For the first time, IWC Schaffhausen assumed its role as Timing Partner for the renowned Goodwood Members’ Meeting, held this year for the 73rd time. Against the exclusive backdrop of motor racing’s unique weekend, the luxury Rolex replica watches manufacturer unveiled its new Ingenieur Automatic Edition “AMG GT”. Made of solid boron carbide and limited to just 25 pieces, the watch also commemorated IWC’s ten-year partnership with Mercedes-AMG. As a further highlight, IWC and Mercedes-AMG organized a race between the legendary first AMG racing car – affectionately known as the “Legend of Spa” –, the new sports car Mer cedes-AMG GT and a Mercedes F1 W04.

While the super-tuned engines were revving up a storm, somewhere just off the 3.8-kilometre track in West Sussex, England, was the barely perceptible ticking of a trailblazing new product. Swiss luxury watch manufacturer IWC Schaffhausen was presenting its Ingenieur Automatic Edition “AMG GT” (Ref. IW324602), the first watch worldwide to feature a case made of boron carbide, currently the hardest ceramic of them all. “As a successful amalgam of outstanding technical achievement, a quest for perfection and purist design, this exclusive timepiece has clear parallels with motor racing,” explains IWC CEO Georges Kern. “The Ingenieur Automatic Edition “AMG GT” will be available in a tiny edition of just 25 watches and is an unequivocal declaration of the significance of our ten-year partnership with Mercedes-AMG.” The name chosen for the new Omega replica watches is a tribute to the new Mercedes-AMG sports car, the second vehicle built entirely in-house by the performance brand of Mercedes-Benz. The two companies cultivate a historical heritage in two very different fields, encouraging innovative engineering and a high proportion of skilled manual labour. With their commitment to quality and simple,clear-cut design, both brands are bound by a clear affinity for performance and efficiency as well as a passion for technical progress and precision. Since January 2013, IWC has built on its involvement in motor racing as Official Engineering Partner of the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One™ Team and has two fine brand ambassadors in Lewis Hamiltonand Nico Rosberg.

THE “LEGEND OF SPA” ON THE CIRCUIT

The Goodwood Members’ Meeting is the first in a series of historic races that can count on IWC Schaffhausen’s supportin the years ahead. In 2014, the Goodwood Road Racing Club (GRRC) re-established its club racing tradition with the Members’ Meeting. These races, held at the circuit that opened in 1948, are open exclusively to members and were a resounding success between 1949 and 1966. The hallmark of the Goodwood Members’ Meeting has always been a world-class field of historic racing cars and well-known drivers. In its role as Timing Partner for the GoodwoodMembers’ Meeting and as a reference to Mercedes-AMG and its ten-year partnership, together with Mercedes-AMG, IWC Schaffhausen brought three spectacular AMG vehicles to Goodwood: the latest Mercedes-AMG GT, one Mercedes F1 W04, and the 300 SEL 6.8 AMG – AMG’s first vehicle, which created a sensation in 1971 when it clinched second place in the 24-hour touring car race at Spa. In an unconventional “race against time” at Goodwood, German ex-racing driver Jochen Mass took the 300 SEL 6.8 AMG through its paces on the circuit while his Austrian colleague Karl Wendlinger got behind the wheel of the Mercedes-AMG GT and set out in pursuit. Anthony Davidson, winner of last year’s FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) and former FORMULA ONE driver, was in no hurry with his FORMULA ONE racing car at the start, but soon moved into top gear and put in a fantastic performance to cross the finishing line at the same time as the other two vehicles. Apart from this spectacle, visitors to the Goodwood Members’ Meeting witnessed a series of keenly contested races and high-speed demonstrations featuring cars from the pre-war era to 1990s Group C prototypes. Among others, FORMULA ONE cars from the 1970s and a group of wild 250 mph Group C Le Mans cars demonstrated their prowess. At the end of the race weekend, IWC Schaffhausen honoured the driver who had recorded the fastest lap time with a special timepiece from the Ingenieur line: the Ingenieur Chronograph Silberpfeil (Ref. IW378505) is a tribute to the historic Mercedes-Benz racing cars, which won countless Grand Prix races and championships between 1934 and 1939, and were successful once again in 1954/55.

WATCH WORLD PREMIERE IN BORON CARBIDE

With the launch of the Ingenieur Automatic Edition “AMG GT” in solid boron carbide, IWC Schaffhausen sets another milestone in watchmaking history: almost as hard as a diamond and as light as aluminium, boron carbide is an innovative material that unites incredible, contrasting qualities to deliver unique performance. It alludes to the partnership with Mercedes-AMG, with a case made of several parts in pure boron carbide: the first time this material has been used in the watch industry. This high-performance ceramic is one of the hardest and most scratch-resistant materials available, and it is produced in five timeconsuming stages. IWC’s traditional prowess in precision technology is embodied by the Ingenieur Automatic Edition “AMG GT”’s in-house 80110-calibre, which has an integrated shock-absorption system and is one of the most robust movements made in Schaffhausen. As a tribute to its namesake, the designers of the Ingenieur Automatic Edition “AMG GT” have elegantly combined the colour black with stylish yellow elements that reference AMG’s exclusive colour, “solarbeam”. The eye-catching screws in the bezel and crown are made of black zirconium oxide. A glance through the see-through sapphire-glass back  revealsa high-precision mechanical movement with a blackened rotor. The new watch is secured to the wrist with a rugged, skin-friendly rubber strap. With the black Dinamica® inlay, which is set off with yellow quilted stitching, the Rolex fake watches features the same innovative microfibre used by Mercedes-AMG to pad the steering wheel, seat upholstery and headliner in the new Mercedes-AMG GT. The Ingenieur Automatic Edition “AMG GT” is limited to 25 pieces and available from selected IWC retailers.