Shelby and Baume & Mercier, driver’s chronographs

Collaborations between watch brands and car makers are so plentiful these days that it's becoming difficult to get excited about them. After all, one can only remain enthusiastic about tyre-tread rubber straps, cases 'made from materials used in Formula One construction' and sub-dials that look like brake discs for so long before a certain degree of boredom sets in.

World Manufacturer's GT Championship

In Las Vegas, we discovered a link-up between one of the great names in the automobile world and a well-known watch brand which not only took us by surprise, but which has resulted in two of the nicest-looking and best thought-out driver's chronographs we've seen in a long time. The partners in question are Baume & Mercier and Vegas-based Shelby American - two names that few people could have guessed would ever become bedfellows. But they have, and it works.

Baume & Mercier Capeland Shelby Cobra Chronograph in stainless steel

The official reason for the collaboration is that 2015 marks 50 years since tuning ace Carroll Shelby's Cobra Daytona coupes invaded Europe's race circuits and won the World Manufacturer's GT Championship - the first, and still only, time the championship has gone to a team of American-built cars.

For those unfamiliar with Carroll Shelby, he was a successful, Le Mans-winning Texan racing driver who had to give up competing in 1959 at the age of 36 due to a long-standing heart problem.

Although he was given only a short time to live (he actually died just three years ago aged 89) he set up a performance driving school and founded Shelby American which, in 1962, began importing British-built AC Ace sports cars in to the U.S. and fitting them with large capacity V8 Ford engines in place of the less powerful units they were originally supplied with.

Alain Zimmermann and Neil Cumming at Shelby Cobra event

Two watches inspired by the mighty Cobras

The result was so 'venomous' that it was named the Shelby Cobra - and it proved to be hugely successful both as a high performance street machine and as a racing car, with a top speed (in closed Daytona Coupe form) of almost 190 mph.

Baume & Mercier Capeland Shelby Cobra Chronograph in red gold

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the GT Championship win, Baume & Mercier has created two watches inspired by the mighty Cobras, both of which are based on the familiar Capeland chronograph.

The entry level model - which, in my home country of the UK costs a reasonable £3,000 - features a 44mm steel case and is limited to 1,965 pieces in recognition of the championship-winning year. Cobra-inspired styling cues include a clever 'snake's head' counter weight on the chronograph second hand; a dial in Shelby's signature 'Guardsman Blue' with very subtle racing stripes; chronograph counters based on the car's instrument panel and a sapphire crystal case back engraved with both a facsimile of Carroll Shelby's signature and an edition number.

Baume & Mercier Shelby car

For £13,300, meanwhile, you can have a version of the watch with a red gold case and a flyback chronograph movement which is limited to just 98 pieces in recognition of Carroll Shelby's famous racing number.

If you're a fan of driver's watches these two pieces are well worth a look - and if you’re a Cobra driver, you simply have to own one.

Baume & Mercier Shelby race track

In the future

And the good news is that they probably won't be the last collaboration between Baume & Mercier and Shelby American because, according to the word on the street, we Europeans are soon going to be hearing a lot more about the legendary American hot-rod house which now focuses on tuning modern-day Fords.

Baume & Mercier Shelby race track

Will a Mustang chrono be next on the grid, perhaps?