beneath the crystal, Jack created the most legible chronograph face of its era.
 

Obviously, the Carrera is a legend, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room to grow.

The new TAG Heuer Carrera Split-Seconds Chronograph follows from the critically acclaimed redesign of the TAG Heuer Carrera collection in 2023 – the one that debuted the “glassbox” design. The modern sensibility of these models provides the foundation for this new haute horlogerie interpretation.
 

The TAG Heuer Carrera Split-Seconds Chronograph represents an important milestone, as it’s the first time the rattrapante complication has been included in the TAG Heuer Carrera collection.

This new 42mm chrono is crafted from grade-5 titanium. The case keeps its signature peaked lugs and exceptional legibility. However, there are a couple of new features, including refined, tactile pushers that sit on either side of the crown to activate the chronograph and an elegantly integrated pusher at 9 o’clock to activate the split-seconds function that resides in the case band.
 

The glassbox crystal has been further refined to increase legibility by magnifying the dial and flange. For instance, the tachymeter and 1/5^th second flange have been bent to follow the profile of the crystal, thus minimizing parallax error, which occurs when your eye isn’t directly aligned with a measurement, leading to a false reading.

A smoked, translucent dial allows the exceptional finishing of the reverse of the movement to shine through. Moreover, the chronograph sub-dials are also made from the same material as the main dial, to provide extra depth. Further transparency is provided via a sapphire caseback, which has been carefully constructed to allow the owner to view the incredible TH81-01 movement from all angles.
 

This calibre – a collaboration with Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier – consists of 350 hand-finished components and beats at 5Hz to ensure chronograph precision. It also offers a weekend-friendly 65-hour power reserve and a five-year warranty.

The TAG Heuer Carrera Split-Seconds Chronograph will be available in April and is tentatively priced at CHF 110,000. For more information, check out the TAG Heuer website.